TOP 20 (ish) RECOMMENDED SITES

"I don't have favourite websites, it's a bit like having children. It's the diversity that makes the web and I'm just fighting to preserve that diversity"

1. STAFFORDSHIRE LEARNING NETWORK

An excellent resource for anyone, whether teaching in Staffordshire or not. Has excellent downloadable exercises produced by teachers and advisors. Lots of THINKING SKILLS and VISUAL LEARNING stuff too.

Has a range of TEACHER ENQUIRIES which are produced by teachers. They have examples at all levels, and they mostly work extremely well. Try the relevant Key Stage pages for more detail on relevant enquiries. Try posting a message on the Forum if you need help. This is a daily visit of mine, and there's always something useful being suggested. The Forum is buzzing, and there has been some daily nugget of daily inspiration through 2007 so far, and lots of new visitors and regulars. Check it out and register now.

New for March 2006 was http://geolinks.pbwiki.com/ - an attempt by GeoDave and other SLN members to collate the collected wisdom of over 22 000 posts (and counting...)

2a. GOOGLE / GOOGLE EARTH (See also 14c.)

First port of call for all information gathering, and they've also indexed GeographyPages and it features on many relevant searches on the first page. Also spend a few moments downloading the GOOGLE toolbar, and then a search is just a mouse click away. Also owners of BLOGGER, and creators of the wonderful PICASA picture organising tool.

I had a recent idea for a competition for a Geography club or some similar situation. The GOOGLE logo is trademarked of course, but it would be a fun idea to create a geographical variation. There was a website available for a (rather short) period of time which created a geographical variation on Google. There are also special logos created for specific days by GOOGLE, which are available from the site.

As of June 2005, GOOGLE EARTH appeared. This is a real challenge for SLN FORUM as the best website for GEOGRAPHY TEACHERS out there and also for GEOGRAPHY STUDENTS. GOOGLE EARTH is miraculous and the imagery is being added to all the time. A 15Mb download and then you can receive the streaming images... Check out my GOOGLE EARTH page for links to useful companion websites.

Want some interesting ideas for what to do with Google Earth ? Frank Taylor's GEARTHBLOG is the place to go. Lots of overlays, network links and placemark folders to download and try - more every week. Need to visit regularly.

3. TONY CASSIDY

Colleague on the GA SPC and generous provider of resources and 'TOP' ideas! Now has a rather good website as a vehicle for his wares, which is bound to grow and become more valuable over time... Already starting to provide some excellent fodder, and lots of creative ideas appeared during the summer break: try the Hanging Valley love story, claymation and angel cake cliffs, Henshaw animation, Snail Racing, Google Earth tours, MP3 geography, Christmas trees and a karaoke version of Jingle Bells. Keep an eye out for new additions, or sign up for a newsletter.

Put together by Australian vulcanologist John Seach. He has travelled the world, and is featured on an excellent DISCOVERY CHANNEL programme called 'Volcano Detectives' which features some tremendous footage of eruptions on Mount Etna. Visit this site, as 1.5 million people do every month....check out the bandwidth! The site has some great features and has details on all aspects of volcanoes. Also recently contacted by a KES student by mobile phone mid-lesson...

Some FABULOUS image collections here which I've certainly made use of to illustrate coasts for my 'AS' students. The site is the work of Andrew Stacey. This is a great site which contains an ever growing site. Some great recent additions include COASTAL features, Ipswich CBD, Hallsands, France & the Pyrenees. Thanks to Andrew for his support of my projects too.

Here's Noel Jenkins' site! Some great ideas involving ICT and relating to his AST work. Try some of the Excel and Powerpoint ideas. I know I have. Useful information on the use of 'Inspiration' too, and new resources being added at intervals, and they're always worth the wait. Now with a juicy little blog too, and part of the NGFL.... Latest additions are some GE stuff and PENALTY SHOOTOUT games made with Andrew Field's excellent CONTENT GENERATOR site. Now newly updated to blog format!

The GA's website a number of areas, and features for GA members. Make sure you join the GA if you haven't already to access additional materials based around the journals. Support the Forums too, and keep an eye on the shop for bargains. If you weren't at the GA Conference for the last three or four years, you can download the resources for many of the sessions. Now has details on Conference 2009.

The other major organisation for Geography in the UK (and beyond...) the RGS has supported me over the years by giving me 2 Innovative Geography Teaching Grants. They first paid for the Geo Blogs project, and then to fund the development of my GOOGLE EARTH project, and also my GPS pages. This is also home of the rather excellent GEOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS site. I recommend membership of this, and for an extra £20 (membership is £50) you get to be a school member of the RGS-IBG too...

The 2 organisations are also involved in the Government funded ACTION PLAN FOR GEOGRAPHY. This saw the launch (in October 2006) of the GEOGRAPHY TEACHING TODAY website. This now has a range of exciting new KS3 resources, and you MUST VISIT this site.

The Mothersoles have produced a remarkable selection of PDF downloads showing the major aspects of 'AS' and 'A2' Geography, and materials for other key stages too. They also recommend GeographyPages.... This has recently been added to by a good set of FLASH revision notes on Soils and Ecosystems You should go there now if you haven't already. My students are regularly directed here.

EarthBrowser is a fantastic site from which you can download a demo version, or the full version for around $30 (which worked out at just £12.40 when I did it) which plots various types of data on a 3D revolving globe. I recommend you download the demo version RIGHT NOW!! And thanks to John C from the SLN Forum for recommending the site. This is the sort of thing that commands pupils' attention. Just (Feb 2005) installed the update which allows the measurement between any 2 places on the globe. Great tool, which has made even non-Geographers give gasps of approval when they see it.

NASA have produced a similar product to EarthBrowser, which is FREE, but is a rather chunky download and requires a high powered computer (or at least more than my laptop) - very impressive results! 3D engine, using Landsat 7 images, and a great feature called the 'Blue Marble' which is similar to Earthbrowser's view. Look out for it on cover mounted DVDs on PC magazines. Now with great LIVE LOCAL plug in which means that it rivals Google Earth, and is even better in some areas - including my own...

This site is really only the portal for you to download the GOOGLE EARTH application. This is one of the greatest applications of the Internet ever for Geography teachers in its possibilities and instant impact. Check out my GOOGLE EARTH page for more detail.

10. THE MET OFFICE

Start here for any information on the weather, weather local or abroad. The teachers' section has a wealth of information, with downloadable information sheets, and articles on issues like the killer London smogs of the 1950's. Excellent resources and an authoritative source - 2 things which are a must for any website used by pupils. Can also see forecasts for areas around the world which can be used for comparative studies. The Met Office are now based at new HQ in Exeter which I passed several times on my recent visit.

One of several great tools which can bring a real sense of creativity to the classroom. Try the MOTIVATION POSTER maker, the BADGE maker, the CAPTION maker and the FILM POSTER maker, plus new HOCKNEYIZER.... I also recommend a search for the new BUBBLR tool for Flickr to make strip cartoons - great ! Also check out DUMPR which has a good fieldsketch type tool, and also allows you to create Rubik cube and other photo manipulations.

A rather wonderful site, which is trying to collate a digital view of the country, with an image for every grid square on the OS grid. This has already got to over 60% coverage and now has well over 150 000 images. These are searchable on a series of categories. The mosaic effect that is being achieved in some squares with good coverage is rather excellent. This is a site that is going places !

13. GEOGRAPHY AT THE MOVIES
Adam Lawson's newly updated and improved site with lots of wonderful FREE video starters to get your lesson off to a flying, and very visual start. Check out the 'Ten Mystery Locations' video or my Scarborough effort...

Also new addition to Adam's stable is GEOGDOCS which, like GeoBlogs and Google Earth Users Guide was funded by an RGS-IBG Innovative Geography Teaching Grant.

Rob Chambers' ever growing site, with plenty of materials for Edexcel 'A' for 6th form students. Also links through to a whole crop of blogs.

Teaching in NORFOLK ? (or even other part of the country...) Support the good people at:

There should be a brochure in your school listing their resources. There are also a range of links to other Development centres which are spread around the country.

A school membership only costs around £30 a year, which covers all the members of staff, who can then borrow resources. Resources are also available to buy. Support your local NEAD - and tell Sandy I sent you! He has been involved in a lot of INSET which I have attended, or been involved with over the years.

NEAD are also responsible for an excellent range of ROLE PLAYS and GAMES related to various DEVELOPMENT ISSUES. The site is called JUSBIZ, and is mentioned elsewhere on the site. Recommended.

They also publish a very useful DEVELOPMENT HANDBOOK. Check it out ! They also offer a good series of 4 posters for only £3. Thanks for the Flash drive with GLOBAL MESSENGERS info Sandy !

Please e-mail Mister P if you have any comments or recommendations for sites in your personal 'Top 10' - (or 20...) and which site you think should occupy place number 20 !

The order doesn't reflect the actual relative merits of each site.

I was asked to supply my suggestions for Top 10 Websites for Geography Teachers, and to comment on some websites which were thought to be useful. In the end, the programme asked the opinions of staff at Henry Cort Community College in Hampshire.

For anyone who's interested, here is the text of the e-mail, suggesting the Top 10 sites I supplied in April of this year, which eventually fed in to the programme that was shown last night... How do they compare with the choice of Henry Cort colleagues ? What would be your Top Ten ?

The Staffordshire Learning Net is possibly THE place for geographers in the UK to congregate and, via the Forum (which has over 25000 archived posts on all conceivable geographical topics) to network and share ideas and resources. This is the place for geography teachers to be inspired, and there are numerous colleagues who have cause to thank Chris Durbin and Kate Russell who set up the forum.

Geography is all about images, and this site, which was Highly Commended at the GA Awards 2005 deserves to have a lot of success. It offers copyright-free images of a high quality, many taken by geography teachers, organised into useful folders.

This is an excellent site which has the aim of collecting (at least) one ‘geographical’ image for every 1km grid square in the country. After just over one year, the site has over 120 000 images, and 25% coverage of the country. A visit to any area produces a photomosaic which offers a real sense of place, and images can easily be searched by category to provide the perfect picture starter for a lesson. Images can also be viewed in Google Earth.

Winner of a GA Gold Award, this site features a series of magazines with online support, including photography, activities and lesson plans. The material tackles contemporary geographical issues, is well-presented, and reinforces the idea of place and citizenship.

There are a range of excellent teacher-produced sites which are leading the development of interesting resources.