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GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Supporting geography educators everywhere with current digital resources.

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NASA and the World Cup

“NASA goes to the World Cup! Satellite imagery from each country playing.”

Source: www.arcgis.com

Not that we need any extra incentive to view NASA’s gorgeous satellite imagery, but now that the World Cup has entered the knockout rounds, it is the perfect opportunity to view selected images from the participating countries.  This gallery of a dozen World Cup StoryMaps are but a few of the thousands of Esri StoryMaps that can serve as motivation to get your K-12 U.S. school an organizational account for ArcGIS online (then your students can make cool maps like these). 


Tags: sport, Brazil, South America, Esri, fun, mapping, remote sensing, geospatial, images, perspective.

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The Language of Maps Kids Should Know

The vocabulary and concepts of maps kids should learn to enhance their map-skills & geography awareness. Concise definitions with clear illustrations.

Source: kidworldcitizen.org

I really like this article because it briefly shares the language needed for students to able to successfully use maps in the classroom…plus it’s highly adaptable for virtually any grade level.   


Tags: mapping, K12, scale, location.

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Beijing’s Facelift

“A government-initiated redevelopment plan will transform one of the oldest neighborhoods in Beijing into a polished tourist attraction.”

Source: www.youtube.com

This 2010 video (and related article) showcases one of China’s urban transformation projects.  Urban revitalization plans are not without critics, especially those who see the cultural transformation of a neighborhood they deem worthy of historical preservation.  This process is occurring all over the world (we’ve recently seen this in Brazil as they were preparing for the World Cup).  This is one of the videos that I’ve put into my interactive map with over 65 geography videos to share in the classroom.
 
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Developing World Cities and Population Density

Without a question, we are living in an urban era. More people now live in cities than anywhere else on the planet and I’ve repeatedly argued that cities are our most important economic engine. As a result of these shifts, we’re seeing megacities at a scale the world has never seen before.

Source: sustainablecitiescollective.com

As our cities have massively expanded in the last 70 years, so has the ecological footprint of these metropolitan areas.  This article discusses some of the challenges confronting megacities and their functions within the global urban network. 

Tags: sustainability, density, megacities, housing, urban, planning, unit 7 cities. 

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China’s territorial claims

One of the geography videos embedded in this interactive map: http://bit.ly/KDY6C2

Source: www.youtube.com

Suspicions between the People’s Republic of China and its neighbors bedevil its boundaries to the east, south and west as shown in this videographic from the Economist.  This is one of the videos that I’ve put into my interactive map with over 65 geography videos to share in the classroom

Tags: borders, political, conflict, water, China, East Asia.

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America’s recent drought history, animated

“California’s drought just hit a new milestone: As of this week, 32.98 percent of the state is experiencing “exceptional” drought, making it the worst drought in the 14 years that the Department of Agriculture’s Drought Monitor has tracked data.”

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The recent drought in California has only deepened and this Washington Post article shows an animated map that highlights the temporal and spatial patterns in the drought data (hint–it’s not pretty).  In a related note, May 2014 was the hottest May in recorded history.     

Questions to Consider: What are some reasons (both from human and physical geography) for this severe drought? What can be done in the short-term to lessen the problem? What can be done to make California’s water situation better for the next 50 years?

Tags: physical, weather and climate, consumption, California, water, environment, resources, environment depend, urban ecology.

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Observations from the 2014 APHG Reading

Once again the AP Human Geography reading was a success. I still firmly believe that this group pf 500+ teachers and professors have GOT to be the most extraordinary and interesting people than any…

Source: www.thehumanimprint.com

This article (with an outstanding infographic) from the Human Imprint is an excellent summary of the AP Human Geography reading and gives some valuable insights to prepare students to pass the exam.  This is well worth the read for any APHG teacher.    


Tags: APHG, infographic.

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Malaysia’s ‘Allah’ controversy

Is limiting the use of the Arabic word for God a sign of growing intolerance towards minorities?

Source: stream.aljazeera.com

In Arabic, the word Allah means God.  Christian Arabs refer to God as Allah and Arabic versions of the Bible reference Allah.  As Arabic and Islam have diffused in interwoven patterns, the linguistic root and the theological meanings have became intertwined to some.  BBC World and Al-Jazeera have reported on this issue as the Malaysian government has attempted to ban the use of the word Allah to any non-Muslim religious group.  Language and religion just got very political.  

Tags: language, religion, political, Malaysia, SouthEastAsia, culture, Islam.

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Lies Your World Map Told You: 5 Ways You’re Being Misled

“Unfortunately, most world political maps aren’t telling you the whole story. The idea that the earth’s land is cleanly divvied up into nation-states – one country for each of the world’s peoples – is more an imaginative ideal than a reality. Read on to learn about five ways your map is lying to you about borders, territories, and even the roster of the world’s countries.”

Source: www.polgeonow.com

This is a nice article to get students to look past the officialness of a world map to explore some of the complexities that make contemporary political geography so compelling.  In a nutshell, this article discusses 5 major themes:

  1. Missing countries
  2. Incomplete control
  3. Undefined borders
  4. Disputed territories
  5. Territorial seas

Tags: borders, mapping, political, territoriality, sovereignty.

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