Resources useful for exploring connected curriculum opportunties

Image above: Exploring opportunities to connect geography with other curriculum areas.

Related links
Geogaction
Spatialworlds website
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website
'Towards a National Geography Curriculum' project website
Humsteach blog
GeogSplace blog  

Geographical thinking Scoop.it  

Spatial literacy Scoop.it  

History and geography Scoop.it 

Spatial Education and technology Scoop.it   

Follow Spatialworlds on Twitter

Email contact:

manning@chariot.net.au

Where am I??
Melbourne, Australia: S: 37º 47' E: 144º 58'

 GeogSpace plus other Australian Curriculum learning areas

Over recent weeks we have seen the publication of on-line resources to support the Australian Curriculum for English, History, Geography, Science and Mathematics. These resources have been developed by the national teaching associations for the subjects (HTAA,  AATE and AGTA, AAMT and ASTA) with money supplied from the Australian Government via Educational Services Australia (ESA). The SACOL (Supporting Australian Curriculum Online) resources are worth a look because they contain professional learning materials on the learning areas as well as specific teaching materials for the new F-10 Australian Curriculum in these subjects.

If you have not already done so, go to the ACARA Curriculum Portal to view the English, Geography, History, Science and Mathematics curricula.

The SACOL resources provide teachers with the opportuntiy to consider the connections of geography with the other learning areas (as previously discussed in a Spatialworlds posting). The GeogSpace site as part of the Exemplars Illustrations of Practice actually articulates the connections between the learning areas (as shown below)

A recent workshop on the connections between geography and history may also be of interest for those exploring the opportuntiy to create a connected curriculum.


Here are the SACOL sites relevant to exploring possible curriculum connections:

The English site

The History site

The Geography site

The Mathematics site

The Science site    


As for the business and economics and civics and citizenship sites, no decisions have been made as yet (waiting for the money from the Federal Government). Hopefully these learning areas will have the chance to develop resources to support the Australian Curriculum in those subjects when they are published by ACARA. They may provide further opportunities for connecting the geography curriculum in particular.

Spatial technology resources on GeogSpace

Image above: The ICT in Geography page on GeogSpace.

Related links
Geogaction
Spatialworlds website
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website
'Towards a National Geography Curriculum' project website
Humsteach blog
GeogSplace blog  
Geographical thinking Scoop.it  
Spatial literacy Scoop.it  
History and geography Scoop.it 
Spatial Education and technology Scoop.it   

Follow Spatialworlds on Twitter

Email contact:
manning@chariot.net.au

Mick Law's work on GeogSpace

In a previous Spatialworlds blog post I commented on the outstanding work of Mick Law from the GTAQ and Contour Education in the area of spatial technology professional learning and resource development. Naturally when GeogSpace was being established, Mick Law was the first we thought of to put together the ICT in geography support units of the resource. Now that GeogSpace is up there for all to see, I recommend those interested in spatial technology in schools to spend some time to look at Mick's handiwork - his illustrations of practice, with their interactive videos and clear explanations of spatial technology in the geography classroom are excellent.

As Mick writes in the Introduction to the ICT in Geography support unit of GeogSpace:

"In this 21st century, the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) has greatly enhanced the excitement of geographical learning. This includes the use of communication networks, computers, software, digital data storage and audiovisual systems. Students can benefit greatly from appropriate use of ICTs, particularly geospatial technologies which support spatial thinking and also make the acquisition of knowledge more efficient and engaging."

Illustrations of practice materials provided are:

• Overview
• Illustration 1: Simple geospatial technologies
• Illustration 2: Data visualisation
• Illustration 3: Interactive geospatial technologies
• Illustration 4: Intermediate geospatial technologies

Image above: Mick's interactive videos linked from GeogSpace to Youtube.

Making space for GeogSpace

Image above:  Home page of the ESA/AGTA GeogSpace website.

Related links
Geogaction
Spatialworlds website
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website
'Towards a National Geography Curriculum' project website
Humsteach blog
GeogSplace blog

 Spatialworlds Scoop.it sites related to geography in schools
 Geographical thinking Scoop.it
Spatial literacy Scoop.it
History and geography Scoop.it
Spatial Education and technology Scoop.it 
Follow Spatialworlds on Twitter

Email contact: manning@chariot.net.au

 
GeogSpace now online

The GeogSpace resource has been developed by AGTA and is now online as a free standalone website open to the world. GeogSpace is the perfect support for classroom teachers engaging with the new geography Curriculum.  GeogSpace was launched today at the Geography Teachers Association of South Australia (GTASA) conference

Here are the GeogSpace launch and workshop presentations from the GTASA conference.

* GeogSpace launch presentation

* Unpacking GeogSpace workshop


From the GeogSpace Home page

There has never been a more exciting time to study geography, with it being a subject vital to the education of every young Australian in the 21st century. GeogSpace has been designed to provide materials to support primary and secondary teachers in implementing the Australian Curriculum: Geography. It has been developed by AGTA's team of practising geography teachers, dedicated to ensuring all schools across Australia have access to a unique resource that reflects best practice using current technology and pedagogies.
GeogSpace offers quality primary and secondary geography resource materials for all teachers of geography, including those that are very experienced and those just commencing their involvement. The materials will support teachers to develop their knowledge, skills and pedagogical capacity to teach geography of the highest quality.
GeogSpace comprises two major resource sections, Core units and Support units.
Core units comprise illustrations of practice for stages of schooling described in the Australian Curriculum: Geography. The illustrations are provided for:

• Years F–4
• Years 5–6
• Years 7–8
• Years 9–10.

The illustrations are designed to provide classroom-ready ideas and resources that reflect the dynamism of this exciting learning area. Each illustration is linked to the Australian Curriculum: Geography and provides opportunities for students to actively engage in learning, whether it be through undertaking class research, practical activities, field investigations or through taking local action.
Core units have three sections for each of the stages of schooling:

• Key understandings
• Inquiry and skills
• Exemplars

Support units provide illustrations of practice designed to support teachers' professional learning and provide guidance, information and resources in eight areas of geographical education:

• Thinking geographically
• Why teach geography?
• Professional practice
• Fieldwork
• ICT in geography
• Assessment in geography
• Language of geography
• Geographical inquiry

Naturally we are very excited about the resource and see the next few months as important to get the message out to Australian teachers (and beyond) about the sites availablity and develop professional learning opportunites to inservice the resource. So within a two weeks we have the currciulum released and the resources online. Now for the fun of geography growing in popularity in Australian schools! After over 4 years of planning and working on the Australian Curriculum: Geography, it is finally a reality.

2013: The year of Australian Geography

Image above: AGTA's January 2013 conference in Perth is imminent.

Sites related to Spatialworlds
Spatialworlds website
Australian Geography Teachers' Association website
'Towards a National Geography Curriculum' project website
Humsteach blog

Follow Spatialworlds on Twitter

Email contact
manning@chariot.net.au

Where am I??
Port Lincoln, South Australia: S: 34º 42' E: 135º 52'

Time for an update on the Australian Curriculum: Geography

As we enter a new year I thought it was warranted to do an update of where things are at with the Australian Curriculum: Geography. Despite ACARA’s plan that the geography curriculum would be published in December 2012, the curriculum was not released and is presently going through further edits following a few negative responses from the jurisdictions.

It seems that the attention is primarily Years 9 and 10, with the remainder of the curriculum generally acceptable to the States. Presently ACARA is saying that curriculum is most likely to be published in March 2013 after the next State Education Ministers meeting. Let’s hope so! Schools are busting to start teaching geography in cahoots with the history curriculum already available.

On a more positive note, the Educational Services Australia (ESA) GeogSpace project (which AGTA is developing and hence has a degree of control over the process) is on schedule and is to be released in March 2013 as well. 

In a way this has turned out for the better with the curriculum and resources being released simultaneously. Since last reporting on GeogSpace in 2012, the project has moved forward at a furious pace and is nearing completion.  AGTA and its writers have completed the writing and presently all materials are being edited by the AGTA and ESA editing teams. As the resources are edited, they are being uploaded to the GeogSpace site. The site is open to all (no passwords or costs), anywhere in the world and is scheduled to go live in March this year (unless something goes very wrong). I can assure you that a Spatialworlds posting will be posted with the GeogSpace URL as soon as it can be accessed.

Geography in Australia has much to look forward to in 2013 as the F-12 curriculum and F-10 resources become available to use in all schools across Australia.  As mentioned previously the attention of AGTA and myself will then turn towards conducting professional learning for the curriculum and related resources to ensure that teachers have the capacity to deliver a world class 21^st Century geography curriculum in Australia.  I envisage that many of the Spatialworlds postings in 2013 will be developed to support this professional learning and to be a signpost to outstanding resources on the GeogSpace site. I aim to develop a synergy between Spatialworlds and GeogSpace to encourage and enhance the use of the site in Australia and beyond.

To set things rolling for 2013, the AGTA Conference called ‘Geography’s New Frontier’ is starting in Perth in a week. Over 200 geographers from around Australia are gathering for 5 days to learn and discuss. It should be a great way to kick start 2013 in the most positive way to make sure that 2013 is the year of geography. I am sure the conference will provide plenty of fodder for Spatialworlds postings in January.

Happy New Year to Spatialworlds readers.

GeogSpace on the way!

Related sites to the Spatialworlds project

Spatialworlds website

21st Century Geography Google Group

Australian Geography Teachers' Association website

'Towards a National Geography Curriculum' project website

Geography Teachers' Association of South Australia website

Humsteach blog

Follow Spatialworlds on Twitter

Email contact

manning@chariot.net.au

Where am I??

Adelaide, Australia: S: 34º 55' E: 138º 36'

The next piece of the jigsaw: The GeogSpace project

Over the past three years in Australia we have been involved in developing an Australian Curriculum for Geography. Increasingly I am thinking that there are three stages to the development of such an initiative: the writing of the curriculum, resources for the teaching of the curriculum and professional learning to support the implementation of the curriculum by teachers in the classroom.

As you may know, the curriculum writing stage is almost over and the curriculum is due for release in December this year. With publication so close, our efforts are turning to the development of resources in earnest. To this end, AGTA has commenced work on implementing the GeogSpace project. With funding from Educational Services Australia (ESA) a suite of resources will go on-line in 2013.  Here is an excerpt of AGTA’s project plan for the GeogSpace project:

This project is focussed on producing materials to support teachers to integrate digital resources into classroom programs. It will provide assistance, reference and insight for teachers on how they can best drive learning outcomes through the effective and full use of digital resources being produced to support the Australian curriculum.

The GeogSpace project aims to:

•  provide an online learning model for teachers to access
• create a framework to support teachers teaching Australian Curriculum: Geography
• develop the knowledge, skills and pedagogical capacity of teachers to teach geography
• be supportive of the non-geographically trained, as well as the trained geographer teacher
• cater for primary and secondary school implementation of the Australian Curriculum: Geography
• integrate ICT’s relevant to the teaching of geography throughout the curriculum
• include exemplars from F-10 directly linked into the content and skills of the Australian Curriculum: Geography
• employ geographical inquiry and geographical thinking approaches throughout
• be resource rich, providing teachers with access to a range of quality geographical teaching resources available around the world.

GeogSpace will develop 19 units with over 60 Illustrations of practice, across Years Foundation to Year 10. The resource will be accessed by all Australian (world) geography teachers via the stand-alone GeogSpace web-site http://www.geogspace.edu.au (web address not active yet). The units will contain illustrations on geographical skills and understandings, geographical thinking, fieldwork, ICT in geography, professional practice and much much more.

The details of the units are presently being worked out by a team of writers employed by the project. The first meeting for the project was in Adelaide this week and while apprehensive, the team is excited at developing a 21^st Century teaching resource for the teaching of the Australian Curriculum: Geography.

An important aspect of this on-line resource is that it is being written by teachers, with the needs of teachers in mind (experienced and inexperienced) and will be a resource to be used for professional learning in coming years – the third bit of the jigsaw!

I will keep readers of Spatialworlds updated on this exciting initiative over coming months – the project needs to be completed by December this year and will be on-line in March 2013! The resource will also be open to all, world-wide requiring no log-in. This resource and the associated geography curriculum is the opportunity we have been waiting for to integrate the use of spatial technology and other technologies in the teaching of geography in a meaningful way in Australia.