"BLOGS, CASTING AND NINGS" - THE NEW STUDY SKILLS
A presentation for the RGS-IBG AS/A2 REVISION CONFERENCE
October 2007
Revision and study - how is it changing ?
Go back to 1980, when I was revising for my 'A' levels. I had my notes from my folder and handouts which had been prepared using a machine called a banda, and a copy of Robinson, plus a manual typewriter and a Rotring pen to produce my own revision booklets. You have far more available to you....
BLOGS
Have you met Geo Blogs ?
Blogs for students or by students ?? Check these out for great revision notes and other materials...
Thanks to Rob Chambers for the list - can also see details at GEOBLOGS page.
What can blogs do for you ?
Rob Chambers has written an excellent guide to blogging, using Wordpress. Check his WEBSITE for more.
John Barlow, who teaches in Liverpool has also written a useful guide to blogging as well, using Blogger.
There is also a fabulous online course on BLOGGING which is available from SWICT. This stands for "Stuck with ICT ?" and was put together by Andrew Brown for Learning Teaching Scotland. There are courses on setting up Wordpress blogs, using Macromedia Breeze and other materials too.
Geography and Blogging A new resources has just appeared on the Geographical Association website. It's a new online journal called GeogEd. The first item is an article by Phil Wood called Advances in E-Learning: The Case of Blogging in School Geography. This looks at blogging in geography, and name-checks the article I wrote for Teaching Geography in 2004, and then mentions some current Geog Blogs, though sadly not the 'original' GeoBlogs... Fame (ish) at last...
PODCASTS
http://www.soilassociation.org/podcasts - includes a report on the classic Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and also from their conference.
Ollie Bray: physical processes and landforms (available from i-Tunes) but not as accessible as before...
Rob Chambers: 'A' level topics - created for GCSE topics
http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Society/audio/2007/09/11/seaside.mp3 - Society Guardian
Some local authorities have done more than others. BBC have also released a range of podcasts for Radio programming - worth checking.
Use a microphone (mine cost around £3 from ASDA) and AUDACITY to record and also convert them to mp3 with the LAME encoder...
http://www.bbccountryfile.com/podcast.asp
NINGS
Social networking sites are used by students more than teachers perhaps: they are DIGITAL NATIVES...
BEBO
MY SPACE
Have their strengths and weaknesses. Have been linked to cyber-bullying and other issues.
NING has a great interface and you can create your own social network within a few minutes...
Made quite a few now...
Some new materials are also available here:
Slideshare - useful site for sharing and obtaining resources. There is a GEOGRAPHY PRESENTATIONS group where you can find a different format copy of my RGS presentation.
http://www.slideshare.net/group/geography-presentations
YouTube
Videos which can be downloaded using ZAMZAR. This is a file conversion service. There are a range of very useful resources on the sharing site.
Make the most of YouTube. There are some great video resources there.
http://www.boffinsquad.co.uk/activities/multipleintelligence.aspx - a good cartoon based multiple intelligences quiz (with thanks to Andrew Boardman) - what kind of learner are you ?
All delegates got a pack with notes and slide handouts.
If you were in the audience and have started to BLOG, CAST or NING, please get in touch and let me know.
Coming soon - link to some of other presentations...
What was also useful was to hear of another useful RGS resource which was mentioned at the Study Day.
It is a resource on Geography Ambassadors.
Features some video of Lucy Verasamy, a former pupil of mine. She appears in some short video clips...
http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/ambassadors/ambassadors-online/
Check out the one about geography at school...