As a regular occurance we'll be putting up a post that highlights the most useful, inspiring, relevant, informative, distinctive and fun websites out there related to our wonderful subject. Now, what were you about to do with the next hour or so? Enjoy!
Every year the Population Reference Bureau collates a range of global demographic data and presents their Population Data Sheet to millions of waiting educators and demographers. The 2011 version can be accessed as a pdf document but you can also use their interactive map application to view the data in a different format to the traditional table.
Gapminder is an amazing data visualisation tool that really sets the standard in terms of viewing development data over time. Creator Hans Rosling is a mini-celebrity in his own right and his wonderful presentations on a range of engagingdevelopment topics can be found on the TED website. Take time out to explore this site after watching Hans in action.
The WWF Wildfinder site is a simple spatial tool that allows you to search for an animal species in order to generate a Google Map showing the extent of that species. You can view a variety of basemaps, including satellite imagery and links are provided off to other WWF resources related to some species.
We’re coming into that time of the year when we batten down the hatches, bring in all the loose stuff floating around the yard, clean out the gutters, prepare our escape plans and generally prepare for the worst. Yes, it’s hazard season! The good thing about this time of the year is that there are always opportunities to reinforce the content you have covered in class by looking at what is happening across our state and country. Geoscience Australia have put together this hazards ‘portal’, which consists of links through to all of their resources for students that are related to natural hazards. There is great information and it is very appropriate for secondary students; very useful for research tasks or even as a tool for you to grab figures and other resources for use in class.
MapZone – Ordnance Survey
The UK’s Ordnance Survey is essentially the UK equivalent to Australia’s Geoscience Australia. Here they have collated a range of resources for teachers and students related to the teaching of Geography. There are notes, games, figures, diagrams and other information to help you and your students grasp general spatial concepts such as scale and latitude and longitude. There is a lot of content that is of very high quality, just don’t get too distracted by the games!
Vimeo is a video sharing website just like the ever-popular YouTube. The difference is that the videos posted to Vimeo tend to be of higher quality, although there are not as many as can be found on YouTube. There are some amazing time-lapse videos, usually in HD, some fantastic nature videos, some great stuff on development and much more. To get started, try searching for ‘time lapse city’ or ‘volcano lava’ once you get to the site.
This little site may not look glamorous but it certainly is filled to the brim with interactive, games, videos and animations for all manner of weather-related topics. You will find an interactive front tool next to a primary-based weather word-image matching game and there are over fifty tools that you will find useful – just keep an eye on the hemisphere under study as the site is from the UK.
The ABC Science team has developed this really neat catchment detox game that asks your students to spend money wisely as they manage an entire catchment. They make decisions as to how the land is used, what new technologies are adopted and how water is conserved while avoiding environmental problems and, of course, not running out of money. Excellent quality and a very good help guide is provided.
NASA EarthObservatory
NASA’s Earth Observatory is a great starting point for topical satellite and aerial imagery. For most significant events NASA has captured some relevant aerial images. Each day they post a new image, with a detailed description of what can be seen in the image, on the homepage and you can go back and search via topic or keyword. Try searching for the Victorian bushfires from 2009 or the Queensland Floods of 2011 to see what they have. Also, if something significant happens check the site in the following days as they upload their images.
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