New Google Earth Tours

Via GE Blog
Apparently 100 000 new tours...

New Year, New Geography

Happy New Year everyone - after 10 days away, I'm now firmly back in the room....

Join me on the 8th of January at 7pm for a VITAL CPD Teachshare, the first of the new year...
New Year New Geography

It's a chance to look ahead to what you have planned, and what might happen in the world of Geography.

I'll be previewing 13 of the things that I'm planning to get up to in 2013, and some opportunities for everyone to get involved...

1. Why not start a 365 project (if you're reading this before the first few weeks of the year are over you have chance to catch up...
I'll talk about my 365 projects past and future...
This year, I'm going to carry on Blipping, and also do a literacy blog at GeoLibrary 2013
I'm also going to be opening the archives (see previous blog post on that ) and have also created some new Pinterest boards to hold those images.

2. Blogging
I'm going to be hopefully breaking through the 5000 post barrier on LivingGeography.... and heading towards a million viewers....

3. Project 1
I USE Stats in Education is underway, and I will be going to Europe at least twice this year, and also spending time creating resources and sharing them as widely as possible. The theme is statistical literacy, which is of great relevance to geography, although this is a project that has relevance across the curriculum.
I'll also continue to be involved in another EU project called digitalearth. The first course, in Salzburg at the end of February is confirmed, and I am also going to Stockholm and Helsinki at the start of February too.

4. The Geography Collective
We're going to have a fairly big year this year. Watch this blog for more details as they emerge...

5. Writing
I am going to be writing another couple of books (at least) this year for a number of publishers, including Collins. I'm looking forward to it... More details here as they emerge - I still have a few contracts to sign. You still have chance to spend your Christmas book tokens on the books I wrote last year. I've also got an idea for another book that I'm writing a proposal for at the moment...

6. CPD
I am going to be working with OSIRIS for the first time, and also leading several courses for the GA as always. I'll be visiting various universities, CPD courses, schools (including Charterhouse) and doing the Independent Schools' conference in Oxford in March. I'm also heading for several cities. I still have plenty of space in my diary (at the moment) so get in touch If you'd like me to work with you...

7. Still High and Dry
Since I was asked to do my GA lecture on flooding last year it hasn't stopped raining and there's certainly few subjects that are more topical at the moment. If you have a good flood story, get in touch and I can squeeze it in there...

8. VITAL Work continues...
I shall be creating materials for the VITAL Geography portal until at least the end of March. The portals are continuing beyond then, but looking forward to continuing this strand of support for colleagues. There were some special codes tweeted by Peter Twining over the Christmas and New Year period for free access. These might still be live....

9. Discovering the World
I have been working on a booklet for Discover the World with John Sayers, Helen Steer and Tom Morgan Jones. It's coming soon....

10. Personal Development
This is the 6th year I will have been a Chartered Geographer. This is coordinated by the Royal Geographical Society. As part of the deal, I have to submit a CPD log which means I need to evidence my involvement in CPD: my own as well other people's. To that end, there are a few things I've got pencilled in to develop my own practice...

11. Photography
As well as my Blipoto album, I'm going to try and reach a total of 10 000 pictures shared on my Flickr account this year.

12. I'm going to get out more, and do more cycling....

13. Winds of Change
Fingers crossed that we won't be unlucky in bidding for a big project that could see me working (almost) full time for a year on a major science-based project involving real-world data.... I'll let you know if and when that happens...There's also a big project bid in

Join me over on Living Geography to read it all - don't forget to subscribe to / follow the blog... or follow me on Twitter: @GeoBlogs

Atlas of Urban Expansion - thousands of Google Earth resources...

The Atlas of Urban Expansion has been produced by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in the USA.

As well as the main maps, text and illustrations which form part of the resource, there are also some useful GIS materials.

The site describes itself as follows:

Massive urbanization, accompanied by the rapid expansion of cities and metropolitan regions and the sprawling growth of megacities the world over, is one of the most important transformations of our planet. Much of this explosive growth has been unplanned. Cities in developing countries have been unprepared for absorbing the many millions of the rural poor that are still crowding into informal settlements. These cities are now scheduled to double their urban population in the next thirty years, and possibly triple the land area. And while in industrialized countries the great transformation into an urban society is largely completed, there are growing concerns about continuing low-density sprawl and its deleterious environmental consequences - the effects on carbon emissions, energy use, and the loss of prime agricultural lands. Urban expansion, in short, is now a global concern.

The Atlas of Urban Expansion provides the geographic and quantitative dimensions of urban expansion and its key attributes in cities the world over. The data and images are available for free downloading, for scholars, public officials, planners, those engaged in international development, and concerned citizens. The global empirical evidence presented here is critical for an intelligent discussion of plans and policies to manage urban expansion everywhere.

One particularly important element of the resource is the area of FREE GIS DOWNLOADS.

These are files in various formats, including ESRI Shapefiles which have been zipped up. There are maps and other resources which relate to a total of over 100 cities around the world.

There is also a section of GOOGLE EARTH materials which would be of use to anyone exploring urban areas, with data on over 3000 cities !

Noel's Sketch-Up tricks...

A new post on Digital Geography from Noel Jenkins...

Great ideas for simplifying the use of Sketch-Up models in the classroom.

Google Mapping news

An interesting Guardian article about the efforts of Google to update their maps.
Some useful links here too, including this image.

Ocean Acidification Tour

A useful GOOGLE EARTH TOUR which explores the issue of ocean acidification, something which I have been involved with writing about for the Digital Explorer website (see other recent posts)



It was created and shared at a recent conference.

GA Google Earth courses repeated...

The Google Earth and beyond courses that I have been running for the GA are to be repeated next year.
For full details visit the GA website.

The dates are:

Birmingham - Thursday 23 May 2013
London - Thursday 20 June 2013

They will feature a larger dollop of ArcGIS Explorer Online as I am going to be doing some work with ESRI UK in the next few months.

There is also going to be more integration with GE Graph as I've had a chance to develop that a little further since the first iteration of the courses....

Book now to secure a place...

Google Earth 7

On Monday, up in Aberdeen, I led a number of Google Earth training sessions for teachers from across the NE region. One of the things that I said was that Google Earth regularly update their software and add new features. I suggested signing up to the Google Sightseer Newsletter.

Thanks to Rich Allaway for the first tip-off to the fact that we are now at Google Earth 7.

New features and new imagery....
More resources from my Aberdeen session will appear here shortly...

SkyFall Google Maps promotional game...

This is the trailer for a nice interactive game. It involves looking at Google Earth place marks and other sources to find the answers to clues. It's intended as a tourist promotion, but it's nicely done...

Go HERE to sign up as an agent and try your luck... Can you beat AGENT PARKINSON....

Thanks to 'Miss Moneypenny' at the GA for the tipoff...

Aberdeen Google Earth Day

As well as the GA course on Google Earth and Free GIS that I am leading in London on the 25th, I shall be running two sessions in Aberdeen on the 29th of October
These are on Free GIS in the classroom, and the context for them is the arrival of new qualifications for schools in Scotland called National 5.

I'll be showing some opportunities for using some free GIS tools, and also showing the Digimap for Schools resources that I produced.
It follows on from the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers conference, where I will be leading a workshop which looks at the materials that I produced for using Digimap for Schools.

The context for my workshop at SAGT is the Disney-Pixar film 'BRAVE' which obviously has a strong connection with Scotland, and also with its landscape.

The materials will be able to download after the event...

Google Imagery Update

Thanks to the GA for the link to details of a major Google Street View / Maps update....

Today we’re making our Street View coverage more comprehensive than ever before by launching our biggest ever update--doubling our number of special collections and updating over 250,000 miles of roads around the world. 

We’re increasing Street View coverage in Macau, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Canada. And we’re launching special collections in South Africa, Japan, Spain, France, Brazil and Mexico, among others. 

You can explore our many new places directly in Google Maps, including parks, city centers, castles and tourist attractions like Catherine Palace and Ferapontov monastery in Russia, theChiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taiwan, or Stanley Park in Vancouver. You can even walk through the urban jungle of Singapore's Fort Canning Park, without ever leaving home. 

GA CPD Course: Google Earth and beyond

A chance to explore some of the free GIS tools that are out there....

Join me in London on the 25th of October.

GIS is a requirement from KS3 upwards and many schools are looking for ideas and guidance on which software to use and how to embed it within the curriculum.

This practical course, with some short theory sessions, will give you several options for working with geographical information to explore patterns, tell stories, investigate change and help students to geo-locate data.

A short piece of Mission:Explore-style experiential fieldwork will also form part of the day, which will provide opportunities to map data collected in the field. There will also be a chance to consider how mobile devices can be used to facilitate learning.

You will leave with a pack of useful materials and access to an extensive folder of materials online. 

Ongoing support will be provided via a blog - this blog....

Delegate reviews of similar courses

'Great hands-on and practical course, perfect to get started.'

'Very informative with lots of ideas'

Prices

Registration fees include all course materials, refreshments and lunch.

London

GA Personal/Group/Concessionary Member: £180
New Member Package*: £279
Non-member: £300

*Includes course fee and one year's GA membership for your school.

Aims and outcomes

• Update your knowledge of latest GIS and visualisation resources, including free software and web tools as well as GIS on mobile devices
• Introduce some advanced ideas for using Google Earth for classroom and fieldwork activities
• Introduce ArcGIS Explorer Online as a tool for visualising data and telling stories
• Provide opportunities to trial some subscription GIS services including Digimap for Schools
• Explore ways of embedding GIS within the curriculum

Course programme

You should bring your own laptop and some preparation will be required before the course to ensure that particular pieces of software are installed and that free accounts have been created - further information will be provided nearer the time.

09.00-09.30: Coffee and registration

09.30-11.00: Practical Session 1 - The difference between GIS and Visualisation

• Google Earth - the killer app for geography teachers

11.00-11.15: Refreshment break

11.15-12.45: Practical Session 2 - Going beyond Google Earth

• Activities involving a short field trip and the use of mobile devices

12.45-13.30: Lunch

13.30-15.30: Practical Session 3: Embedding GIS in the curriculum

• ArcGIS Explorer Online - mapping earthquake data, and sourcing data online
• Ideas for future fieldwork back in school 
• Discussion on networks and further support

15.30: Close

Dole Earth...

While at Dusseldorf airport a few days ago,  I ate a banana.
I noticed that it had a sticker on it.
I visited the website that was mentioned and discovered a rather fine resource for geography teachers which could also make a good cross-curricular MFL project in schools where German is used as a language. Just remember to turn off the browser translation settings...

Dole Earth takes you to the farms where the bananas are grown.
My banana was grown on farm number 10265 so in the absence of a banana, use that code.
Some good GOOGLE EARTH / Street View type resources to explore

Visit the website and you'll find a rather nice farm tour with ambient sounds and plenty of useful information.

ICT Toolkit books

Preparing some resources for the course on Geomedia in Salzburg that I am leading next week.

You still have chance to get funding to join me for a repeat of the course in February 2013, and the course is likely to run several times during 2013 - I'd love to see lots of you there... you can get your fees, accommodation and travel paid for.

I'm going to be using several activities from two books which I edited, and were published in April this year.

You really need to have a copy of these books in your departmental library.
They have been selling well, and getting good feedback from users.
You can order them from the GA shop - click to follow the link, and remember that GA members get a discount on purchases, and free P&P

Multimedia made Easy by Paul Cornish

GIS made Easy by Bob Lang

Plenty of Google Earth ideas in both books !!

Google GA CPD Courses 2012-13

The latest GA courses for the new academic year have now been published and are on the GA WEBSITE.

The courses in red are the ones I am leading. Look forward to seeing some of you there...

You can download further information and a course flyer from the links. Feel free to use these with colleagues.

Leading urban fieldwork

For primary teachers and geography subject leaders

London - Tuesday 16 October 2012
Manchester - Monday 22 October 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Primary geography for the non-specialist

For non-specialist primary teachers, including those who may be taking on the subject responsibility within their school

Birmingham - Wednesday 17 October 2012
London - Wednesday 7 November 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Leading a successful geography department

For current and aspiring secondary geography subject leaders

Birmingham - Thursday 18 October 2012
London - Friday 19 October 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

Google Earth and beyond: free online GIS

For secondary geography teachers

Leeds - Thursday 18 October 2012
London - Thursday 25 October 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

Planning for Ofsted with the Quality Mark Self Evaluation Form

For secondary and post-16 geography teachers and subject leaders

London - Tuesday 23 October 2012
Birmingham - Friday 30 November 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

NQT Conference: Making a difference in the classroom

For secondary geography NQTs

York - Thursday 8 November 2012
London - Thursday 15 November 2012

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

Outstanding teaching and learning in primary geography

For primary teachers and subject co-ordinators

Manchester - Monday 28 January 2013
York - Monday 4 March 2013
London - Friday 15 March 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Managing safe and effective fieldwork for IGCSE geography

For secondary geography teachers involved in delivering the new IGCSE

Leeds - Monday 4 February 2013
London - Tuesday 5 February 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £160

Being Ofsted ready with the PGQM

For primary geography subject leaders, middle leaders and head teachers

London - Tuesday 5 March 2013
Nottingham - Monday 11 March 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150

Fieldwork and new technologies

For post-16 geography teachers

Birmingham - Thursday 7 March 2013
London - Thursday 14 March 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer 

Price: From £160

Leading through primary geography

For primary teachers and geography subject leaders

Birmingham - Friday 3 May 2013
London - Wednesday 15 May 2013

Further information and online booking
Download course flyer

Price: From £150