Discovering the Arctic

Changing landscapes is one theme that is expored in the KS3 Toolkit, "Look at it this Way"

I have just written a new module for the Discovering the Arctic website of the RGS-IBG
It is now available on the website - go to the bottom to the SWIPA materials - module 9

Winter Landscape

Out early on today to brave the ice and mist to take some photos...
This was the second image that I worked on with a programme called Flare for Mac. This was a processed image. Going to try and bring out the trees and rooks that were in the background a little in another version.

Click for bigger version

Image: Alan Parkinson

Images of the UK

A useful BBC magazine article which asks people from outside of the UK to provide their impressions of the country,
Follow the links to read three short descriptions, with accompanying comments....

Useful for exploring what is the 'typical' (or not) image of England
Links to the lessons in the book...

Normal service will be resumed in 2012...

I'm going to take a couple of weeks away for Christmas (although I probably won't be able to resist blogging if something important happens between now and the 1st of January 2012.)

I'm going to be doing one or two things over Christmas as well as enjoying the festive cheer

• Writing a GCSE book
• Completing a major resource pack for the Ordnance Survey
• Planning out a Children's book I'm going to be writing
• Preparing for CPD events in the New Year
• Writing some Online Updates for Harper Collins
• Edits and proofreading for 2 books I'm editing that are published in early 2012
• Adding new content to my Vital Geography Portal
• Preparing some thoughts for new Curriculum consultation
• Putting together some ideas for Mission:Explore Food

On 1st of January I'll be back with various New Year thoughts...

Please join me on the 5th of January for my Teachshare on New Year New Geography


It'd be great to have your company at 7pm with your plans for the year ahead for New Year New Geography, and if you are tweeting your plans, please use the tag #nyng

Thanks to Rich Allaway for his early contribution to the tag.

Thanks to everyone who's employed me during 2011, or visited this blog and contributed in some way.

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR

Moorland Changes

I worked on a range of projects for the Royal Geographical Society a few months back, and the final pieces of the project that I contributed have now gone live on the RGS website.

They were part of the Goldsmith's funded FROM THE FIELD project.

The latest module which I contributed was for the KS4 series, and is on the theme of MOORLAND ECOLOGY. It explores the process of moorland regeneration, and its link with the ecology that is needed to make the regrowth productive.

It's worth remembering that all the resources from the Geography Teaching Today website have now been migrated to either the RGS or the GA websites, depending on which organisation was responsible for producing the original content.

If you're after the excellent KS3 RESOURCES they are available here on the RGS website.

If you're after the FIELDWORK resources they're here on the RGS website.

Thanks to Rose Wilcox, PhD researcher from the University of Hull for her guidance and support on the From the Field project and images, and thanks to John Lyon for the images that he contributed to the project as well.

Landscape in a Box - more student examples

Thanks to Jack Marsh for sending me some examples of 'landscapes in a box'. Landscapes in a box is one of the ideas that seems to have gone down the best of the things that I've shared over the years. The basic idea is to create a landscape within a box, perhaps a burger box (but could also be a shoe box)

This was featured in 'Teaching Geography' in 2009.

Jack used the activity with his groups, and has sent me three excellent images of contrasting images from the students: an Antarctic scene, New York's Central Park, and Paris... Outstanding work !!

If you've used Landscape in a Box, why not share your students' work too...

VITAL Teachshare: Google Earth Placemarks

My next VITAL Teachshare will be on Wednesday the 16th of November (that's tomorrow if you're reading this today) at 7pm.
It's on ways of customising Google Earth Placemarks...

Click THIS LINK just before 7 to join me. You'll need to allow the download of the plug-in to handle the Elluminate session, which will then allow you to see and hear me, and to take part.

Don't forget to check the KEYHOLE BULLETIN BOARD to get the full range of layers and files shared by  Google Earth users. Use the SEARCH function to unearth the goodness....

Plenty of LANDSCAPE related content...

This will be my little contribution to WORLD GIS DAY, which is taking place tomorrow, as part of GEOGRAPHY AWARENESS WEEK.

What are you doing for World GIS Day ? 
Why not add a touch of GIS to your teaching tomorrow...