Andy Funnell has done a great job of collating a whole range of GIS tools into one place "for busy teachers" - and others.
It's called QuickGIS and is a Wordpress site that he has put together for the benefit of everyone.
Maps are shown in a series of categories.
A quick browse reveals some useful ones for teachers of all key stages. The 'Environment and Resources' tab for example takes you to various viewers and maps to explore ecosystems.
This ecoregions map is new to me, for example.
Joseph Kerski shared a useful set of data layers on water.
It is called the World Water Map.
Details of the data and the initiative that led to its creation can be read about here.
Each year we extract 4,000 cubic kilometers of water, eight times more than a century ago. We consume it in kitchens and bathrooms, factories and power plants; we use it to irrigate our crops. Growing populations and aspirations drive a growing demand for water.Scroll down the page to reveal more detail on our water use and the water gaps that are opening up in some places.
The result is a water gap in an increasing number of places. Humans are using more water than the water cycle can provide, and so we deplete shallow aquifers, and may need to tap into deep ones that will not be renewed in our lifetime. In the process we threaten not only our own health, peace, and well-being, but also the health of ecosystems and wildlife.
Joseph shares how you might make use of this resource to explore water security.
Back in 2011, I became aware of Jerry's work to create a massive map based on imagination. Dan Raven Ellison sent me a link to a Vimeo film.
Over 60 years ago, in 1963, Jerry drew a map of his fictional city Wybourne on a piece of A4 paper.
When it was complete, he continued on more pieces of paper, sticking them all together to create a whole new world. When the map got really big, Jerry started to revise it, using aprocess involving a pack of cards to decidewhat amends should be made. In 1983 he put it in the attic and stopped making it, until it was discovered by his son.
In 2011, I was able to contact Jerry and he provided me with some answers to some questions which ended up in GA Magazine - that section is shown to the right here from the Spring 2012 issue. Inspired by the map, I purchased a piece of the map on eBay. Jerry was selling off pieces back then to fund the map's development.
They returned in 2014 and now you can buy some pieces of his generative art.
Earlier today, I saw that Keir Clarke on the wonderful Google Maps Mania blog had shared a new rendering of Jerry's map as an interactive map.
Jerry's Map consists of more than 4,000 individual 8-by-10-inch panels arranged in a giant circular formation. Together they form a sprawling imaginary world that sits somewhere between a city plan, an abstract artwork, and a living organism.
It's been made with Leaflet. Pan and zoom....
Watch the video of Jerry here.
I've been sharing World Cup stories as we get ready for the tournament that starts later today. There are mixed fortunes for the hosts and those who want to go and pay extortionate amounts to view matches... they're being shown on the telly you know...
Here are some GIS and data-related resources.
Brendan Conway has shared some GIS Maps ahead of the tournament which may be of interest to people.
First up.
The #WorldCup2026 is geographically the most extensive ever:
Andy Funnell meanwhile posted this over on LinkedIn.
The FIFA World Cup will soon be upon us, which means I'm back to loading up the GIS maps from the CIES Football Observatory to fuel geographical debates in the classroom.
