Sea level rise and Google Earth / Maps

A great day with Priory School yesterday, examining the issue of sea level rise  in the Portsmouth area. We trialled a number of hands-on sessions, which were great fun and will write about these when we have media releases completed to use the photos of students working on the beach.

For now, here are some ideas that were jogged by looking at how ipads might be used to inform a walking tour of a coastal area.

The image below is of a map overlay created in Google Earth, showing the flood cells and sub-cells delineated by the council. Image overlays are fairly easy to create.

The Google Earth file was then saved and uploaded online. Pasting the url of the online file into the search box of Google Maps, allows you to see it as above. Note that you can use Google Maps in Earth mode so that 3D buildings show up and you can tilt the map.

We also created some polygons in Google Earth, again an easy thing to do. The different polygons were given colours and made opaque so that you could see the layers and the underlying imagery. You can see the key to the left below as well.

The ordnance datum in Google Earth and the altitude of the different layers is not quite nuanced enough to show localised flooding predictions on a 25, 50, 100 year timeline and looking to finesse these techniques before sharing more fully, but hope you get the idea.

Google Geo Teachers Institutes announced for London and Dublin, June 2012

Great news that the Google Geo Teachers Institute will be coming to England and Ireland this summer. The two day professional development events are free and are designed to help teachers get the most out of Google’s suite of Geo tools including Google Earth, Google Maps and SketchUp.

Dates for the events are June 13-14 in Dublin and June 20-21 in London. Both events will be held at the Google offices in those cities.

Teachers can apply online (closing date for applications is 30 April) and find out more in the recent Google Lat Long blog post.

At Digital Explorer, we’ve loved using Google Earth on our expeditions from the Antarctic to Morocco. Also have a look at our blog post 40+ ideas on using Google Earth and Maps in the classroom and our range of manuals to support the use of Google Earth and Maps in the classroom and beyond.

Look forward to seeing you at the events this summer.

Lack of wellies – a shocking situation

Photo credit: Steinsky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wellies.jpg)

When we started with the oceans education programme last year, we were adamant that part of it would involve taking young people to experience the sea first hand. We had imagined that there would be various barriers – teacher time, cost of transport, perceived safety risks, etc., etc.

I have now heard from three secondary school teachers on separate occasions (unprompted) that one of the barriers they face in organising trips like this is a lack of basic outdoor kit. Many children do not have waterproofs or wellies and their families are unable to buy them just for a one day trip.

I was completely dumbstruck when I first heard this. In the UK, in the 21st Century, with a growing need to engage young people in their natural environment, the main sticking point is £20 odd per child to kit out a class with basic outdoor gear.

So, this week’s job is to hunt down a wonderful kit sponsor so that we can get together complete sets of gear (nothing expensive) that we can use with London schools.

If you know of anyone who could help, please be in touch. Owning the kit to explore the outdoors is something that many of us take for granted and is such a simple barrier to break down.

The world is waiting and wellies are the answer.

Digital Explorer shortlisted for two ERA Awards

Very exciting that Digital Explorer has been shortlisted in two categories for 2012 ERA Awards. The winners will be announced at a gala event to be held at the National Mororcyle Museum in Birmingham on the second evening of The Education Show 2012.

The Frozen Oceans resources have been shortlisted in the Best Secondary Resource (using ICT) category.

The Frozen Oceans resources are the first set of classroom materials developed as part of [de] Oceans, a programme created to bring oceans learning to the secondary geography and science classroom. [de] Oceans is supported by Catlin Group and the Frozen Oceans resources are based on the work and research of the Catlin Arctic Surveys 2009-2011.

Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop was also shortlisted in the Leadership in Education category. Fingers crossed for March 16th.

Gove’s yacht idea, a good one…

This isn’t likely to be the most popular blog post I’ve written, but I believe that in amongst Gove’s idea to buy the Queen a yacht are some genuinely good ideas.

Here’s what happens in my mind…

Before the much scorned memo is circulated, someone at the Department for Education gets hold of it and makes a few minor amendments.

1. The ship is named RV QE2 – yep that’s right, it’s a research vessel

2. The cost of the vessel – proposed £60 million is split between the cost of a research vessel (£30 million) and a national endowment of the other half to run the good ship RV QE2

3. The RV QE2 circumnavigates Britain on an ongoing basis with a rotating crew of scientists, teachers and pupils learning about the oceans

4. The UK becomes the most-aware nation on this blue planet – spinning out great research, ideas and technologies for more sustainable seas

5. HM Queen Elizabeth II launches the ship on behalf of the country for her Diamond Jubilee and calls for a renewed sense of ourselves as an island nation and the value of our marine resources and the importance of the oceans to humanity

In terms of funding, reckon we could get a good lot of private money behind this – not a bad PR opportunity.

But that’s just in my mind. Not a bad idea in itself, just not quite the right focus. Who knows, this idea could have made this country the first in the world to have a floating academy.

Great video on marine plastics

Chris Jordan: Polluting Plastics from PopTech on Vimeo.

A very moving account of the issue of marine plastics by the photographer Chris Jordan. If you haven’t seen his work, take a look at the Running the Numbers series, a emotive take on our attitude to ‘stuff’.

Views on current ICT in education debate

Hurray for the government: a new week, a new idea about education. Computing, ICT, digital literacy, call it what you will, is the flavour of the week and Michael Gove is due to make a speech on the subject on Wednesday. I am guessing that the three main themes of this will be that: one there needs to be more rigour in the teaching of computer skills; two that this is vital for the UK’s future economic competitiveness; and three that all schools should teach this irrespective of how ‘free’ from Local Authority control they are.

It’s not that I am necessarily against the teaching of computing in schools. Running an organisation called Digital Explorer, it would be pretty contrary if I were. However, statements such as Ed Vaizey’s comment that knowing how a computer works should be “on a par with a knowledge of the arts and humanities” don’t really help. (more…)

Highlights from a vintage Explore Conference #rgs_explore

Just coming down from a vintage year at the annual expedition planning conference that is Explore at the Royal Geographical Society. Lots of great expeditions, speakers and two standing ovations in the main lecture theatre. Fantastic.

Here are some personal highlights in no particular order (I missed lots, I know, so please feel free to add comments on what I should have seen, who I should have spoke to, etc.)

1. Janapar film screening

Much praise to Tom Allen for having the courage to put his emotions and journey on the big screen for all to see. Delighted that this private screening was a part of Explore. Do sign up to hear more about the next part of this adventure – bringing the film to festivals and the public.

2. Atlantic Rising

A wonderful, humorous and thought-provoking talk from the Atlantic Rising crew, recipients of the Land Rover Go Beyond Bursary. Great that they had the platform they deserve and fantastic to see a continuing educational legacy on their new website.

3. foldedsheet

It’s simple, elegant and packs a huge communications punch. I hope you had the chance to meet Luce and see the examples of her work. Here’s an example of Al Humphreys’ latest book using foldedsheet…

4. Pangaea Expedition

I was sorry to miss Emily’s talk but managed to catch up afterwards to hear more about this fantastic oceans expedition project. They are looking at oceans plastic at the moment and hope to be able to work with them in the future.

5. The fact that this happens at all

Massive thanks to Shane, Amy and all the team at Geography Outdoors at the RGS. It’s an annual highlight, meeting with old friends, making new ones and finding out that exploration in the UK and beyond is in rude health. A huge achievement!!

Oh and I’ll never think about hippos in the same way…

Journey to Makkah

As large and prominent as the Muslim world is, significant Islamic events can sometimes be overlooked by some Westerners. Fortunately, without having to look too hard, anyone can find news on what’s current in Islam. Lane Turner’s recent collection of photographs on this year’s Hajj and Eid-al-Adha events depicts Muslims from around the world observing and honouring one of the most important times in the Muslim lunar calendar.

Every year millions of Muslims make the Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Makkah in Saudi Arabia. This November was no different, with hours of praying and walking around the Kaaba of the Grand Mosque followed by other rituals, like Jamarat and the Eid-Al-Adha feast. Living in places as varied as Thailand, Palestine, Indonesia, Yemen, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Russia, Bangladesh, Romania, Iraq, Libya, China, India, Nigeria, Kashmir, Iran and Afghanistan, both men and women came together to prepare for and celebrate Eid-al-Adha during October and  November.

Starting on the 26th of January 2012, the “Haj: Journey to the Heart of Islam” exhibit will be open to the public at the British Museum. According to Roger Harrison’s article, it will run until the 15th of April and will explore the Hajj in both historical and modern times. The exhibit consists of three main parts that help to give visitors an in depth understanding of Hajj and Islam.

One section focuses on the journey to Makkah from various directions: Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. It covers many of the struggles pilgrims faced on their way to Makkah in the past and people that were essential to getting large groups of pilgrims to their destination, like Harun Rashid and Thomas Cook. The second section looks at Hajj in modern times, addressing all of the rituals a pilgrim goes through and covering the effort it takes to manage millions of Muslims arriving at Makkah annually. The final section concentrates on Makkah itself and why it is so significant to Islam. It depicts Makkah in the past and present through artefacts, a film on the rituals involved with the Hajj and the works of artists.

Hopefully all the attention on Hajj will inspire people to look at the significance of Islam in our world and foster cultural understanding.

Oceans advice to GCSE boards

We are the Blue Planet. The Oceans are the earth’s life-support system, producing most of our oxyg¬en and capturing more than two-thirds of carbon dioxide. The oceans drive climate and weather, regulate temperature, shape Earth chemistry, and hold 97% of the Earth’s water. Covering 71% of the surface of our planet, an estimated 97% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface, and less than 5% of that area has ever been explored.

So as the oceans are so important, we’ve been through every GCSE specification for science and geography searching for the terms fish, marine, sea and ocean. They should be well represented. This is what we found out.

Top prize for a great section on the urgent issue of ocean acidification goes to the AQA Science team and their new Chemistry GCSE. Loving your work and hope that the rest of the exam boards follow suit. There’s also a nice reference to the issues of over-fishing, but no mention of marine case studies for species adaptation, mutualism, etc. It would also have been nice to connect in the chemistry of ocean acidification with some more on biological impacts say on zooplankton. (more…)