Sustainable Fishing Resources - new on Digital Explorer

Some resources which I wrote for the most excellent DIGITAL EXPLORER site have been posted on the site. They are looking really rather nice. 

Sustainable Fishing is the theme of the resource.

It goes along with the report that nef produced recently on sustainable fishing and fish dependence.
You can see the nef report here.

An enquiry-based scheme of work investigating the seas around the UK and EU. The lesson plans and activities cover why fish stocks are decreasing, the issues and impacts associated with overfishing, and marine ecosystems and sustainability.

The activities examine different stakeholder views and use current data from the UN FAO, MMO and the new economics foundation.

Particularly suited for use with the Edexcel B ‘Oceans on the Edge’ unit.

Includes the lesson booklet and all accompanying slideshows and activities.

You need to register to download the resources.

Thanks to the Digital Explorer team for their work on the resources...

Somerset Geography Conference 2012

In a month's time I'm going to be heading down to the Somerset Geography Conference.

As it happens I'm going to be taking the Geography Collective Spaceship as my mode of transport as Dan Raven Ellison and I are involved in the afternoon session. I shall also be talking about teaching about landscapes. This is based on my KS3 Toolkit book, which is still available to purchase from the GA shop of course.

Noel Jenkins has put together a cracking line-up for the event.
Head to the Somerset Geography Posterous page for more details.

Hope to see some of you there...

Follow the Things bags... what did you do with yours ?

At the GA Conference in April 2012 at the University of Manchester, all delegates were given the chance to pick up a Follow the Things bag.
Follow the Things is a project involving Ian Cook and colleagues at the University of Exeter.

The site explores the connections between consumers in the UK and elsewhere and the unseen others who manufacture their products. It looks at supply chains, transportation and globalisation.

As part of some proposed work that is going to take place in 2013, we'd like to know what you did with your bag.

In the most recent GA NEWSLETTER (be sure to subscribe to make sure that you received yours) there is a request for further information.

What did you do with your bag ? 
How are you using it ? 
Have you followed the weblink on the bag to visit the site ?

Please let me know by commenting here, tweeting me @GeoBlogs, or e-mailing me....

We'll let you know the results in a few months...

That's quality

I had the honour of spending several days earlier in the year on the team moderating the Secondary Geography Quality Mark that is awarded by the Geographical Association to those schools who meet the criteria.

I had been part way through putting together an application for my department when I joined the GA, so I appreciate the time that it takes to put together a good application portfolio of evidence.
This year was up to the same high standard as the previous years, in fact we probably saw the most impressive applications we have ever had. I was particularly impressed with a Minecraft video made by one of the schools from Hong Kong who applied (you don't have to be a UK school to apply for the mark)
It was also good to see that there were some schools that I'd had previous contact with applying for the award, and that plenty of schools were also applying for Centre of Excellence status...

You can see the details of the schools who were successful on the GA website.

Why not send off for further details and register your department.
It could be the start of a new educational journey for you.

I look forward to seeing your application in August 2013

TWIG free for Scottish schools

At the end of last year, and start of this year, I worked on a major writing project to create resources / teacher notes and activities to accompany TWIG Geography films. These films won a BETT Award at the start of the year

TWIG is now free on GLOW: the Scottish intranet.

Twig is an award winning multi-media comprehensive learning resource mapped to Curriculum for Excellence.

• Explore over 800 short films and 200 learning packs, including brand new content on maths and geography
• Save time and strengthen pupils' understanding of key concepts
• Browse content by Curriculum for Excellence Outcomes and Experiences
• Download extensive support materials including quizzes, questions and transcripts

If you know a Scottish teacher let them know, and if you are a Scottish teacher... you now know....