GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

GeoInquiries for Human Geography

“GeoInquiries are designed to be fast and easy-to-use instructional resources that incorporate advanced web mapping technology. Each 15-minute activity in a collection is intended to be presented by the instructor from a single computer/projector classroom arrangement. No installation, fees, or logins are necessary to use these materials and software.”

Source: geographyeducation.org

ESRI has produced GeoInquires for Earth Science, History and now AP Human Geography. If you try out an APHG GeoInquiry, please take a moment or two to give the folks at ESRI some feedback (a free book from ESRI for the first reviewers). They are especially looking for reviewers for the GeoInquiries for 1) Distance, transportation, and scale 2) USA Demographics and 3) Agricultural Patterns. If can get a free ESRI book for your time by assisting them in refining these educational resources.

Tags: mapping, geospatial, ESRI, APHG.

January 13, 2016 0

Timeline of the Breakup of Yugoslavia

Map animation depicting the break up of Yugoslavia through the series of political upheavals and conflicts that occurred from the early 1990’s onwards. Different areas of control are colour coded.

Tags: devolution, historical, political, states, borders, political.

Source: www.youtube.com

January 13, 2016 0

Indonesia on Fire

“In Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan province, the peat areas are burning and emitting a toxic smoke causing untold damage to the environment, wildlife and human health. Most of the fires in Central Kalimantan are blazing in former peatland forests, which have been drained, cleared and burned for oil palm and agriculture, large and small. The dried-out peat ignites easily, burns underground and creeps under the surface. Experts from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) travel to the heart of the fires to see the situation with their own eyes and measure the extent of the impact.”
More information please visit: http://blog.cifor.org/fire

Source: www.youtube.com

Extreme forest and peat burning in Indonesia has released over three times the annual fossil fuel emissions of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Indonesia, environment, consumption, SouthEastAsia.

January 13, 2016 0

An Atlas of the Vikings

“Scandinavia’s history has always been shaped by its geography and orientation to the sea. The shortage of good farmland in Scandinavia on the whole, however, compelled the Vikings to journey outward. Thus, the sea became an omnipresent part of life. Not only did the barrenness of the soil make the sea an important source of food, but the region’s terrain made water the easier mode of travel for the thinly scattered populations of Scandinavia.”

Source: rigea.maps.arcgis.com

A student of mine produced this excellent Story Map after being inspired by the History Channel’s TV show, Vikings. History is so often shaped by geographic factors and better understood with maps.

Tags: mapping, historical, StoryMap, ESRI, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway.

January 12, 2016 0

Cross-Canada route severed after Northern Ontario bridge splits apart

A newly constructed bridge in northern Ontario has heaved apart, indefinitely closing the Trans-Canada highway — the only road connecting Eastern and Western Canada. At least one town has declared a state of emergency.

Source: www.cbc.ca

One bridge going down isn’t noteworthy, but when that functionally separates Canada in two…that IS noteworthy. A detour into the U.S. and around some Great Lakes is one heckuva detour.

Tags: transportation, Canada.

January 11, 2016 0

Gender Equality Activists in the Muslim World

In a time where interfaith and cultural and religious diversity are scrutinized and need support, Raheel Raza is a force to be reckoned with. Her outspoken and strong opinions on Muslim society and Islamic beliefs have been groundbreaking and inspiring; however others consider them to be a source of criticism and condemnation. Yet Raza remains undeterred in her fight against gender prejudices and her mission to improve the female position in Islamic society continues.

Source: www.youtube.com

Islamophobia is a real problem today and I teach to reduce geographic ignorance and fears about an unknown ‘other.’ That has also created an environment where many–myself included–are hesitant to shine the light on issues of gender equity and other cultural problems in the Muslim world for fear of it entrenching students with bigoted viewpoints to cling to them all the more firmly. Also, many are worried that critiques will also be perceived as Islamophobia. Recently the Swedish foreign minister called out Saudi Arabia’s legal restraints on women–some called this Islamophobic, Saudi Arabia removed its Swedish ambassador and stop issuing visas to relative silence from the global media and no support from the international community.

We cannot lay the blame on an entire society/religion based on the actions of a few, but it would be disingenuous to pretend there were no problems. As Raheel Raza says, “culture is no excuse for abuse.” The linked videos are one Muslim woman’s critique on some cultural aspects within some Muslim societies. This is not to say that these problems are only in the Muslim world, nor does it means that the all Muslims live in or want to create oppressive societies–far from it. There is great, rich diversity of thought, opinions, and interpretations among Muslims.

Tags: gender, Islam, TED.

January 11, 2016 0

Lessons from New Zealand’s disappointing (and now complete) flag referendum

New Zealanders finally completed voting in their flag referendum, but the results may be disappointing. PRI’s vexillology expert looks at what’s right — and mostly what’s wrong — about this proposal.

Source: www.pri.org

Vexillogist: someone nerdy enough about flags to know that vexillogy is the study of flags. As national symbols, they matter and changing a national icon is no small matter.

Tags: Flags, New Zealand.

January 10, 2016 0

Ten Ways on How Not To Think About the Iran/Saudi Conflict

“Sometimes when a conflict involves Muslims, Islam may not be the best category for understanding it. Omid Safi with a reflection on the current crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and why framing it as religion is not the most helpful framework.”

In the last few days, virtually every news outlet has featured a series of stories on the rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The conflict by now is well-known: Saudi Arabia executed 47 people, including Shi‘i cleric Nimr al-Nimr. While both Iran and Saudi Arabia are among the worst global executioners of dissidents, the sheer size of these executions was rare even by their gruesome standards. Iran retaliated through bombastic rhetoric, stating, “God’s hand of retaliation will grip the neck of Saudi politicians.” The two countries have broken off diplomatic relations, a tension that has rippled across the region.

Tags: Saudi Arabia, political, confl ict, Iran, Middle East.

Source: www.onbeing.org

This is a good reminder that the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran is not just a Persian/Arab, Sunni/Shiite issue. This isn’t just some resurgence of an ancient battle but there are many modern geopolitical issues including oil and regional rivalries.

January 10, 2016 0