IB Geography 2009 Pre-test Online - No username or password needed

I'm experimenting with a free quiz maker today from the site www.proprofs.com which you can sign up for. I've previously created a 75 question 'pre-test' in PowerPoint which comprehensively covers the new IB Geography Curriculum for 2009. See the entire quiz in .ppt form here (btw, this also includes an excel file with sources and another with shows how each question links to the new IB Geography Specification). Finally, I've found a way to put this online for free, but I've only included the first 10 questions of the quiz for time-saving purposes. I can see myself using this tool from www.proprofs.com to create 'pre-tests' for all of my classes. Results can be analyzed and saved in excel format. Below is the example quiz which I've embedded here an struggling to embed into this blog. Go ahead and try the quiz yourself by clicking on the screenshot below which links to the page with the quiz! Thanks.

Twitter wants to know location too!

In a follow up to my previous post about mapping 'tweets' in order to understand the spatial distribution of certain social phenomena this article discusses how Twitter is now interested in doing exactly this on a grander scale.  Take a look.

http://www.businessinsider.com/one-of-twitters-next-projects-location-2009-6

Real Time Mapping from Social Networking Sites

Well the MLB All Star Game just ended and my team (NL) lost AGAIN - 13 years in a row without a victory!

In light of baseball season, here's an idea for creating your own 'thematic maps' which kids can get into.  It was inspired by the map below which shows the areas of the continental US which support each of the 30 teams in Major Baseball Teams.  In essence, this is meant to be a map of each team's "fan base".  This could be used to explain the Gravity Model, but also to disprove it!  Some teams have fans fairly far from the city in which they play. 

But how can one test if this map is true or not?  I think it would be interesting for students to attempt to 're-create' this map using 'real-time' data - this can be done using the social networking site "Twitter".  The map below was created for me by the author of a great blog called Mibazaar (www.mibazaar.com).  It shows a mashup in Google Maps of all of the 'tweets' which have the term "go cubs" in them.  In this way, students are able to plot the locations of 'cubs fans' across the nation based on what they are writing on twitter.  Wouldn't it be cool to aggregate all of the plots over time and see if the map above is correct or not?  After all, "Cubs Nation" as shown in the map above is of quite an awkward shape, spilling over into Iowa and parts of Indiana.  How about across the rest of the USA - are there Cubs fans that the map above doesn't show?  Could one do this for all 30 major league teams and, in essence, 're-create' the map above?  



View Larger Map


Can you spot any problems with the map above?  I've yet to figure out:

1.  How to aggregate all of the 'tweets' so you get a full picture of the cumulative total?

2. How to write the code so only "go cubs" (as a phrase) comes up in the results and not "go" and "cubs" seperately?

3. How to do this for the entire USA and not just the 'east' and the 'west'

But, overall, I think this is really cool and a great way to get students interested in mapping something they are interested in.  Any comments?  Ways to make this better or more 'useable' in the classroom?  Is anyone doing something like this at the moment in their Geography classrooms?  Would love to hear!

Why you should start the new IGCSE Geography Curriculum with the unit on Development

I spent the morning thining about my future job as teacher of the new IGCSE Geography curriculum and which units within the curriculum are the most important.  I asked myself which unit should be taught first to the new incoming Year 10 group in Fall 2009.  I came up with an answer - to teach Unit C9: Development and Human Welfare first thing.  Ironic, because this is the LAST unit listed in the spec - but it shouldn't be!  Please see my reasoning below and help me think about this by commenting.  Thanks

I would argue that this section is one of the most important in the geography curriculum and should be taught at the very beginning of the first year of IGSCE Geography. I believe that one of the main reasons for studying geography is to understand why people in different places are different in terms of what they have, how they interact in their own place (culture), and how they think about the world. In fact, this specification itself starts out with a section that says “Edexcel IGCSE in Geography enables students to appreciate the differences and similarities between people’s views of the world, its environments, societies and cultures .” In order to understand why people view the world differently, one has to understand their starting point. The vast majority of students that enroll in an Edexcel IGCSE course in geography come from a starting point that is privileged and to some extent biased to western ways of thinking. I think the most relevant way to start a class in geography is to begin by opening students’ eyes to the rest of the world and to instill in students the value of thinking from a different perspective. In addition to the reasoning above, the following are other reasons why unit C9 of the new IGCSE Geography curriculum should be the first unit taught in Year 10.

• Students enter IGCSE Geography with vast differences in their geographical knowledge and understanding. Unit C9 is one of the most flexible units in terms of the ability to differentiate for different levels of ability. While some students might simply be trying to grasp the concept of which countries are ‘developed’ and ‘developing’, others can let their imaginations run wild as development is a topic that the entire world is still trying to solve – there is plenty of data for students who excel.  

• This unit lends itself immediately to the use of a variety of geographic tools and techniques including the use of maps, the creation of maps, the use of data, the use of virtual globes and GIS.

• The topic can be broken down into a very simple question – Why are some places ‘rich’ and some places ‘poor’? Students won’t be afraid of this question – but will find over time that it is not an easy question to answer. It sparks investigative thinking.

• There is a TON of extremely useful data available for teaching about development including works by Jared Diamond regarding the history of development and modern UN data which can be visualized using an incredible tool called Gapminder. Students will NOT get bored to start the year and first impressions matter!

• From my experience, the overemphasis on physical geography is a major complaint that students have about Key Stage 3 and IGSCE geography. I’ve noticed that most students that say they ‘hate geography’ complain about ‘rote memorization’ of physical processes. They roll their eyes thinking about the formation of a waterfall, ox-bow lake, or the dynamics of the coast. Many of them have had this drilled into them in middle school through worksheets and are begging for something new to inspire them at the Key Stage 4 level. Too many Year 10 IGSCE courses start with ‘Unit A1: River Environments’ solely because this comes up first on the spec.

• Throughout the rest of the course, we as teachers will constantly be differentiating between ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries. We will talk about how hazards, agriculture, economic geography, or settlements patterns all differ in ‘developed’ regions vs. those in ‘developing’ regions. Why not give students the basis for this distinction at the beginning? The terms and acronyms from unit C9 are some of the most used throughout the course.

I feel as if I could go on and on about why this unit is the most important starting point. The above reasons make a strong case, however, and I’ll you to comment on whether you agree or not with my thoughts. What do you think? Should Unit C9 – Development and Human Welfare be taught first in the New IGSCE Geography Curriculum?