August 21st, 2010
Living Geography Digest
3
Something else to charge...
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
A 3 MiFi mobile wi-fi dongle
, which tried at work today - got 4 devices connected fairly
quickly and without any problems - will allow me to circulate
with iPad at events / venues where there's no WiFi (such as
the GA...) and quickly demonstrate something online or recap
a slide from my presentation via Keynote. Also used it all night
in hotel room yesterday without problem. Just need to try it
on a long train journey now...
Also been downloading apps from the Android market onto
the Acer Android handset that I'm trialling with the WILD
KNOWLEDGE software. Works very smoothly, and can see
why a lot of people like the Android experience... The Wild
Knowledge Android app is very near.
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W3G Conference
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
Just been announced as a "guest blogger" at this event,
which takes place in Stratford upon Avon in late September.
It is described as:
A free, one day conference, themed on the "3 W's of Geo".
Large in scope but intimate in scale, w3gconf is targeted firmly at the
geographic community at large, from the geographic professional, be they
GIS or Web 2.0 to the latent geographer who's heard about this thing called
"location" and wants to know more.
W3Gconf will take place in the Holiday Inn, Stratford upon
Avon, on the 28th. September 2010
See you there !
How big is that ?
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
Something that I used to do when it came to answering the
question "how big is that ?" was to compare the size of events
with something that was more relevant to the students (and to
me, if I'm honest...)
A few months ago there was the excellent GULF OIL SPILL
COMPARISON tool which showed how big the spill was
in comparison to your local area (and other similar tools
have also been produced as part of the whole map mash-up
phenomenon...)
Now there is BBC DIMENSIONS (which has the web address
"How big really".com)
1
August 21st, 2010
A similar tool is called IF IT WERE MY HOME, and overlays
countries over the size of the USA to explore scale.... (an
expansion from the original Gulf Oil Spill map....)
And the final part of this post is a mention for OXFAM, who
are campaigning to raise money for the catastrophic Pakistan
Floods.
The web page which asks for assistance has a shocking map
which shows the sheer scale of the flooded area as compared
to that of the UK....
Update
This map has since been added to the BBC DIMENSIONS site,
which suggests that new maps are being added all the time...
...and while we're on the subject of MAPPING, BING MAPS
now has an ORDNANCE SURVEY option as you zoom in
the scales (I like the labels on the zoom scale too saying
COUNTRY, CITY and STREET)
Not sure where the school is though that's marked on the map
just about where the GA HQ is...
(N)ice pylons...
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
An item for my (relatively) new Iceland blog: NICE LAND
ICELAND
A proposal to put a string of pylons shaped like human figures,
which would go some way to reducing the visual impact on the
landscape of this development...
Or is a pylon a pylon no matter what shape it is ?
Researchers in Residence
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
I mentioned this scheme earlier.
It is designed to link academics with teachers.
I am grateful to Nanasha Oyofo for passing on this report of
an example...
If you like the sound of this project, the details of how to
potentially get involved are included at the bottom of the blog
post.
Sustainability in sport: a geographical analysis
The world cup and 2012 Olympics were used by a researcher
in residence to link the geography curriculum to real-
life situations, and enrich teaching even further at Cardiff
High School. The project was part of a UK-wide scheme
that is looking for geography teachers to host enthusiastic
researcher scientists.
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The scheme, Researchers in Residence (RinR), funded by
RCUK and the Wellcome Trust places geography researchers
in schools to enrich 11-19 year old classes. ….
With anticipation high prior to the 2010 World Cup, Lesley
Williams, Geography teacher at Cardiff High, was inspired to
host a researcher who could apply their technical expertise
to a sport themed study, sourced through the Researcher in
Residence scheme.
“I wanted to improve links with Cardiff University and to
tap into a nearby pool of experts who could add so much to
the curriculum and our students’ learning experience”, Lesley
explains.
“One specific goal was to highlight to the students the real
world application of elements of their geography study,
through the sustainability in sporting events project for
example.”
The placement…
RinR regional coordinators matched Lesley with Dr Andrea
Collins, a social science researcher from BRASS [1] ,
whose research involves assessing the environmental impacts
of sport and major events. Working in consultation with
Lesley, Andrea developed a range of engagement activities
that would enable pupils to think creatively about the negative
impacts big events can have on the environment and how they
could be reduced. Andrea explains, “my placement was spent
with Year 9 pupils and teaching staff from the Geography
Department.
The Stadium is one of London 2012’s venues for the Olympic
Games.
My placement involved; contributions to classroom sessions
on ‘London 2012 Olympics and Sustainability’ and ‘Greening
Events’. Judging a poster competition on ‘Making Big Events
more Sustainable’, and organising an educational tour of
Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
The year-long poster competition involved students creating
a promotional poster highlighting the issue of sustainability
in sporting events and recommending preventative measures
that could be taken to reduce environmental damage. Winners
of the poster competition went on a bespoke tour of Cardiff’s
Millenium Stadium, that included a talk from the stadium’s
environmental manager on the different measures taken at the
grounds to make games more sustainable.
Many of the in-class activities Andrea developed encouraged
students to use their creativity, problem-solving and reasoning
skills to find solutions and fully grasp the subject matter of the
project.
Groups of students worked together to create mock ‘bids’ for
the 2012 Olympic games and presented their ideas to the rest
of the class. They were also tasked with evaluating the 2004 FA
Cup in Cardiff, an exercise that involved analysing past data
on visitor numbers, modes of transport and food consumption
relating to the event. Following an initial analysis, students
then recommended measures event organisers could have put
in place to limit the environmental impact of the event.
2
August 21st, 2010 Published by: geoblogs
Suggestions included care sharing, advance travel planning
and the use of ‘combi’ tickets, (tickets that are redeemable on Reaching the LOHAS market
public transport as well as grant access to the stadium). By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010

Interactive activities like a poster competition and visit to Do you know what the LOHAS market is ?
Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium provided a context and stimulus I didn't know until earlier today when I followed a tweet
that students could use to apply the concepts they were which led me to an article on McDonalds Corporate Social
learning about in class. Such activities required students to Responsibility report.
appreciate the many factors incumbent in organising large This provided a bit of "food for thought"....
scale events and the precautions that must be taken in order
There's plenty of information here on McDonalds' attempts to
to mitigate their environmental impact.
be more sustainable, in terms of their equipment and working
Conclusion routines, and sourcing.
On reflection, all parties involved in the placement have noted One that I will follow up when I have a moment...
specific benefits gained as a result of the experience. Andrea
notes, “ It [the placement] forced me to think hard about
the best way to communicate my research to that particular
target group. I developed a range of teaching activities to
engage pupils at an individual and group level, and I plan to
GA Volunteering
use these in future public engagement activities.” opportunities...
According to Lesley, both the students and staff at Cardiff By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
High benefited markedly from the experience. “The children There are plenty of opportunities for you to get more involved
have certainly benefited. The prize which Andrea arranged with the GA.
was wonderful and the powerpoint presentations based
One of them is by VOLUNTEERING.
on her research were most informative. The project on
sustainability in sporting events was educationally valid and
relevant given that when we started it in school, the World
Cup was just beginning - allowing students to explore the
impacts of such big events.
This fed nicely into the London 2012 Olympics and given
our proximity to one of the Olympic venues, the Millennium
Stadium, the work took on even greater significance. It was
definitely worthwhile and demonstrated the relevance of
geography in our everyday lives thus also promoting the
subject.
It was a valuable and enjoyable project which has enhanced
the experience of our students and was excellent for my own You can find out more details, and read the profiles of some of
professional development. the wonderful people who help us do what we do at the relevant
It has been a superb experience and I would certainly repeat page of the GA WEBSITE.
it. The profile above is of Lucy Mitchell, an NQT who wrote an
Lesley’s advice to prospective teachers/schools interested in article for Teaching Geography.
hosting a researcher… We are always looking for exciting articles for our journals.
“Teachers need to bear in mind that the subject specialisms As someone who has been published quite a few times what I
of researchers should enhance the taught curriculum at key would say (but won't) is that if I can do it...
stage 3 or the examinations syllabus at GCSE , AS or A2. / The
teacher needs to check that the work is relevant at the outset,
therefore maximising the potential impact of collaboration
for all stakeholders.
To apply to Researchers in Residence or for more information
on hosting a researcher, call 0845 365 7470 or visit
www.researchersinresidence.ac.uk

[1] Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability

and Society centre

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August 21st, 2010 Published by: geoblogs

River Thames Festival WikiHow...

By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010 By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010

When I was a lad there was a children's TV programme called

Thanks to Tom Barrett for the tip off to the River Thames
festival site , which has resources on a range of rivers, and
would be a useful visit for teachers interested in rivers...
Rivers of the World
Exemplification of Standards
for KS3 Geography
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
Otherwise known as 'APP' (or that's how it started out at least)
is now available to use on the QCDA website.
I have written a brief review of the materials...and have
published the document to SCRIBD for further reading and
reflection.
As it says, we would love to hear from you about how you have
been using the resources on the site...
Exemplification for Foundation Subjects
Don't forget the related MAKING GEOGRAPHY HAPPEN
project, on the GA's website.
"HOW" ....
It featured Fred Dinenage, along with Bunty James/Marian
Davies, Jack Hargreaves and Jon Miller who demonstrated
lots of wonderful tricks and investigations, and a few gentle
country crafts...
Cracking kids TV !
Do a search on YouTube for some clips to get the idea...
So how about this idea for a potential context...
The WIKIHOW site has a series of articles which explain HOW
something is done...
Useful HOW TO... sections include how to choose comfortable
underwear, how to survive a landslide, and how to help the
flood victims in Pakistan...
Why not produce an article on HOW TO... do something that
is geographical: a skill, an enquiry, a process, an exploration....
You can sign up for a free developer account - only need an e-
mail and you're ready to start creating...
HOW !! (about that for an idea...)

Hans Rosling at GA
Maps of Social Networks Conference 2011
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
There was some exciting news earlier today !
Produced by Ethan Bloch , with whom copyright resides.... Hans Rosling is the Director of the Gapminder Foundation,
Click the link to see the map... and produced one of the most exciting tools for geographers in
Inspired by XKCD's earlier map of online communities in recent times: GAPMINDER (now in a desktop version too)
2007 which I remember well... Thanks in part to some work by our colleague Bob Lang earlier
in the year, it is now confirmed that Hans will be doing the
keynote lecture at the Geographical Association's conference
at the University of Surrey in Guildford in April 2011.
One for your diaries: for the chance to see Hans in action - get
a flavour of his presentations by watching this TED TALK.
Online booking for the conference will be available next week :)
GA members get substantial discounts!
Full time and PGCE students get FREE registration!
Delegate fees have been frozen to 2009 levels !

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August 21st, 2010
Follow the GA on Twitter (@The_GA) with the hashtag:
#gaconf11
This year, the conference will also be raising money for
ACTION AID: the President's chosen charity.
Summer of disasters...
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
As always, over the summer holidays, geography continues
to happen...
and as always, some of that is in the form of natural disasters...
There have been a bewildering range of news stories bringing
tales of catastrophe:
• Chinese floods and landslides
• Heatwaves in Russia
The Pakistan flood situation seems to be getting worse by the
day, with over 20 million people now apparently affected, and
the risk of a wave of water-borne diseases spreading through
the area.
The SASI group at Sheffield University have been busy as
always re-presenting the area, to enable the true picture to
emerge.
Their new map produces a view of Pakistan which has been
adapted to show the areas where the population of Pakistan
lives.
As one would expect, the flooding is going to be worse if it hits
areas which are more densely populated.
Image produced by Ben Hennig and shared under Creative
Commons license. For more details, check out Ben's webpages.
The PACIFIC DISASTER CENTER app (FREE installation for
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) allows the chance to see the latest
news on a range of disasters...
Also a useful article on Alert Net, which explored the use of
TWITTER in disasters, and the importance of syntax in tweets
to help identify people who might potentially need help, or
extract useful information from the stream of tweets.
One challenge for teachers in the first weeks of the new term
is going to be to locate and place these events in the context of
the natural "order of things", and also to identify some 'good
news stories' to counter-balance these disastrous events...
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Sam Mellish photography
project
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
An excellent photo project by Sam Mellish.
On my travels up and down the 'A' roads (and quite a lot of
the 'B', 'M' and 'C' ones as well...) of Britain, I've often thought
about the roadside vans and cafes that spring up in laybys
at the side of the road. Often named after some eponymous
owner, or girlfriend, and offering "credit crunch breakfasts" or
"big baps"...
Sam has been documenting some of these places in East
Anglia, in an exhibition, which can be seen HERE. Sadly I just
missed seeing the exhibition of actual images just down the
road in Ely.
A book of his WIDER wandering is also available, which I
notice focuses on the A303 which I've driven along 4 times in
the last few months too...
The one I pass most frequently, which is just north of Sam's
main area of focus, has a table with a nice view across the Nar
Valley towards Castle Acre. I saw the owner packing up in the
rain the other day - probably not a good day for custom... Also
drove past Wendy's Bus Cafe earlier today.
Thanks to Joe Moran for the tipoff via his blog...
There are some nice geographies to be explored here in terms
of:
Territory: who 'owns' a particular pitch or layby - is there
conflict over these ?
Customers: what range of social groups use the cafes, are they
inclusive/exclusive ?
Location: what views are offered ? what are the interactions
between the customers ?
Sourcing of ingredients - local ?
Cultural links... the rules of the road... groups of people using
the road for different purposes...
What else can you think of ?
Something I particularly like is Sam's use of a "tube-map" style
diagram to summarise his travels. This will go into a collection
of similar tube-map remixed images that I'm collecting for an
event in London later in the year.
5
August 21st, 2010 Published by: geoblogs

Tagxedo
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010

The project has involved the local population working with

In Twitter, you can RT ('retweet') something to try to reach
more people, or repeat something you think people might have
missed.
I mentioned TAGXEDO some time ago, but it's worth another
go, as some readers may have missed that post.
Tagxedo produces a Wordle-like word cloud, but the cloud can
be varied to have different shapes.
There are similar colour scheme options to Wordle too.
Electric Angel to produce a rather excellent POSTCARD SET
. Local people worked with a poet and photographer to explore
places that had a particular "meaning".
There is some excellent work coming out of the CREATIVE
COAST partnership which fits very nicely with the idea
of representing and relating to a place : all part of the
Mission:Explore philosophy too, of course...
I am going to be in Scarborough later in the month and will
certainly see how many of these cards I can track down...
Will also be picking up the CHART SCARBOROUGH map
from the Tourist Information Centre. (Can be downloaded
from here in PDF format)

Here's an "apple for the teacher" containing the text of CHART SCARBOROUGH
something I wrote earlier... Description of project:
In the past, people came to Scarborough because they saw
something special in the town. Now you can follow paths
Fata Morgana around Scarborough to experience the diverse range of
culture, art and heritage that the town has to offer today.
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
Discover paintings, sculpture, murals, ceramics, digital
media, photography, theatre, film, live music, spoken word
and more. Take in the scenery that inspired renowned poets,
writers and artists to produce some of their best work.
The map and the trails which you can find on this website
provide exciting new ways to access Scarborough’s local arts
scene of today and help you discover the quality and diversity
of its cultural roots. You can even share favourite places and
events by submitting your own trail.
From the classic to the contemporary, take a journey of
A nice map project produced by Damon Zucconi discovery through some of the high points of Scarborough’s
thriving and growing creative scene. This is YOUR journey.
Called FATA MORGANA Whatever path you take will offer a new way of experiencing
England’s very first seaside resort.
Images and more details HERE.
Postcards from the edge... While we're on the theme of postcards, I enjoyed reading this
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010 Daily Mail article on the postcards of Donald McGill: the
...of Yorkshire father of the 'saucy postcard'....

Thanks to my psychogeographical contact from Leeds...

@concretepost on Twitter...
A very nice looking project in SCARBOROUGH.
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August 21st, 2010
Do you live less than 23m
above sea level ?
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
If so, your house might be about to go under...
Well, not quite, but there is a major threat to a lot of coastal
cities if the suggested "tipping point" of the Greenland ice
sheet occurs as it is predicted to do in this GUARDIAN article.
Worth reading through and possibly thinking of the impacts
with students...
Barclays Cycle Hire
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
Just started to write something on this scheme which will
emerge at the end of the year. There's lots of geography in
the mapping of the usage of the scheme which has started to
emerge, and also in the impact on London of the Barclays blue
branding which has started to appear in lots of locations...
#pgcetips (not PG tips)
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
A few months ago, Tim Handley, a PGCE student at UEA
hosted the first Teachmeet in East Anglia, and also started to
collate tips for fellow PGCE tips using the hashtag #pgcetips
A few months later, with the help of a range of people, he
collated these into an e-book.
The finished book is now available online.
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It can be downloaded, or a hard copy can be purchased via Lulu
for just £6.91
I was delighted to contribute an article on Curriculum making
to the book.
The article can be seen thanks to SCRIBD.
I recommend that you follow Tim as he undertakes his NQT
year in a Norfolk primary school. Tim's blog makes good
reading as he reflects on his educational journey.
And if you, like Tim, finished your PGCE year last year you
may be interested in 3 regional events that we are going to be
running in March 2011.
They are going to be designed specifically for NQT
Geographers.
You'll spend the day working with me on a range of projects
and workshops designed to get you up and running for the first
phase of your career....
More details on the GA website soon...
Every child matters, and so does every geography teacher...
Walmart
By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
Image thanks to WanderingWhitehorse and shared
under Creative Commons license
An interesting tweet I read today said that apparently Walmart
is the number 1 tourist destination in the USA.
I have heard before about the large number of people who
'holiday' in Walmart car parks by parking up overnight in
them, but have been unable to find more clarification on this
claim. It seems that Walmart allow RV's (motor-homes) to
park up overnight which has apparently created some issues
with other businesses.
7
August 21st, 2010 Published by: geoblogs
As it happened, I then caught up some back-episodes of France Ferdinand
"Family Guy" and there was an episode on a huge store called Rolf Paris
Superstore USA... very good...
Spandau Calais
One scene involved the characters discussing protesting about
the growing power of the shop: they needed board, paper and David Seoul
pens to make placards.. "well, Superstore USA stocks all of Jethro T'Hull
those things!"
The Arbroath Smokie
Save money... live better...
Why not turn this into a fun homework activity for Year
7 pupils after some initial stimulus. Could be a way of re-
imagining the local map...

#pakfloods Why not contribute more below ?

By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
It's apparent that Twitter has now proved itself to be valuable
during natural disasters e.g. following the Haiti earthquake ...
The #pakflood hashtag is also being mentioned a lot..
Another very useful resource came via @edu4drr
This led me to an article on possible tele-connections between
There is also apparently a real tribute band called the Kings of
Leigh-on-Sea :)
Thanks to all those on Twitter who contributed to the
#geographicaltributebands hashtag....

Norfolk GA branch programme

the floods and the current heatwaves in Russia.
Some useful NASA Earth Observatory images too. By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
There has certainly been a lot of interest in the location of the Norfolk Geographical Association : Programme of Events
jet stream this summer.... 2010 – 11
Unless otherwise stated all events will be held at Easton
College starting at 7.30pm

#geographicaltributebands Mon 20 th Sept. 2010 7.30pm

By GeoBlogs on August 21st, 2010
‘The Geography of Awe & Wonder’
There has been a good exchange of tweets on the hashtag
Tony Escritt
#geographicaltributebands
“What is geography all about? To this Geographer it is all about
Geographical Tribute Bands ... getting off your backside and out into the field.”
This aspect of Twitter is one of a series of memes which spread
Recommended for 6 th form students but clearly of interest
through the community from time to time. It results in a
to all geographers!
range of hashtags which prompt people into terrible puns and
wordplay on a theme... Mon 11 th Oct. 7.30pm
The geography tribute band suggestions seem to have fallen David Wright Memorial Lecture
into one of several categories...
Ashley Hale
1. Pun names...
Ashley is HOG at Sewell Park College, an adventurer and
e.g. Pet Shop Boise, Durban Durban, Kate Shepherd's Bush, former student of
Mansfield Mann, Diana Ross-on-Wye, the Jackson Fife,
Everything but the Goole, Human Leek, Jerry Lee Lewes David Wright. He will lead the evening recounting highlights
of his journeys and teaching. Those who knew David will be
2. Names where a geographical feature or place was used to welcome to contribute.
replace an existing word
Mon 16 th November. 4.0pm for 4.30pm start.
e.g. Pumice Stone Roses, Van (thermo) Haline, Steppes
Worldwise Local Quiz
3. Hybrids
Sponsored by the John Jarrold Trust
e.g Angus Willson's effort: "fertile tract in a desert where the
water table approaches the surface" = Oasis... This challenging geographical quiz for GCSE students is part
of the GA’s WORLDWISE programme. Members are welcome
or Fairtrade Bananarama
to attend. The final round will start around 6.0pm
Here are some of my favourites
Thurs 25 th November . 7.30pm
Chris de Birmingham
An RGS ( East Anglia ) Talk held at the Assembly Rooms in
Luluton
Norwich . Free for GA members.
Dulwich Village People
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‘ Lake Victoria and their Fisheries’
Professor Inigo Everson
An RGS Talk held at the Assembly Rooms in Norwich starting
at 7.30pm
For the past 5 years Inigo has been working in close
collaboration with local scientists to assess the staus of
commercial fish species of Lake Victoria , the 2 nd largest
freshwater lake in the world. His talk will be supported by his
own photographs of the lake, its people and their way of life.
Mon. 17th January 2011 . 7.30pm
The Baltic – a Superb, non-tidal, Cruising Area
Tony Meacock
This presentation is based on 5 cruises to the Baltic and will
cover ’the tools’ needed for such trips and a photographic tour
of the sights and geography of the area.

Mon. 7 th March 7.30pm

Presidential Lecture
Jonathan Hooton
King Street Norwich
– Growth, Decline & Regeneration.
Jonathon is Head of Geography at Notre Dame School in
Norwich and he has researched this topic especially for this
presentation .
Best wishes to Jon for his Presidential year. I shall be coming
along to hear this lecture !

Mon 18 th April
This talk has yet to be confirmed. Also we hope also to arrange
a summer visit. When these have been arranged details will be
given at meetings, as will other RGS meetings. N
B - GA members can attend RGS meetings free of charge and
vice versa.
For any queries contact David Stannard (GA chairman) at
01603453118
or by e-mail at davidsuestannard1@talktalk.net
For RGS events see www.rgs.org/events or contact Mike
Hand at hands.on@talktalk.net
Subscriptions for Norfolk GA membership: single £10, Joint
£15, schools £20 (allowing up to 15 students to attend with
member of staff) For membership contact Douglas Waters
- at dmw200204@hotmail.com

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