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GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Supporting geography educators everywhere with current digital resources.

Magical Composites with an “Earth View”


When I embraced the medium of photography, I felt that taking a picture that represented only what was within the frame of the lens wasn’t expressing my personal and inner experience of the world around me.

This whimsical photography creates a fantastic visualization of what a miniaturized planet (such as those portrayed in the classic book The Little Prince) might look like in the mind’s eye.
See on www.featureshoot.com

Israel and Palestine

Hey friends-it’s time to stop saying, “It’s too complicated!” Watch this Jewish Voice for Peace 6 minute mini-primer. about why Israelis and Palestinians are fighting..

This video from the Jewish Voice for Peace has a more politically motivated angle than most of the resources that I post on this site, but I feel that they do justice to both sides as well as the truth.  In a simple way it lays out the roots of many of the problems in the region with historic and geographic perspectives.
See on www.youtube.com

Cartography And Conflict

A newly issued Chinese passport featuring a map that lays claim to disputed territory with several neighboring countries is only the latest case of cartographic aggression.

“Maps, like statistics, can lie — or at least tell only one side of the story. As often as not, they can belie the level of actual governmental control or the ethnic and social realities on the ground. And competing views over ‘who owns what’ invariably fuel nationalistic fervor.”

See on www.npr.org

Human Conflict Seen From Space

I’ll let Douglas Keeney’s own words and this image speak for themselves: “The geography of human conflict as seen from space at night. The Strait of Hormuz as seen at night from the space station is a beautiful lesson in the geography of conflict. How much we learn by simply tracing the fingers of human populations as seen superimposed over the geography of Earth. Enjoy.”

-From Lights of Mankind: Earth at Night From Space

See on twitpic.com

Additionally on this topic, what would a picture look like from a drone’s perspective?  Where are these places that are being targeted?  This Instagram account is incredibly thought-provoking and informative.

Geography and the Common Core

In 2010, most states in the United States (including Rhode Island) adopted the Common Core State Standards as the new standards.   The two main portions of the Common Core Standards are the English…

Will geography be permanently pushed out of the curriculum with the adoption of the Common Core?  How can a teacher bolster spatial thinking and geo-literacy within the Common Core framework?  If you’ve asked yourself these questions, this resource is for you.

See on rigea.org

CommonCoreMap

Climate Change Video Guide

An in-depth, multimedia look at climate change, its global impact, and efforts to combat it.

This guide on climate change from the Council on Foreign Relations (independent think tank) covers many of the geopolitical, economic and environmental issues that confront the Earth as global temperatures rise.  Rather than produce a full length feature film, they have organized the this as an interactive video, allowing the user to get short (a couple of minutes) answer to specific questions about the science, foreign policy or economic ramifications of adapting to climate change.

Tags: climate change, environmental adaption, economic, industry.

See on www.cfr.org

Global food crisis

Climate change, changing diets and a growing global population has pushed food security to the top of the international agenda.

Food problems are fundamentally geographic.  Understanding local economics, agriculture and development all play a critical role.  This interactive media guide highlights where these issues are the most problematic. 

See on www.guardian.co.uk

Guerrilla Cartographers Put Global Food Stats On The Map

The mapmakers have amassed some 80 maps for Food: An Atlas, ranging from surplus in Northeast Italy to meat production in Maryland. The goal is to spread information about various food systems so they can be adapted locally.

Social media is enhancing digital cooperation to enable some intriguing grass-roots projects such as this one. 

Tags: food, agriculture, mapping.

See on www.npr.org

Chinese passport map causes diplomatic dispute

Experts warn that China’s apparent claims to other territories could have a long-term impact on relations with its neighbours…

Many people assume oftentimes that a map merely reflects reality.  In this passport map, China is flexing it’s regional muscles, trying to reinforce their territorial claims as legitimate.  Not surprisingly, their neighbors with competing claims are angered, calling this map dimplomatically “unacceptable.”  Some look at this map and dismiss it as a glorified watermark.  What you you think the sub-text this maps is?  You can find another article on this topic in the Washington Post

Tags: cartography, China, borders

See on www.guardian.co.uk

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