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GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Supporting geography educators everywhere with current digital resources.

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Story Map Swipe and Spyglass Gallery

“The Story Map Swipe and Spyglass app template enables users to interact with two web maps or two layers of a single web map, depending on how you build your story. The app enables you to present a single view, or to develop a narrative showing a series of locations or views of the same maps.”

Source: storymaps.arcgis.com

The ESRI template to create swipe and spyglass feature is an engaging way to compare and contrast two data layers. For the SPYGLASS maps, I’ve always enjoyed this historical interactive of Chicago. Chicago is displaced during a economic boom period as the U.S. was expanding westward.  Where were the railroads located then?  Why have some of them vanished today?  Notice anything curious about the coastline along Lake Michigan?  Follow this link to see similar interactives of other major U.S. cities.

For the SWIPE maps, I love exploring this one showing how human activities has reshaped the physical environment.  What activities are creating the new patterns that you see?

 

Tags: historical, mapping, ESRI, StoryMap.

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Hong Kong’s ‘coffin homes’ reveal a housing crisis

A shortage of developable land have pushed Hong Kong’s housing prices skyward, leading some to live in spaces the size of closets.

Source: www.businessinsider.com

Overpopulation doesn’t feel like a serious issue when you live in a land characterized by wide open spaces, but in some densely settled urban centers, the issues become quite personal.  Hong Kong is currently facing a housing shortage. This article nicely explains the difficulties that living in the so-called coffin homes makes for the residents.  This photo gallery humanizes this difficult living condition.

 

Tags: housing, urban, place, neighborhood, spatial, density, planning, density, urbanism.

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Strava Heat Map and National Security

A fitness tracking app and national security don’t seem to be connected, and yet this month, the Pentagon has spent serious time discussing how to mitigate the impact Strava’s global data set being post online. Strava’s global heatmap (an absolute thing of beauty, trust me) has been used to highlight some fantastic spatial exercise patterns by helping users to visualize big data.

Salt-Lake-City-Tilt
Strava Heatmap reveals Salt Lake County’s ski slopes

Running, cycling, and urban-planning-related media outlets all were excited in November 2017 about this amazingly data-driven, and yet artistically-rendered map. It wasn’t until a single tweet changed that paradigm:

screen shot 2018-01-29 at 24719 pm.png

U.S. bases near Mosul, Iraq stand out on the heatmap. U.S. soldiers are more likely to use the social media fitness/mapping app than Iraqi nationals—that contrast makes the data that is not user-specific, still far more revealing than would make Pentagon officials pleased. The Strava CEO had to release a statement highlighting their commitment to user’s privacy, etc. etc. but the clearly this was an unintended consequence of the project. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the platform and post my data there (Social Media + Running + Mapping = My Wheelhouse), but like all things, it is not without some drawbacks and limitations. The NY Times video below gives a good summary of the situation, with like images for students to tangibly see what is going on:

Geospatial intelligence is a knife that cuts both ways. We must consider all the possible ramifications of what might happen as we repackage, render and display geographic information (read the full twitter thread for more maps that reveal military bases).

Questions to Ponder: What are three discernible patterns that you can identify by analyzing the Strava Heatmap? What does this particular case study show for cartographers and others interesting in creating spatial information? What does this say for regular people now fully immersed in the midst of a geospatial revolution?

TweetGrab

Source: geographyeducation.org

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GeoSettr

In May 2013, GeoGuessr came online and quickly became a favorite quiz game of geo-enthusiasts.  Using 5 random locations in Google Street View.  The game player can search the area in Street View and then make a guess as to where it is on the map.  Using GeoSettr, you can create your own GeoGuessr challenge by choosing five locations on Google Street View.

Source: geosettr.ml

You can customize your own GeoGuessr quizzes now, as others pan and zoom in the StreetView to explore the landscape you selected and find more context clues as to where that location is.  Try my sample quiz that I made based on these 5 clues.   

  1. The best place to get clam cakes and doughboys in RI
  2. My hometown is home to this center of athletic excellence
  3. This monument was a part of my research in this Latin American city
  4. This is where I went to school to get my Ph.D.
  5. Home to the movie “Close Encounters,” this National Monument has always fascinated me.  

Tags: landscape, place, trivia.

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How Does the U.S. Census Bureau Define Rural?

“The U.S. Census Bureau has designed a multimedia application experience, a story map, called ‘Rural America: How Does the U.S. Census Bureau Define Rural?’ This story map contains interactive web maps, tables, information, and images to help explain how the Census Bureau defines ‘rural.’ Many rural communities rely on American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, rather than ACS 1-year estimates, because of population thresholds. This story map helps data users understand the history and definition of ‘rural.’ Watch this video and then visit the story map to learn more.” Visit the Story Map: http://go.usa.gov/x8yPZ  

Source: www.youtube.com

Census geography brings statistical data to life as seen in their newly designed interactive story map, called “Rural America: How Does the U.S. Census Bureau Define ‘Rural?” Not only does this story map helps explain how the Census Bureau defines rural, but it displays some fantastic data that helps students to explore rural America.  Many APHG teachers refer to unit 5 as the “ag unit” but the full title, Agriculture, food production, and rural land use, certainly does highlight why this can be a valuable resource.  

 

Tags: rural, census, regions, mapping, ESRI, StoryMap.

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How Instagram Is Changing the Way We Design Cultural Spaces

“As neighborhoods, restaurants and museums become more photogenic, are we experiencing an ‘Instagramization’ of the world?”

 

Penang is one of a number of cities capitalizing on the wild popularity of photo-based social media apps such as Instagram, which has 800 million users (that’s more than a tenth of the world’s population). It’s part of a wider phenomenon of public and private spaces being designed to appeal to users of such apps. This phenomenon is subtly changing our visual landscapes—on the streets, in restaurants, in stores, in museums and more. Call it the “Instagramization” of the world.

Restaurants have been at the forefront of Instagramization. Since social media mentions can make or break a restaurant’s success, owners have become attuned to what visual aspects of food and décor appeal to customers. Restaurant designers are going for photo-friendly background materials like slate and whitewashed wood, and using plain white plates. Some are deliberately incorporating Instagram-appealing visuals that feature the restaurant’s name or logo—floor tiles, neon signs—hoping they’ll wind up in a snap.

 

Tags:  social media, place, culture, architecture, urban.

Source: www.smithsonianmag.com

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Geography undervalued in understanding of world

Improving skills in ­literacy and numeracy are vitally important components of school education. But it is wrong to assume that these can only be achieved by teaching English and Mathematics respectively. Many other subjects can and do teach these skills using real life examples. Geography is one of these ­subjects. Articulating orally and in writing one’s understanding of the world is one sure way of increasing literacy. Collecting, analysing and using information about the world increases ­students’ numeracy, and gives them a better grounding as ­citizens and future employees. But geography is much more than this. Surely we should aspire to our children and ­grandchildren having a greater understanding of their world: what is happening around them, ­analysing the causes and ­assessing solutions?”

Source: www.scotsman.com

I know that understanding the importance of geography is nothing new to my readers, but I am gathering articles that are useful to share with administrators and colleagues in the fight against geographic ignorance.  One this site I’ve tagged these articles under tag “geography matters.”  

 

Tags: education, K12, geography education, geography matters.

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Borders and the Arctic Ocean

The ice in the Arctic is disappearing. Melting Arctic ice means new economic opportunities: trade routes in the Arctic ocean, and access to natural resources. Because of this, the Arctic nations are now moving to expand their border claims. Russia has shown that it’s the most ambitious, using a potent combination of soft power and military buildup to advance its agenda. They’ve said the Arctic is rightfully theirs.

Source: www.youtube.com

This video is the second video in “Vox borders” series that is shaping up to be an excellent resources for geography educators.  This focus is on Svalbard and Russia’s designs within the Arctic, but this TestTube episode is a shorter version that emphasizes how receding summer ice is being seen as an economic opportunity for all maritime claims in the Arctic.  Canada, the U.S., Russia, and Denmark (Greenland) all are subtly expanding their maritime claims.

 

Questions to Ponder: How do borders impact the develop/preservation of the Arctic?  How should uninhabited lands and waters be administered politically?

 

 

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Bad Internet Maps: ‘A Social Media Plague’

“Business Insider’s widely mocked, since-deleted-from-Twitter, but very very viral map of the most popular fast food restaurants by state is the launching-off point for The Ringer’s Claire McNear, who rants about the maps clogging the Internet that are stupid, uninformed, wrong and exist only to generate clicks.”

 

Tags: mapping, social media, cartography.

Source: www.maproomblog.com

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