For more on the latest ideas and projects, check out the GEOGRAPHYJAZZ blog !

May 3rd

Up to Sheffield yesterday.

Took the opportunity to go up into the Peak District, and then later into the CULTURAL QUARTER. (Interesting to see the temporary 'rebranding' of the city around the World Snooker finals), and the Andrew Motion poem on the side of Sheffield Hallam which I'd never seen up 'til now...

Also caught up with a '3 Minute Wonder' film about 'Rocky' who spends 6 days piling up stones at the base of Hunstanton cliffs to help protect them.

Also check out version 3 of EARTHBROWSER. It's only a $19.95 download, which is well worth it !

Off to sort coursework now... Have a great Bank Holiday !

April 25th

Thanks to Helen Young for sending me details of a new fieldwork resource on the Chew Valley that she has added to her excellent GEOGRAPHYGEEK site.

Thanks also for the invitations to 2 conference events, particularly the one at the Open University,  which would both have been excellent, but I'm unable to attend. You know who you are.. Also played in a bowls match for a staff team against the Old Lennensians (alumni association) - didn't quite go according to plan.

Spent quite a bit of time in the last day or so doing some further work on the new EDEXCEL 'A' LEVEL. Thanks to all the NING contributors.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7368326.stm - a useful BBC Video report on the divide between London and the rest of the UK

April 23rd

St. George's Day.  Added some new REBRANDING materials, and also on AS SKILLS PAPER. Thanks to Adam Lawson for adding some draft AS SoW on the NING. New edition of GA Magazine now available on GA website to download (members only) Thanks also to Emma Johns for her speedy comparison of the new GCSE specifications.

April 20th

A weekend away, but still had to get some geography in there. Went over to Norwich, and from there to the coast: the area that was threatened with flooding (albeit by the end of the century) in story recently in paper: apparently known as the Happing Hundred, as described here: NORFOLK COASTAL REALIGNMENT Pity that the weather was a bit grey, so my FLICKR photos are a bit dull and grey too. Also had a very nice meal (and of course Woodforde's) at the Fur and Feather Inn in Woodbastwick. Also spent a book token I had on the 2008 Good Beer Guide to replace my ageing copy. Went to Happisburgh and past the famous Cliff House cafe, and also to Sheringham, which was plastered with Say NO to Tesco posters.

Also a lot of Morris groups: about 15 of them in Norwich celebrating the life of Norris Winstone. Met up with someone I know who dances for King's Lynn Morris. Thanks to Poppy from the BFI for a copy of "Essentially British"

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1036526.ece - interesting article on educational courses. Good double sided poster on the Arctic and Antarctica in the Independent on Sunday.

April 17th

Almost 2 weeks into the new half term. A story in papers in the Eastern region has been making the national news too. It is suggested that a sizeable chunk (6500 hectares) of Norfolk should be left for the sea to flood, in order to create new habitats, and that the coastline should be realigned further inland. Have added a new page on the NORFOLK COASTAL REALIGNMENT, as this is a perfect contemporary case study which brings in elements of various parts of the course, as well as a focus on MANAGEMENT.

The proposal has been put forward by Natural England (what used to be the Countryside Agency). The story features on the front page of the EDP again today. Also, did you realise that from Tuesday this week, all the fuel you put into your car has to have at least 2.5% biofuel content ?

An alternative, amusing take on the Great British Breakfast: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3758517.ece

Also enjoyed this Jeremy Clarkson article on the environment: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article2530063.ece

April 6th

Woke in Kent this morning to several inches of snow ! Had to change our plans for the day as it was settling and not looking like stopping. An 'interesting' journey around the top end of the M25, and then the snow petered out as we drove up through Cambridgeshire. Sunny in Norfolk after all that. Several books waiting for me on my return: REAL ENGLAND and also THE LOST VILLAGE. Watching the FREE TIBET protests on the news as the Olympic torch made its way through London. Tried to work through a range of materials ready for the next few days. Have some SMARTBOARD training to deliver, and also our KS3 planning day which is going to be quite busy I think. Thanks to Val Vannet for sending some materials for the first of the above... Also to Pete Flaxman and Tony Cassidy for their help with PILOT GCSE preparations.

Yesterday, the weather had been rather better as we'd made our way down to the South Coast, and to RYE and CAMBER SANDS. Some images to appear on my FLICKR page when I get a moment. Climbed up the church with my daughter (via the stairs inside...)

Don't forget to send some POSTCARDS this summer. A campaign under way to save them as people are sending texts instead...

April 4th

To London again, this time via Kent, where we were staying for a few days. In to the British Museum to see the Terracotta Warriors: the exhibition ends this week so we only just sneaked in. Very impressive exhibition, and also a lot of activities in the Great Court by coincidence. Meal first, and then wandered back through the busy streets around Covent Garden in the evening: more evidence that CBD is not just retailing any more.

Also read Dave Gorman's "America Unchained": very enjoyable and read it within the day.

April 1st

Busy day in London yesterday. On the way down, read an excellent article in the Independent by Richard Askwith "Whatever happened to rural England ?"    Over to the Victoria and Albert for the CHINA DESIGN exhibition.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1636_chinadesignnow/

The Science Museum was setting up for a new exhibition on life in 2050, which opens later in the week. There is a website which has a nice game on it. http://survival.scienceof.com/ - what will life be like in 2050 ?

Up to the RGS-IBG and had a break there, then it was back again later in the evening to see David Attenborough speak about Alfred Russell Wallace, which was a splendid event to be present at. I'd been lucky with the ballot again.  Just watched National Geographic programme "SIX DEGREES COULD CHANGE THE WORLD" with Mark Lynas. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/sixdegrees/

Enjoyed the segment which explained how cheeseburgers in the USA 'produce' more CO2 than all the 4x4s in the USA.Lots of stories on the value of IMMIGRANTS to the UK:

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4551&edition=1&ttl=20080401135737

Thanks also to Jon Wolton for passing on details of the powerpoint that he used in his RGS sessions on new KS3 which grew out of the one I used in Norwich.

March 30th

Just back from the GA Conference at the University of Surrey. Put together a quick ILLUSTRATED ACCOUNT.

Thanks to Simon Renshaw for his quick work at creating the BLOG for our TEACHER'S TOOLKIT workshop. SPC were also involved in several other workshops: notably the BREAKING BOUNDARIES work and the MURDER MYSTERY.

Here is my presentation...

March 20th

Navigated through another week. Final act was to do a 6th form assembly today featuring Mark Beaumont's journey around the world, which has been mentioned many time before. He has now shaved off the rather fine beard, and is also currently DE-TRAINING.

Sent the donation in to Mark's JUST GIVING page, and you can see it detailed below. Thanks to all who dipped into their pockets, even those who added the Polish coins.... (presumably the people just back from Poland ;) )

March 15th

Over to Holt for a Peter Blake exhibition plus a cup of tea and a slice of cake in Byfords...

March 14th

London yesterday for Edexcel day. Very useful session on the NEW EDEXCEL SPECIFICATION which we shall start teaching from September. Also the year end budget wise for the department. Had a wander down to Fleet St. - classic view of St. Paul's Cathedral up Ludgate Hill. Also reading James Martin's "The Meaning of the 21st Century" and also got "Panicology" - for my Risky World work. "Endless City" book arrived: the size of a small car and full of superb articles. Plenty of content is online too

March 9th

Lots of material on the new report on RURAL LIFE: report on Look East from Great Massingham was a useful one. Dr. Stuart Burgess is the Government's Rural Advocate. Affordable housing (Charles Dewar Close in Great Massingham - needs to have young families housed as this supports local school and local shops and local pub), loss of local services (post offices), problems in farming (including for migrant workers) are 3 problems.

Also added some new material in advance of the Cambridge Field Trip in April. New materials from Fred Pearce book: "Confessions of an Eco Sinner". New POPULATION stories this week: Turkmenistan president offering $250 and free public transport and dental care for life. Also story on Indian women being offered payments to keep female children to full term. More on MILL ROAD TESCO plans. Check out the CAMPAIGN SITE. Also the newly opened GRAND ARCADE in Cambridge (will be open when we go on our fieldtrip)

Just been doing some work on FOOD MILES, and one of the starters is often to talk about "things that we have to import because we can't grow them here..." Thought about producing a powerpoint with some products - are these grown in the UK or not ? Here is one example to start with: Tregothnan Tea grown in Cornwall... Anyone know of any others ?

Also some good news: was successful in a ballot to get a ticket to see David Attenborough speak at the Royal Geographical Society at the end of the month.

Today was the Observer Geography-fest. First up was a free book: the Observer Book of the Earth. Also in the Review section a 4 page section on a new book called ENDLESS CITY. This relates to a book to be published by Phaidon. Here is the supporting WEBSITE which is very good.

March 3rd

New item on BBC News site on RURAL LIFE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7273516.stm - 1 million rural homes in poverty. Also plenty of reports on local news. This is a useful area for focus for AS / A2 students, and will continue to be. Affordable housing at Great Massingham in Norfolk was featured on Anglia Tonight. Also some new CHINA resources and materials for FOOD MILES on how much food is wasted.

Also ENERGY POVERTY: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6062716.stm : life without mains gas in rural areas.

March 1st

Wind died down after a very windy night ! Lots of people without power, and various transport disruption. Just watching Discovery Channel: A WORLD WITHOUT WATER. Very useful programme. The whole programme can be seen at the VISUAL VENDETTA page via Google Video (may be blocked at work)

http://www.visualvendetta.com/videos/controversial/environment/a-world-without-water/viewlink.html

Earlier in the week, there was of course the EARTHQUAKE, which has been widely reported. I certainly felt it. See the blogs for more..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/01/naturaldisasters - a nice article.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/lookeast/content/articles/2008/02/27/quake_comments_feature.shtml - local stories

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=156130&command=displayContent&sourceNode=156582&contentPK=20001863

Also on Thursday was the CFBT East of England conference - here's a pic of me at the conference - check the blogs for more detail on this - good to meet  my fellow presenters

Click to enlarge

Got my new Geographical Journal for March 2008 - an excellent article on the way that Climate is often portrayed as our enemy by Mike Hulme from UEA.

Finally, added the PLASTIC BAGS page, following a whole host of campaign materials this week, particularly via the DAILY MAIL.

February 25th

Start of Fairtrade Fortnight. Some plans for the 29th too. Just been watching the OUR BIG FAIRTRADE ADVENTURE film. Also used the YOUNG's Prawns to Thailand story to start some work on FOOD MILES. This is an interesting topic for other year groups too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/6146974.stm - jobs were cut in Scotland though - the students don't know that yet...

Tomorrow on More4 is BLACK GOLD: another excellent resource to have in the Geography department.

 

http://www.channel4.com/lifestyle/green/woman_stops_traffic/series.html - The Woman who stops traffic is also on Tomorrow !

Also watching the new Jonathan Meade's program "Magnetic North". I like it a lot - love watching his documentaries and picking up some esoteric gems. Good stuff on the development of seaside resorts in different European countries. At the end of school we looked at issues relating to an INDUCTION WEEK (or so) for the new Year 7 pupils. Do any of you have one of these ? If so what does it include ?

Also a chance for people to book onto a 90 minute workshop which looks at the use of the INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD. My session will be called "Developing your Interactive Whiteboard Skills". Thanks to Joanna Blackmore from SLN for sharing her MIGRATION revision movie.

February 24th

Lots of marking. Got sent plenty of pictures of celebrations following Mark Beaumont's completion of round the world cycle ride. Added details of new AFRICA SoW produced by colleague Miss Muncaster. Also some new materials on POPULATION MIGRATION produced this week.

February 20th

Contacted today by Laura from a company working with Sky Learning. On 24th February at 7pm on National Geographic Channel, there is the showing of a film made by Mark Lynas based on his rather worrying book: "Six Degrees Could Change the World"

Sky Learning has teamed up with Richard Allaway, author of www.geographyalltheway.com, to create a Study Aid for students of GCSE and A Level geography. There’s a mixture of tips, case studies, key points and practice questions developed in line with National Curriculum and exam board criteria to compliment your revision and see you hit your target grades. The Study Aid is based on the National Geographic Channel’s latest documentary “Six Degrees Could Change the World”, which will air 24^th February at 7pm on Sky Channel 526. Straight after, you can log on to Sky Learning where Mark Lynas, author of Six Degrees will be available to participate in a live webchat.

Don't forget to tape SIX DEGREES WILL CHANGE THE WORLD is on National Geographic on the 24th of February at 7pm.

Another useful video by David Rayner, based on the new film "Jumper"

 

February 19th

Registered a while ago for uLEARN: the new product from the company that produced Infomapper.

Details from Charles Worth. It's FREE to register.

uLearn offers:

 ·     A FREE open cross-curricular resource library including links to every free and open resource created by every Grid for Learning

·     FREE Web 2.0 tools to highlight the most popular resources, linked to your areas of interest

·     Sophisticated yet simple tools for the creation of online resources (web pages / links) FREE

·     Easy upload (even for video) FREE

·     FREE tools to link resources (with associated maps if required) into Personalised Learning activities

·     A rich set of maps and aerial imagery

·     Drag and drop map selection

·     Easy drag-and-drop linking to maps FREE

·     Safe educational social networking providing multiple tools to create communities of users with the same learning interests FREE

·     Thematic mapping (e.g. displaying pupil achievement data on maps) FREE

·     ‘Activelink’ tools enabling you instantly to pull information from multiple websites regarding any location on the planet FREE

·     Access from home FREE

·     Commitment to ongoing development

With the exception of detailed mapping uLearn is available without charge to every school in the UK. This means that, for the first time ever, every school has access to the same free GIS-enabled schools-only learning platform. The shared nature of the new service is already coming into its own. We have sold mapping licenses to both Northern and Southern Ireland (amongst others). Southern Ireland in particular is using it as their key tool for the teaching of geography. They are therefore busy uploading resources to serve their curriculum. But because this is a shared tool there are now 2578 with the word Geography either in the description or as a Tag, in the open uLearn Resource library for all teachers to access.

In addition to this, although it is only in the early stages of our planned development, uLearn includes safe schools-only Social Networking tools.

Check it out ! Also check out this fab YOU TUBE contribution from JOE BEACHER....

 

February 17th

Thought I'd keep a bit of a record of my half-term 'holiday'. Not a day went by without some work imposing. Plenty of ongoing projects. An interesting story on whether the Polish tide has turned in several papers this week. The Times had it on its cover - rising costs of living, alongside a growing economy in Poland are leading to many people returning home. Also spent some time on the NEW EDEXCEL section of GeographyPages to prepare the grounding for the next lot of planning. Thanks to Chris Lloyd Staples for some more excellent planning materials relating to the CfBT conferences. Skyped some friends in France.

Friday 8th

Broke up finally ! It's been a bit of a half term all in all... Just got a departmental review when I get back and a load of other deadlines to meet. Watched Mr. Benn on DVD with my son.

Continued to write the 82 Year 9 reports that I had to write. The deadline had been extended for a couple of days due to a fire in the USA where the servers holding the online reporting system was held. Globalisation in action ! Just as well really as I would never have finished them all in time as well as marking the most recent GLOBAL LIFE assessments.

Completed an article on the use of Nings to support learning for the next issue of Tony Cassidy's Teaching and Learning newsletter, and sent it off.

Saturday 9th

Marked a set of books and continued with the reports. Filled in an order for some resources for the department. Also some thinking relating to the 6th form field day in Cambridge, and also a few possible leads for new residential experience. Also a bit of work on the Secondary Geography Quality Mark project. Working through some of the 7 steps that are involved in applying for the SGQM.

Out for a pint at the club on the way back from Hunstanton. Nice to sit with a pint and relax for a few moments.

Sunday 10th

Out to Holkham Bay for a walk along the dunes and out to the beach. Lovely sunny day once again ! Marked another set of books and continued with the reports. Spent another 3 hours and FINALLY finished them after a week of them occupying every spare moment. Just got to finish marking the latest assessments and feeding those in to the reports as well. Thanks to Tony Cassidy for sending me a timely resource on the Sharia controversy, and also to Danny O' C for some great student hazards movies. We will be using this as models for new AS level I think.. Choose your hazard.

A bit of work on the forthcoming CfBT Eastern regional conference (later this month !) - also set up new page for the conference, and working on presentation and exchanging some e-mails.

Monday 11th

Over to Cromer in more bright sunshine apart from one large patch of fog near Fakenham which suddenly descended. Quite busy and the pier was busy. Hot chocolate on the pier theatre in the sunshine, and into the town. Free entry into Cromer Museum in February if you're in the area.

Tuesday 12th

Getting a little more cloudy. A spot more marking done. Have a lot of materials to mark relating to a GLOBALISATION assessment.

Wednesday 13th

Foggy day. Fog never lifted all day and chilly ! Out for some bits and pieces in Hunstanton. Took over blogging duties from Val Vannet on the final leg of Mark Beaumont's journey. He's cycling up through France towards the finish line at Paris.

Thursday 14th

A cold and cloudy start once again. Some work on book, and also a BECTa project. Family out to see the new 'Water Horse' film.

Friday 15th

Into town, and into work for a few hours in the morning to do some sorting - trying to sort out some new filing cabinets to make sure that all the 'old stuff' is moved out, and the new stuff comes in. Have a wealth of resources and want to make sure that people can find them. The MART is in town in King's Lynn. Mark Beaumont finished his epic round the world cycle tour ! Followed him in with a few final blog posts at GEOBLOGGING WITH MARK.