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Scooped by Seth Dixon onto Geography Education |
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Plans for a rooftop farm are the largest in the world.
Brooklyn Grange Farm is Expanding to a 45K Square Foot Rooftop in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This is a stunning example of urban agriculture designed to produce local food, even with limited spatial resources. There is also a 3.5 minute video clip attached to the article.
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May-Britt and Edvard I. Moser are exploring the way the brain records and remembers movement in space, which they speculate may be the basis of all memory.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is more neuroscience than it is geography, but it is incredibly relevant to geographers and spatial analysis. These Norwegian neuroscientists are charting the brain to understand how we remember where we have been, where we are and how we navigate through space. They are primarily mapping out the brains of rats, but much of what they’ve discovered appears to hold for all mammals. There are certain cells that are only active when you are in certain places. These cells interact as a network in a grid pattern, forming a very regular hexagonal pattern (central place theory!?!). These ‘place cells’ or ‘grid cells’ store information about distances and directions and are crucial to navigation. Read more about it in this article or watch this 6-minute video.
Tags: spatial, mental maps.
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LeBron explains how he transformed himself into a ruthlessly efficient scoring machine.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This series of spatial diagrams (dare I say, maps?) shows how the offense game of LeBron James has changed dramatically over the last few years, greatly increasing his efficiency. Do you know of a basketball-loving student that might appreciate spatial analysis more when seen through the lens of their favorite sport? 
Trisha Klancar's curator insight,
March 30, 9:36 AM
Okkk. This is really fun to watch... why not map it out!! Delete the scoop?
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Executives have recently focused attention on Silicon Valley's workplace culture. While companies like Google, Facebook and Yahoo operate by their own set of rules, what happens there may influence how many Americans work.
Seth Dixon's insight:
How does the spatial layout of a workplace impact productivity and corporate culture? "Google has spent a lot of time studying what makes workplaces innovative and casual interactions are important. Sullivan lists three factors to make that set companies apart: learning by interaction, collaborations and fun." Spaces that encourage interaction and collaboration increase productivity. Spaces that are 'fun' help facilitate a vibrant community and deepens worker loyalty. Tags: spatial, architecture, labor, podcast.
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SimCityEDU - Create & Share SimCity Learning Tools
Seth Dixon's insight:
I will confess that I have personally never played SimCity, but I do know educators that have tapped into that gaming experience to teach spatial thinking and some principles of urban planning. This link is designed with those teachers in mind. Tags: urban, planning, spatial, unit 7 cities, edtech. 
Jamie Strickland's comment,
March 11, 2:36 PM
I played the original when it first came out--it was a lot of fun to watch the city grow and change. I had a colleague that used one of the more recent versions in his land use planning course. This will be interesting to poke around in.
Leslie G Perry's curator insight,
March 11, 9:20 PM
It's all about gaming to help them get connected. I heard a story from a colleague today. He said that every year at this school, an veteran would come and talk to the students about the military and World War II but students really didn't get it. So the next year, he had them all play Call of Duty right before the veteran visited the school. He had them storm the beaches of Normandy (on the hardest level). They all failed. The next time the veteran came to speak, they were animated and asking questions about how could they have managed such a feat. 
Seth Dixon's comment,
March 12, 4:43 PM
The game is getting more sophisticated: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/26/simcity-is-smarter-than-you-even-if-you-re-an-urban-planner.html
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Seth Dixon's insight:
This online game where you return the "misplaced" country on the map is more than just an exercise in locating places (there are many online map quizzes for that sort of activity). What makes this one unique is that as you move the country north or south the country expands or contracts according to how that country would be projected if that were its actual location on a Mercator map. This is a great way to introduce projections.
Tags: map projections, mapping, cartography. 
Ann-Laure Liéval's curator insight,
February 2, 6:26 AM
Des cartes pour comprendre le monde: comprendre la projection Mercator avec ce puzzle en ligne. 
Tony Hall's curator insight,
February 5, 12:09 AM
This is great fun! A little tricky at first though:) 
Kristen McDaniel's curator insight,
February 11, 12:03 PM
Great site to show projection and changes in perception on maps. Delete the scoop?
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On the Map author Simon Garfield speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the history of maps, how they can be used as political tools, and how GPS and modern mapping applications are changing the way we see ourselves and our place in the world.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This NPR podcast is a review of the book On the Map that explores how our minds perceive maps and how maps influence or perception of the world we live in. Here is the NY Times review of the same book. 
Dean Haakenson's comment,
January 8, 2:12 PM
Love this. It shows how maps can shape our ideas of the world--Reagan usin the Mercator Projection to convey the idea that the USSR was a very large threat. Great for APHG students.
Mike Busarello's curator insight,
January 8, 10:09 PM
This NPR podcast is a review of the book On the Map that explores how our minds perceive maps and how maps influence or perception of the world we live in. Here is the NY Times review of the same book. 
g tonge's curator insight,
January 9, 4:36 AM
This NPR podcast is a review of the book On the Map that explores how our minds perceive maps and how maps influence or perception of the world we live in. Here is the NY Times review of the same book. Delete the scoop?
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I will once again preach to the choir, but with the hope that this will arm you with resources to use in discussions with administrators and colleagues. This article by Walter McDougall (2003 by Orbis) is worth reviewing and is a good reading assignment to start the school year. The link is to a PDF version of the article. Delete the scoop?
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Coastal and low-lying areas that would be permanently flooded in three levels of higher seas. This interactive feature is designed to answer a simple, yet profound set of questions. What areas (in over 20 cities around the U.S.) would be under water if the ocean levels rose 5 feet? 12 feet? 25 feet? The following set of maps show "coastal and low-lying areas that would be permanently flooded without engineered protection." Delete the scoop?
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View Full Lesson on TED-ED BETA: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-pandemics-spread In our increasingly globalized world, a single infected person can board a pl... This is a great demonstration of why spatial thinking is critical to so many fields, including medicine. Tags: diffusion, medical, historical, spatial. Delete the scoop?
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Right now, the conventional wisdom says that there are just nine states that might go either way on Nov. Not all votes are created equally; votes in these 9 key states have a greater likelihood of impacting the actual outcome of the Presidential election. If we assume that the other states vote as anticipated, and that each candidate has an equal opportunity in the remaining 9 states (yes, these are a major assumptions, but work with me), than President Obama has a 84% likelihood of winning in the 512 possible permuations. Geographer Andy Baker has created a video that provides a solid non-partisan analysis of the political geography of these states (and other) states. Tags: political, unit 4 political. Delete the scoop?
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TED Talks In this short talk, TED Fellow Sarah Parcak introduces the field of "space archeology" -- using satellite images to search for clues to the lost sites of past civilizations. The uses of geospatial technologies is NOT limited to studying geography, but it is the bedrock of many research projects that involve spatial thinking (as demonstrated in this TED talk). Geographic principles and geographers can be very important members of interdisciplinary teams. Tags: spatial, remote sensing, geospatial, TED, MiddleEast, historical. Delete the scoop?
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It was just over two centuries ago that the global population was 1 billion — in 1804. But better medicine and improved agriculture resulted in higher life expectancy for children, dramatically increasing the world population, especially in the West. This is an excellent video for population and demographic units, but also for showing regional and spatial patterns within the global dataset (since terms like 'overpopulation' and 'carrying capacity' inherently have different meanings in distinct places and when analyzed at various scales). It is also a fantastic way to visualize population data and explain the ideas that are foundational for the Demographic Transition Model. Tags: population, scale, visualization, Demographics, models, unit 2 population, sustainability, regions, spatial. Delete the scoop?
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Mitt Romney’s narrow electoral vote path explained — in 5 maps... The above map represents the last time the Republican Party won a presidential election in the United States. As the polls currently are projecting that President Obama will be re-elected, the most critical questions about the voting patterns for both parties are spatial in nature. Questions to ponder: how are current political patterns changing the map? Which states become the most pivotal for either candidate to be victorious? Tags: political, regions, spatial, unit 4 political. Delete the scoop?
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Grant Thrall, Ph.D., pioneered a new field of study — business geography — at the University of Florida. Business geography involves using sophisticated technologies to interpret and analyze data to help businesses make decisions.
Seth Dixon's insight:
I understand that my readers are not people that I need to convince the geo-literacy is an essential component for a 21st century education; but we are the people that need to convince principals, politicians, school administrators, teachers and parents that teaching geography is fundamental. Consider this an accessible article to use to make the case for geography for someone who sees the educational value from a business perspective. Tags: edtech, unit 1 GeoPrinciples, geo-inspiration, geography education, models, spatial.
Tony Hall's curator insight,
April 15, 9:43 PM
While I find business quite boring, I do understand it's necessity. I think this illustrates very nicely the relevance of studying geography and how it relates to the "real" world. Delete the scoop?
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What would John Snow's famous cholera map look like on a modern map of London, using modern mapping tools?
Seth Dixon's insight:
John Snow's cholera map is often noted as a prime example of using spatial thinking to solve a scientific problem. Here are a variety of resources to explore this classic example. Here is an article that highlights the spatial thinking that produced this map, with KML files and in Google Fusion Tables. See also these online GIS layers of Dr. Snow's famous map. Delete the scoop?
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Central Places:Theory and Applications produced by Ken Keller (kellek@danbury.k12.ct.us) adapted from Don Ziegler.
Seth Dixon's insight:
The Central Place Theory is a model that is not used much today in academic geography, but given it's explicitly spatial nature, it is used in many geography curricula (including AP Human Geography) to show systems thinking and spatial patterns. This powerpoint goes over the main ideas of the theory developed by Walter Christaller as well as some examples.
chris tobin's comment,
March 12, 6:27 PM
This is interesting. Threshold and ranges are excellent tools to market goods and services especially within the hexagon model but also with statistical informaton on socioeconomic status and dispersement within a population for marketing purposes. Thanks- great information.
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Americans like to buy jewelry and flowers all year, not just for Valentine’s Day. How much do they spend annually, and who would probably spend the most?
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is a fabulous set of maps that shows the value of GIS to assess the market feasiblity for any given commodity. On this Valentine's Day, it is especially interesting to map out the zip codes that purchase the most flowers, jewelry and diamonds. Delete the scoop?
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"Can you use physical and cultural geography clues to match the ground photograph with its location? Identify the 10 cities and 10 countries. In so doing, you are thinking spatially and considering language, culture, climate, landforms, land use, transportation methods, etc. to determine the correct answers."
Seth Dixon's insight:
This quiz and others like it are great ways to get students utilize all the information available in a photograph and really plumb the depths of their knowledge about places. 
The School Aranda's curator insight,
January 21, 6:00 AM
Should be great for FCE speaking speculation. . . . Delete the scoop?
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Cancer is often considered a disease of affluence, but about 70% of cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Explore this interactive map to learn about some cancers that disproportionately affect poorer countries. With this interactive map, users can explore cancers that disproportionately affect poorer countries. How do these spatial distributions correlate with other developmental, consumption or economic patterns? What surprises you about this data? Delete the scoop?
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Nielsen Prizm is a tool used by companies to analyze their customers spending habits, lifestyle choices and spatial patterns. Using their Zip Code Look Up feature, you can search any zip code to g... This is an interesting glimpse into how market research analysts view neighborhoods, geography and spatial analysis. This economic and cultural data has a wide range of uses (albeit with some serious limitations). Tags: socioeconomic, neighborhood, place, economic, consumption, spatial, mapping. Delete the scoop?
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TED Talks How can we fit more people into cities without overcrowding? Kent Larson shows off folding cars, quick-change apartments and other innovations that could make the city of the future work a lot like a small village of the past. This talk is relevant not just because it focuses on many urban issues; it also is a fantastic demonstration of how to use spatial thinking to solve problems.
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I'm sure most of you have seen the 2008 version of these fantastic maps and cartograms and they've been a go-to reference for me since the last election. The typical red state/blue state map conceals much concerning the spatial voting patterns in the United States and fails to account for the population densities of these distributions. That's what makes this county level voting maps and cartograms so valuable. Questions to Ponder: What new patterns can you see in the county map that you couldn't see in the state map? What do the cartograms tell you about the United States population? Tags: cartography, mapping, rural, zbestofzbest. Delete the scoop?
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Theories about our right-wing and left-wing mind-sets don't explain why they are tied to geography. While not endorsing all the cultural assumptions in the article, this is still an interesting exploration into expalining why distinct places are are politically aligned with particular parties. Questions to ponder: What portions of the author's argument do you agree (or disagree) with? What do you see as the reasons behind the spatial distributions of "blue" and "red" in the United States? Tags: political, place, USA, culture, unit 4 political. Delete the scoop?
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Geographer Andy Baker provides an excellent spatial analysis of the key voting patterns that will shape the 2012 presidential election in the United States.
Tags: political, statistics, spatial, regions, USA. 
Jesse Gauthier's comment,
October 14, 2012 3:24 PM
This video was very helpful for me because the speaker clearly gave visual examples of the many topics that can steer certain voters in the U.S. to vote a certain way, during election time. It helped me better interpret political data, since I am a visual learner.
Frank Fenn's comment,
March 2, 2:09 AM
I used this during the Political Unit. I find that 9th graders know nothing about politics beyond what concerns them at the moment. Stretching their brain back to when they were 7 helps build the political foundations of the future!
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"We are extremely sorry," Apple CEO Tim Cook says in an open letter. Producing a poor map can have disastrous consequences, especially if that map is widely disseminated. Given that people rely on maps to be accurate and base decisions on spatial information, it is the mapmaker's responsibility to not go live with a map (or mapping platform) until it does meet the standards of expectation. Tags: mapping, technology. 
Matt Mallinson's comment,
September 30, 2012 8:38 PM
This image is trippy. I agree with the caption, it is only the mapmaker's responsability to not go live with a map until it meets standards. People need to know where they're going,
Nic Hardisty's comment,
October 1, 2012 8:52 AM
While its terrifying that Apple would push a product that appears to be significantly flawed, it is nice to see them own their mistake and offer some solutions.
Charles Matley's comment,
October 1, 2012 10:17 AM
I am glad that Apple has moved away from relying on google maps. I have not had a problem with Apple Maps domestically.
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