Geography Education
Geography Education
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Global news with a spatial perspective: Interesting, current supplemental materials for geography students and teachers. http://geographyeducation.org
Curated by Seth Dixon
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Undiscovered Possibilities - Google Earth

"While Germans tend to talk about privacy and how the internet takes away our freedom, chief Almir of the Surui tribe in Brazil came up with an idea when he first came in contact with Google Earth. He saw it as a great tool to visualize the devastation of the rainforest. With the help of Google providing the knowledge and equipment he started the project and provided an unfiltered perspective never seen before. This is a growing project on a growing problem that should matter to all of us. It’s never a service or product itself that matters; it’s what you do with it. Check the video and see for yourself."

Globalization inherently brings serendipitous juxtapositions. In this clip we see the merger of geospatial technologies to protect indigenous cultures and their cultural ecology.

Em Marin's comment, February 2, 2012 5:09 PM
this is phenomenal
GIS student's comment, September 18, 2012 10:06 AM
Whenever I think of tribes I often picture a culture of people that is not modernized and practice sacred tradition. Here, we have a tribe that is not only aware of Google Earth, but is using it to help save the environment. Located in Brazil, the Surui tribe knows first hand how valuable the rainforest can be to any society. Chief Almir has probably seen hundreds of acres of rainforest destroyed in his lifetime. Their tribe most likely feed off the land and therefore is even more dependent on the rainforest's and all they have to offer. I found the contradicting statement from the Germans very interesting because it shows the many different opinions of google earth. For example in the Germans case they are worried about people spying on them, taking away freedom, etc. As for Chief Almir and the Surui tribe, they just want to protect the environment.
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This Is What It's Like to Be a Muslim in Boston Right Now

This Is What It's Like to Be a Muslim in Boston Right Now | Geography Education | Scoop.it
When Anum Hussain heard about the Boston Marathon bombing, she immediately panicked, worried that the culprits would be like her. The 22-year-old Muslim was in the offices of Hubspot, the Cambridge marketing-software company she works for.
Seth Dixon's insight:

This is an interesting article; place and context mediate cultural interactions.  I can only imagine how incredibly difficult it would be to be a Muslim in the Boston area right now.  This geographer wishes that everyone could feel safe everywhere.    


Tags: terrorism, religion, Boston, Islam.

Trisha Klancar's comment, April 26, 10:30 AM
Thank you for the article.... good to show children as they meddle through predjudices on tv, news, hallways and home. Education is the key to breaking down barriers and opening eyes.
Monica S Mcfeeters's curator insight, April 28, 7:44 PM

The person that mailed the president and others poison could have done serious damage as well. The media doesn't seem to be painting that as everyone in the south is a potential terrorist, even though many situations in the south came close over history in many peoples opinions. This is most likely a really bad time for peaceful Muslims in Boston and other areas around the country. 

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Boston's unnatural shoreline

Boston's unnatural shoreline | Geography Education | Scoop.it
Today's 100-year storm surge could be tomorrow's high tide.
Seth Dixon's insight:

This set of maps and articles help to explain why sea level rise is such an issue for many major metropolitan areas.  In coastal cities with substantial economic development, much of the current coastal areas where once underwater until landfill projects filled in the bay.  During storm surges (or if and when sea levels rise) these will be the first places to flood.  


Tags: disasters, water, physical, Boston, weather and climate.

Charlotte Hoarau's curator insight, February 6, 5:57 AM

Surging sea represented on an imagery background layer.

Color ramp should be graduated.

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Coastal Hazard Threat Map

Coastal Hazard Threat Map | Geography Education | Scoop.it

This interactive map of coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island shows some basic flooding data including: 1) where are the flood warnings (essential the entire coastline), 2) how high the storm surge is, and 3) how high the waves are.


Tags: Rhode Island, water, disasters, geospatial.

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Urban Trees Reveal Income Inequality

Urban Trees Reveal Income Inequality | Geography Education | Scoop.it
Wealthy cities seem to have it all. Expansive, well-manicured parks. Fine dining. Renowned orchestras and theaters. More trees. Wait, trees?

 

I certainly wouldn't argue that trees create economic inequality, but there appears to be a strong correlation in between high income neighborhoods and large mature trees in cities throughout the world (for a scholarly reference from the Journal, Landscape and Urban Planning, see: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204607002174 ). Why is there such a connection? In terms of landscape analysis, what does this say about those who have created these environments? Why do societies value trees in cities? How does the presence of trees change the sense of place of a particular neighborhood? For more Google images that show the correlation between income and trees (and to share your own), see: http://persquaremile.com/2012/05/24/income-inequality-seen-from-space/

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Boston and Syria

Boston and Syria | Geography Education | Scoop.it
Seth Dixon's insight:

Tags: Syria, terrorism, Boston.

Dean Haakenson's comment, April 19, 2:29 PM
Wow.
Smeera Carey's comment, April 21, 7:53 PM
Very sad but true.
Alejandro Restrepo's comment, April 21, 11:49 PM
I came to find out that this was photoshopped, but the message still read the same, except it was Arabic.
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GITN: Pilgrims' Progress

This classic Geography in the News by Neal Lineback has been re-released on his Lineback World View site.  This is an excellent lesson for K-12 educators to prepare their students to understand the historic and geographic context of Thanksgiving.

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Historic USGS Maps of New England & New York

Historic USGS Maps of New England & New York | Geography Education | Scoop.it
This historical collection of USGS 15 minute topographic maps dates from the 1890s to the 1950s. Geographic coverage is complete for New Hampshire and nearly complete for the rest of New England.

 

This is a great warehouse of historical maps of New England.  The picture above what is today South Providence and Cranston, but in 1894 the area around the lakes was a part of the City of Cranston.  Why would the city of Cranston 'lose' territory?  When did this happen?  This is just one example of the questions in historical geography that this resource can inspire.

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Red Sox Radio Rivalry | Bostonography

Red Sox Radio Rivalry | Bostonography | Geography Education | Scoop.it

A fun visualization about the geography of sports fans, specifically where can you get a radio signal for games for the Red Sox or Yankees games.  

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