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GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

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sethdixon

I am a geography professor at Rhode Island College.

Ethiopian runner makes protest sign as he crosses line in Rio

Feyisa Lilesa crosses his arms as he wins a silver medal – a gesture used by his Oromo people at home to protest against the government.

Source: www.bbc.com

The Olympics can bring to interesting cultural and political issues to a larger international audience.  The Oromo people in Ethiopia are off our collective radar, but this marathoner made the world pay attention and start to ask questions about a part of the world that rarely gets global attention.  Some other examples of how you can link students’ interest in the Olympics to expand their understanding about the world include:

What was your favorite ‘teaching moment’ from the Olympics?

Tags:  political, conflict, sport.

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The rise of the Asian megacity (and why ‘metacities’ are the next big thing)

“Asia’s rapid urbanisation is changing the very shape and nature of what we think of as a city.  It’s not just the rapid increase in their numbers or their sheer size that makes these megacities fascinating. They look, feel and behave differently, too.”

Source: www.scmp.com

The term megacity (a city with a population greater than 10 million) has been around for a while and there wasn’t much linguistic need to describe something bigger.  Today, most megacities are more like Lagos and Mumbai, places of extreme wealth asymmetries than the global cities of New York City and London.  Some are now using the term metacity to describe cities with populations of 20 million.  Asian metacities are a good place to start thinking about the largest urban regions that are increasingly dominating economic, political and cultural affairs.      

 

Tags: urban, megacities, East Asia.

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Interactive Climate Map

“Obsessed as we are with cartography we in Staridas Geography perceive any aspect of the actual 3D World as a constant opportunity for another pretty map creation!”

Source: staridasgeo.maps.arcgis.com

This is a great interactive map of the world’s climate zones. 

 

Tags: ESRI, StoryMap, edtech, GIS, mapping, cartography, physical.

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Do You Know The Outline of These Countries?

Can you spot the real outline from the fake?..

Source: www.buzzfeed.com

This is just for fun…The borders/coastlines of these 14 countries are slightly photoshopped in one of the two images, and you have to remember from your mental maps which one is correct.  And yes, of course I got a 14. 

 

Tags:  mapping, trivia, fun, borders, cartography.

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How over 2 feet of rain caused historic flooding in Louisiana in less than 72 hours

All-told, over 20 inches of rain fell in less than 72 hours around Baton Rouge.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Last month I was in New Orleans, and it rained for about 2 hours…it was staggering to see how many issues stemmed from that drainage in such a flat floodplain.  This is so much worse.  This article focuses on the weather/environmental situation, and this one on the political/human impact.

 

Tags: urban ecology, environment, weather and climate, water, disasters. 

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No America, You can’t claim Monica Puig’s Puerto Rico gold medal win as your own

“Like many boricuas on Saturday, Aug. 13, I celebrated when tennis player Monica Puig won gold in the single women’s division and became both Puerto Rico’s first gold win and a woman’s first gold win for the island. It was an overall historic moment that everyone back in the island basked in with full pride. I’ve noticed a trend on social media regarding the Olympics: multiple posts and tweets about how Puerto Rico shouldn’t compete independently, confused as to why Puerto Rico is competing in the first place or that a victory for Puerto Rico supposedly ‘counts’ because it’s a U.S. commonwealth.”

Source: medium.com

This is good article showing the distinct nationalism of Puerto Rico and its political ties with the United States.  This is but one of the many example of how you can link students’ interest in the Olympics to expand their understanding about the world.  Also, this protest of Iran’s gendered spaces is another poignant article.

 

Tags: Puerto Rico, political, autonomy, sport, popular culture.

 

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The Subtle Design Features That Make Cities Feel More Hostile

Think your city doesn’t like you? You’re right.

Source: www.atlasobscura.com

Geography explores more than just what countries control a certain territory and what landforms are there.  Geography explores the spatial manifestations of power and how place is crafted to fit a particular vision.  Homeless people are essentially always ‘out of place.’  These articles from the Society Pages, Atlas Obscura, the Atlantic and this one from the Guardian share similar things: that urban planners actively design places that will discourage loitering, skate boarding, and homelessness, which are all undesirable to local businesses.  This gallery shows various defensive architectural tactics to make certain people feel ‘out of place.’  Just to show that not all urban designs are anti-homeless, this bench is one that is designed to help the homeless (and here is an ingenious plan to curb public urination).  

    

Tags: urban, planning, architecture, landscape, place, poverty.

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How To Get A Country To Trust Its Banks

“It’s something you can see on every block in most major cities. You probably see one every day and never give give it a second thought. But in Yangon, Myanmar in 2013, an ATM was a small miracle. For decades, Myanmar was cut off from the rest of the world. There were international sanctions, and no one from the U.S. or Europe did business there.”

Source: www.npr.org

We often assume that one form of technology, a system, institute should work equally well where ever it is.  But the nuances of cultural geography mediate how societies interact with technological innovations, and as demonstrated in this Planet Money podcast, “People in Myanmar (Burma) were reluctant to use ATMs because they didn’t trust the banks. They weren’t sure that the machines would actually give them their money.”  

 

Tags: Burma, Southeast Asia, poverty, development, economic, podcast.

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A Proposed New AP Course–AP GIS & T

There is a proposal for a new Advanced Placement course in Geographic Information Science and Technology (AP GIS&T). All U.S. high schools, colleges, and universities are invited to review the proposal by visiting www.apgist.org. 

AP GIS&T is designed to introduce high school students to the fundamentals of geographic information science and applications of powerful geospatial technologies for spatial analysis and problem solving. 

The AP GIS&T course proposal has attracted broad support from prominent scientific and educational organizations.  For AP GIS&T to become a reality, the AAG needs to collect attestations from 250 U.S. high schools that confirm they have the interest and capacity to offer the course. Similar assurances are needed from 100 colleges and universities that they would be willing to offer some form of credit to students who demonstrate proficiency on the AP GIS&T exam.

High school principals and academic department chairpersons are invited to consider adding their institution to the list of AP GIS&T supporters by completing the brief attestation form at www.apgist.org. Please consider submitting an attestation by October 1, 2016.

Have questions about AP GIS&T? Contact the AAG at ap_gist@aag.org.

Source: apgist.org

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