Image above: Road in the Rocks area Sydney.
Related sites to the Spatialworlds project
Spatialworlds website
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website
'Towards a National Geography Curriculum' project website
Geography Teachers' Association of South Australia website
Humsteach blog
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Email contact
manning@chariot.net.au
Where am I??
Adelaide, Australia: S: 34º 55' E: 138º 36'
The concept of Interconnection
A recurring theme and key concept of the Australian Curriculum:
Geography is Interconnection.
“The concept of interconnection emphasises that no object of
geographical study can be viewed in isolation. It is about the ways that
geographical phenomena are connected to each other through environmental
processes, the movement of people, flows of trade and investment, the purchase
of goods and services, cultural influences, the exchange of ideas and
information, political power and international agreements. Interconnections can
be complex, reciprocal or interdependent, and have a strong influence on the
characteristics of places.” Australian Curriculum:
Geography draft August 2012
A previous Spatialworlds posting explored the concept
of Interdependence when looking at the Kony 2012 phenomenon. As geography
teachers and users of spatial technology we are constantly deconstructing our
world for students to see that nothing is simple and everything is interconnected,
often interdependent and extremely complex. The fact we have a world of order
out of the complexities created by interconnection is amazing. The following
resource called ‘I, Pencil’ is a fantastic expose on these issues, using the
simple pencil (not so simple!) to show the role geography plays in explaining the
complexities of our world.
This year's National Geographic Geography Awareness Week's
theme was "Declare Your Interdependence!" The Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance at
has developed and archived some great resources to teach interconnection. The Geography Awareness Week's poster (includes lesson plans etc) for 2012 focused
on the video I, Pencil (Geography of a Pencil). The examination
of the theme of interconnectedness makes this a great resource. It also opens the door for some great
conversations about the economics of capitalism and
globalization and the concept of spontaneous order.
* Trailer for the I, Pencil movie* The video. "I, Pencil".
* I, Pencil Extended Commentary is a video series elaborating the fundamental themes of "I, Pencil." The subjectof this installment is Spontaneous Order.
* I, Pencil Extended Commentary is a video series elaborating the fundamental themes of "I, Pencil." The subject of this installment is Connectivity.
* I, Smartphone" is a video based on the
essay "I, Pencil" penned by Leonard Read in 1958. This video provides
the opportunity to extend the discussion to the more complex Smartphone in
terms of technology, but maybe the geography no more complex than the pencil?
The following link on food also would be useful to teach the
interconnection concept and link very nicely into the Australian Curriculum: Geography
Year Biomes and Food security.
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