Geography Related Websites

Geography All The Way: This website is designed and maintained by Rich Allaway, teacher in charge of Geography at the International School of Toulouse (IST), France. The site is designed to support the students of Geography at IST with their studies from Year 7 all the way through to IGCSE Geography and IB Geography. Through the website interface students can access projects during lessons as well as at home. The website maps out the whole IST Geography course with the addition of webpages dedicated to fieldtrips, weekly competitions and support using software such as Google Earth. The amount of resources are building at a weekly rate. Rich Allaway is more than happy to share these resources with other educators around the world.

Pupilvision is a 600 page website full of resources for pupils and teachers of geography. Built by Keith Phipps who is Head of geography and Head of Year at King Edward VI Camp Hill school for Boys in Birmingham, the site was originally built to support his pupils. Over the two years of development the site has become a major resource. It was given a Royal Geographical Association Award in December 2000. Keith Phipps uses the site in all his lessons and the integration of Internet into his teaching has led to him winning the national award of 'Teacher of the Year' for the most creative use of ICT. The website is easy to navigate and is well designed. It enables pupils to view lesson plans, homework and syllabuses; support revision; provide guidance from pupils on how to improve grades; access geography careers advice; submit homework and e-mail questions relating to homework; access a plethora of geography websites by links.

GeoResources: This website is authored by David Rayner, Head of Geography at Rainham Mark Grammar School in Kent. The website started as a school resource and has now grown to include over 1000 carefully categorised links for Keystage 3, G.C.S.E. and 'AS/A2' Level. There is also a special page for teachers with links to exam boards, publishers, etc. Other sections in GeoResources provide weather data and outline maps to include in homeworks or projects, detailed case studies e.g. Kobe earthquake, UK National Parks and oil spills, Virtual Fieldwork (so that can you can visit sites and stay dry!), a photo gallery and a weekly GeoQuiz.

Kay's AS & A2 Geography started life as an interactive handout listing a few useful websites intended for Kay's A-level FE students, but now gets hits from both teachers and students nationwide. Although organised by WJEC specification headings, the 'quick links' on the home page make it easy to find the bit you're after whatever the syllabus. Includes exam tips (with a listing of command words), a reference collection, textbook reviews and advice for those attempting to get to grips with their geographical enquiry. The postcode trail makes a good basis for a geographically-based first lesson in the ICT suite.

Scalloway Geography: The author of the site, Danny McNeill, is a Geography teacher at Scalloway Junior High School, Shetland. His website is designed to help revision for the Scottish Qualifications Authority exam, Standard Grade Geography. Students revising for GCSE Geography should also find much of the content helpful. It is divided into 13 sections - Physical Landscapes, Weather, Climate, Physical Environment, Land Use, Settlements, Farming, Industry, Population, International Relations, Trade Aid and Self Help and a unit on Revision. Each section has a number of short pages of text and diagrams, followed by a mixture of interactive exercises. These encourage the student to think and learn rather than just read. Past paper questions are arranged by section which allow students to see the levels required in the actual exam. Recent additions are mind maps that can be clicked and printed.

Bishop Heber Geography: Graham Russell designed Bishop Heber Geography Department's website to support students in all years who are studying Geography. It is essentially a 'gateway' site, pointing them to 'good Geography' on the web. Pages are organised into Key Stages, and there is a 'Help with Homework' page. Students are encouraged to access links to various websites to support work they are doing.

Geography Virtual School: David Robinson's website provides thirteen geography lessons. Titles include: The Structure of the Earth, Plate Tectonics, Causes of Earthquakes, Predicting Earthquakes, Earthquake Case Study: Klobe, Volcanoes and Volcanics, Volcanoes Case Study: Mt. St Helens, Rock Groups, Types of Glaciers, Erosional Glacial Features, Depositional Glacial Features and Glacier Case Study: Mer de Glace.

Internet Geography: An excellent website produced by Anthony Bennett for those teaching or studying Geography. Topics covered include Environmental Problems, Coasts, Earthquakes, Ecosystems, Glaciation, Limestone, Plate Tectonics, Rivers, Volcanoes, Weather, National Parks, Land Use, Migration, Urbanization, Employment Structures, Industry and Population.

The Met Office: The Met Office provides the latest information on the world's weather. It now also has a Curriculum Learning Centre that includes worksheets and classroom activities, leaflets to download and a "Did you know?" section. There is also a Teacher Training Centre that claims to help "to teach the curriculum effectively - in areas like the atmosphere, fronts and clouds". It also includes a bibliography and suggested essay questions.

CIA World Factbook: The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been collecting and evaluating information on foreign countries since 1947. Now the CIA has agreed to make this information available to the world. Just choose a country from a menu of 262 countries and the CIA will give you several pages (United Kingdom has eleven) of detailed information. At the beginning you are supplied with a map and flag. The rest of the information is listed under: 'Geography'; 'People'; 'Government'; 'Economy'; 'Transportation'; 'Communications' and 'Defence'. The section on Geography includes location, co-ordinates, area, land boundaries, coastline, climate, terrain, natural resources, land use, irrigated land and environment. Constantly updated this is one of the most important educational sites on the Internet.

Exploring the Environment: This website is being developed by Wheeling Jesuit University as part of the NASA Classroom of the Future Project. Supported by NASA's Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications Program, Exploring the Environment is a series of interdisciplinary, problem-based leading modules for students. The project enables students to address real-world problems related to weather, population growth, biodiversity, land use patterns, volcanoes, water pollution and global warming. Excellent section for teachers which provides module notes and advice on planning, facilitating and assessing.

New Internationalist: Rivers: An impressive website that provides detailed information on the world's five longest rivers: Nile, Amazon, Yangtze, Ganges and the Zaire. The eco-system of each river is briefly described. For example, we are told that the Yangtze has 700 tributaries and one in thirteen on the planet live in its basin. This is followed by an analysis of the dangers threatening these eco-systems. The New Internationalists is more sympathetic to those problems caused by culture (the ashes of 40,000 people put into the Ganges) than what it calls "rampant industrialism" (logging campaigns in Brazil). The website has a campaigning tone but provides a great deal of fascinating information.

Geography World: Geography World has been created by Brad Bowerman, an enthusiastic geography teacher from Lakeland High School in Jermyn, Pennsylvania. As well as creating his own material on Pennsylvania, Bowerman has produced a directory of useful websites for geography teachers. Categories include Ecosystems, Tectonics, Natural Resources, Earth's Surface/Erosion, Weather/Climate, Maps & Globes, Cultures, Population, Environmental Issues and Geography Games.

Virtual Wildlife: Virtual Wildlife has been produced by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Concise and lucid text is accompanied by attractive illustrations. Sections include Polar Regions, Coniferous Forests, Temperate Forests, Grasslands, Tropical Forests, Mountains, Oceanic Islands, Freshwater Wetlands and Oceans. After reading a two-page description of the environment, students have the opportunity to research the wildlife from the chosen area.

Global Earthquake Response Centre: The Global Earthquake Response Centre provides news on the latest earthquakes. The website also contains an education section. This includes practical advice for schools about what to do if there is an earthquake in your area and resources for those who want to teach about the subject in the classroom. The website also provides links with other 'Earthquake Information Centres' and sites that are concerned with specific earthquakes.

Volcano World: Volcano World website is managed by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. One of the services provided is a constantly updated list on current volcanic activity. The website has an excellent section on 'Learning about Volcanoes'. The website also has an impressive collection of online teacher's guides and lesson plans.

The Volcanic: This website is funded by the Japanese Science and Technology Agency and the National Science Foundation. Regular features include sections on 'Current Eruptions', and 'The Volcanic Photo Gallery'. 'Volcanic Animations' gives the user the opportunity to watch five videos and two computer animations. There are also sections for academics and older students including 'Online Volcanic Journal', 'Volcanic Bibliographic Database' and 'Guide to Volcanologists on the Internet'.

The Tornado Project: Tornado Project Online is a company that gathers, compiles, and makes tornado information available to weather enthusiasts, the meteorological community and emergency management officials. The company is using its website to share some of this information with the general public. This material appears under several headings including: 'Recent Tornadoes', 'Tornadoes in the Past', 'Storm Chasing', ''Top Tens About Tornadoes', 'Tornado Oddities', 'Tornado Stories', 'Tornado Safety' and 'Myths about Tornado'.

Greenpeace: On its home page Greenpeace tells us that it is "an independent, campaigning organization which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future." The website provides the latest information on the "pollution and abuse of the earth's ocean, land, air and fresh water." This includes press releases and overviews of their current campaigns. There is also a very useful archive section that contains articles, photographs and sound recordings on global environmental issues.

National Geographic Map Machine: There are several websites on the Internet that provides maps. Probably the best of these is provided by the National Geographic Magazine. Developed in association with GeoSystems Global Corporation the 'Map Machine Atlas' enables the viewer to select any country in the world. The map is displayed with national flag and other factual information such as: population, capital, main religions, languages, literacy rate and life expectancy. There are also sections on the country's history and economy. The Web Machine also has collections of 'Political' and 'Physical' maps. A recent addition is 'View From Above' that shows maps of countries based on satellite photographs.

Earthquake Kid Zone: The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) operates a web site that includes a quiz, crossword puzzle, word search games (for preparedness kits for cars, earthquake terms, and tsunamis), and answers to common earthquake questions for kids. The earthquake site as a whole focuses on mitigation of earthquake hazards through preparedness planning, particularly for traffic disruptions, and mitigation, particularly for housing. It offers maps identifying shaking, liquefaction, and dam failure hazards focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area. ABAG is the regional planning agency for the San Francisco Bay Area and is owned and operated by the cities and counties in that area. ABAG's Earthquake Program has received funding from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, California Department of Transportation, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, and others.

Interactive Atlas: Multi Media Mapping have created an interactive atlas of Great Britain. Students find the town or village they are interested in by clicking on a map or by typing in the name or postcode. Each map has a scale indicator and you can zoom in and out as you please. Once you have arrived at your destination you can get details of the local weather and find out what the forecast is for the following day. Other features include a list of local information sites and interesting places to visit in the area.

Infoplease: World Statistics: Information Please has been producing almanac publications and reference databases in the United States for over fifty years. This information has now been placed on the Internet. Infoplease World Statistics enables students to compare data from different countries. The website provide information on population, unemployment, marriage, divorce, abortion, infant mortality, life expectancy, birth-rate, ownership of household appliances, GDP, exchange-rates and contraceptive use. Also sections on Worldwide Armed Conflicts and Counties with Nuclear Weapons Capability.

HungerWeb: A website sponsored by the World Hunger Program and produced by Brown University. The authors point out that the main "aim of the site is to help prevent and eradicate hunger by facilitating the free exchange of ideas and information regarding the causes of, and solutions to, hunger." The information is organised under: Research, Field Work, Advocacy & Policy and Education & Training. As well as the World Hunger Education Service, the material is supplied by Food First Information and Action Network and Hunger Notes, an online journal. There is also a clear and concise introduction, explaining the issues of hunger and malnutrition.

Cool Planet is Oxfam's award-winning and newly redesigned site for teachers and children. As part of Oxfam's Development Education Programme, Cool Planet offers information and resources to encourage young people's development as global citizens. Visit the site and find exciting and interactive educational pages with global themes for pupils to explore, teachers' pages packed with ideas, information, and useful links to help bring a global perspective to your classroom. There is also an easy-to-follow curriculum information for planning global citizenship activities using our highly regarded 'Teachers Guide to a Curriculum for Global Citizenship'.

GeoResources Photo Gallery: Looking for digital photos to help with your Geography presentation/worksheet/etc? Then try GeoResources Photo Gallery - a growing collection of photos free for educational use. Currently holds photos of Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Canada. New photos are added on a regular basis. GeoResources also has a 1000 carefully categorised links for Keystage 3, G.C.S.E. and 'AS/A2' Level, case studies and virtual fieldwork. There are free map outlines, weather data to download and a weekly quiz. Try the new GeoResources Photo Competition and win a prize.

Slemish College Geography Department: In the Slemish College Geography department there are 4 main aims. (1) Make learning about our world fun; (2) Use 'Effective Learning' strategies developing Thinking skills and using Learning styles; (3) Take students on one fieldwork event every year; (4) Use ICT and computers to enhance our students learning. This website tries to encourage aspects of all of these. Students use the site for finding out information (through the use of the website library). In fact some recent homework activities were put online and children could access the homework and helpful information to help them on the site. GCSE Geography students can look at Powerpoint Presentations that they would have been shown in class and can look at their syllabus and coursework guides and information. A Level students can look at their course notes and activities, as well as following links to Fieldwork booklets and information.

US Geological Survey: Volcanoes: The US Geological Survey website provides information on Volcano Hazards, Location of Volcanoes, Types and Effects, Volcano Monitoring, Historical Eruptions, Warning Schemes, and Emergency Planning. There is also a weekly report of worldwide volcanic activity prepared by the USGS and the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.

Ask an Earth Scientist: The Department of Geology & Geophysics at the University of Hawaii, has produced an excellent Ask an Earth Scientist website. Questions and answers are listed under the following subjects: Volcanoes, Earthquakes & Seismology, Environment & Hydrology, Sediments & Sedimentary Rocks, Igneous Rocks & Minerals and Natural Hazards.

San Francisco Earthquake: The Museum of the City of San Francisco website provides several online exhibitions. This includes a detailed account of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. Sections include Timeline, Newspaper Clippings, Eyewitness Accounts, San Francisco Fire Department Report, Police Department Report, Map of the Earthquake, Seismograph Readings, Engineering and Scientific Reports, Relief & Recovery Efforts and Photographs of the 1906 Disaster.

Atapedia: Atlapedia Online contains full colour physical and political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world. The Countries A to Z section, provides facts, figures and statistical data on geography, climate, people, religion, language, history, economy & more. The World Maps section, provides full colour physical and political maps for regions of the world. There is also a Resources section that contains additional school or homework material for Teachers & Students.

Geography Pages: A Secondary Geography website produced by a teacher from Norfolk. Has over 800 external links: most of them with a brief review, and organised into logical Key Stage 3, GCSE, AS & A2 areas. The website also has a Top Ten, and details on a research project currently being undertaken by the website author. Feel free to download the questionnaire and send it back - further details in the BPRS section of the site. There are lesson plans, lecture notes and digital images of coastal fieldwork on the Norfolk coast. An ever expanding site, with regular updates.

GeoExplorer: This website has been produced by Gavin Richards, a former head of Geography at Maiden Beech School Somerset, now a freelance author and educational consultant specializing in Geography and ICT. GeoExplorer started as an INSET resource and has gradually developed into its present form. There are over 800 pages providing access to free geography resources, including revision sheets, photos, virtual fieldwork, outline maps, and over 1200 geography links to many web resources to support students and teachers of geography or those simply with a general interest in geography. The author has an interest in photography and develops innovative ways of presenting geographical photos. The VR Geography section allows students to visit and interact with different environments around the world, there is even the opportunity to become a virtual geologist!

All About Rainforests: Rainforests are very dense, warm, wet forests and are havens for millions of plants and animals. Rainforests are extremely important in the ecology of the Earth. The plants of the rainforest generate much of the Earth's oxygen. These plants are also very important to people in other ways; many are used in new drugs that fight disease and illness. This website provides a good overview of the subject. It also includes an illustrated glossary and a list of rainforest links.

Essential Guide to Rocks: An outstanding website on rocks in Britain. This includes Britain's Rocky Past a spectacular animation and interactive timeline featuring 4600 million years of continental drift, fossil life and rocks. There are also ten virtual walks around Great Britain that provides the student with the opportunity to discover the rocks of our urban landscape.

NFU Farm Studies: A series of eight farm case studies. They all include detailed information, farm data, photographs, maps and other graphics. All types of farming are covered from different areas of Scotland and England. They are viewed from the perspective of the farmer and focus particularly on the management of the farm for wildlife and amenity. All the materials are available in Portable Document Format and are designed to be printed out for use in the classroom.

Global Gang: Developed by Christian Aid, the Global Gang website has been created to help teachers to bring global issues into the classroom. The site is designed for children aged between 8 and 12 and has plenty to appeal to this age group, including pet pictures which children have sent in. Other sections include Real Life, Global Gossip, Games, On the Ball and What's Up. Planet Teacher, has notes for teachers on topics such as healthy living (including a feature on clean water in Kenya), and 'chocolate can be good for you' (all about Fair Trade issues).

Ordnance Survey: The education department of the Ordnance Survey organisation has a new website to support learning at all levels from Primary to Higher Education. There is a selection of free on-line and downloadable resources, including historical maps. There are also ideas for using maps in the classroom. The Understand Mapping pages include a glossary of map reading terms, a guide to GIS (geographical information systems) and help with developing map-reading skills.

n2geo is a nonprofit educational organization inspiring people to learn about the world. The website focuses on geography and world culture and has an extensive 1,000+ page world resource section called n2countries. The organization is producing a first-ever expedition to every country in the world, and will be providing lots of video, audio, and rich media that will be useful as a learning tool. Visit the site to see how you can get involved with this historic expedition.

My Environment Newsletter: This new weekly newsletter provides information pertinent to environmental protection from the perspective of technology. The newsletter contains information on the most recent changes, achievements, problems, etc. in the environmental protection field. The website also gives access to a forum where environmental subjects and technology are discussed.

Adventure Learning Foundation: This comprehensive site takes students and teachers, as virtual participants, on real and virtual expeditions around the world. Through a collection of original pictures and journal excerpts, visitors can follow in the footsteps of travelers exploring the natural environment, culture, and peoples of different continents. Past expeditions include Alaska and Yukon, Baja California, American Southwest, Southern Africa, Mexico and Peru. Each expedition is accompanied by a mixture of information, links, and classroom activities.

George Monbiot is the author of Captive State, and the investigative travel books Poisoned Arrows, Amazon Watershed and No Man's Land. He also writes a weekly column for the Guardian newspaper. In 1995 Nelson Mandela presented him with a United Nations Global 500 Award for outstanding environmental achievement. A large collection of his thought-provoking articles can be found on his website and would make good starting points for lessons on political and environmental issues.

Encyclopedia of the Sustainable Development: This excellent website has been developed by the Atmosphere, Climate & Environment Information Progamme, and is supported by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. The Encyclopedia is a one-stop source of information on sustainable development.

Geography Open Directory: The Open Directory follows in the footsteps of some of the most important contributor projects of the 20th century. Just as the Oxford English Dictionary became the definitive word on words through the efforts of a volunteers, the Open Directory follows in its footsteps to become the definitive catalog of the Web. The Open Directory was founded in the spirit of the Open Source movement, and is the only major directory that is 100% free. Its directory on Geography contains 1,059 websites: Cartography (89), Dictionaries (4), Education (100), Geographic Information Systems (632), Geomatics (883), Human Geography (63), Navigation (65), Organizations (21), Physical Geography (21), Place Names (56), Publications (13) and Regional Planning (378).

European WebQuest: A collection of WebQuests on European issues. Subjects include Europa (Janet Spalding), Western Europe Geography (Debbie Joy & Brenda Tomlinson), Travelling in Europe (Gayle Mitchell & Sandra Ellis), Travelling in Western Europe (Reanne Gruhn), The Best Way to See Europe (Patricia Dube) and EuroQuest (Shannon Hemmingson).

Inside World is a collection of country and region websites providing local news and information to a worldwide audience. Inside World’s headlines are available on this site and you can read about the latest stories online or you could sign up to receive a free daily e-mail with current affairs, business, economy, politics and more for the countries you select. Inside World publishes a growing number of Country Portals. Each portal providing site visitors a comprehensive overview of websites currently online for the country of your choice.

Database Europe is the product of an extracurricular project at a German grammar school, the Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium Erlangen. It is being compiled by students and teachers to enable non-computer geeks to make use of the vast amount of information on the internet without getting lost and tangled in its web. Database Europe concentrates on geographical, economic, political and cultural information as this kind of data undergoes permanent change, which is why teachers and students often lack up-to-date material.

European Quizzes: As part of the Spring Europe Project a collection of quizzes can be found on Reinhard Bock's website. Countries covered include Austria, Belgium, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.

Country Profiles: This BBC website provides key facts, figures, timelines and dates on all the world's leading countries. There is also a quick guide and timeline on Nato and a chronology of key events concerning the Vatican and the history of the Commonwealth.

Geography in Action: This website has sections on sand dune ecosystems, the urban structure of Belfast, the ethnic geography of Belfast and landscapes of Northern Ireland (including peat bogs and deciduous woodland). There is a geographical issue section with, at present, one based on aquaculture in the west of Ireland. There are a number of geographical images available as well. A section on vernacular rural housing may have a more specialised user base, but the remainder is, I hope, accessible to and useful for teachers of geography and pupils of geography from KS3 to Post-16.

Reclaiming the Everglades includes a rich diversity of unique or rare materials: personal correspondence, essays, typescripts, reports and memos; photographs, maps and postcards; and publications from individuals and the government. Major topics and issues illustrated include the establishment of the Everglades National Park; the growth of the modern conservation movement and its institutions, including the National Audubon Society; the evolving role of women on the political stage; the treatment of Native Americans; rights of individual citizens or private corporations vs. the public interest; and accountability of government as trustees of public resources, whether for the purposes of development, reclamation, or environmental protection. The materials in this online compilation are drawn from sixteen physical collections housed in the archives and special collections of the University of Miami, Florida International University and the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.

Geography Pages: A large site featuring Geography resources, images and classified weblinks for Key Stage 3, GCSE and 'A' level, plus some Primary and SEN materials. Contains the details of a research project carried out on the use of the Internet by Geography teachers. Updated weekly, and produced by a teacher from Norfolk, UK. Recently, for example, had a section on the East Coast Floods of 1953. Also has a Panic button for his students to press if they get stuck on their work!

InfoNatura is a source for conservation information on the birds and mammals of Latin America and the Caribbean. This website is a comprehensive source for conservation, distribution, and taxonomic information on over 5,500 common, rare, and endangered species in 44 countries and territories. InfoNatura is updated three times a year to include "new data from refined geographic surveys, the latest taxonomic treatments, and any new conservation status assessments." Future versions of the database will include amphibian and reptile data.

Alabama Maps is an ongoing project of the Cartographic Research Laboratory, which operates under the auspices of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Alabama. The Cartographic Research Laboratory has been creating computer generated maps since the early 1990's. Its 3540 digitized maps offers a valuable resource for persons doing research on the history of Alabama. The historical maps of Alabama are divided into time periods ranging from 1803 to 1942, and can be enlarged to focus in on areas of interest.

Spring Europe Quizzes: Kim Neale of Abraham Darby School has created a series of activities on the subject of Europe. This includes Trivia Quizzes, Do you want to be a Millionaire? Hangman, Matching Exercises, Challenge Board and Wordsearches.

First School Years: Elementary Geography: The worksheets and resources on this site are targeted primarily at Key Stage 1 ( 5 - 7 year olds). Some may also be suitable for children in Early Years or lower Key Stage 2. The printables are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. The Geography section includes materials on Mapping Skills, Weather, Around the World, Homes, Local Area and Jobs.

Weather Online: Whether you want a quick-look forecast for your outdoor events, or an appreciation of the many complex charts used to produce these forecasts, Weather Online is an excellent source. The website has hundreds of model output charts, displaying everything from Pressure Patterns to Lifted Indices. Many of these are of a technical nature, but are accompanied by complete descriptions allowing the user to analyze and understand these plots in no time. Furthering the educational theme of Weather Online are its weather features, which are updated weekly. Weather Online amassing a huge number of these features, exploring and explaining the many weather phenomena we see on our planet.

Country Studies: This website contains the on-line versions of books previously published in hard copy by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the US Department of Army. The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world and examines the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors.

CREATE: The Centre for Research, Education and Training in Energy is a not for profit education organisation promoting energy efficiency and sustainable development. There are resources to download, including teaching energy as part of the geography curriculum and a guide to energy-related topics in the National Curriculum. You can also subscribe to a free newsletter, Energy Watch.

USA Information: This website has been produced by the United States Department of State for foreign audiences seeking information about American society. The material is organized under the following headings: Facts, Geography & Travel, Economy & Trade, Government & Politics, Laws & Treaties, Media, Education, Arts & Culture, Information Technology and Civil Rights.

Geography in the News: This brand new site from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) provides free learning resources, for teachers and students, focusing on the geography in and behind the news. Updated regularly, this dynamic and expanding website covers contemporary issues relevant to GCSE and A level geography curricula that feature in the news. Since launching in April major topics have included London's controversial congestion charge, the perennial problem of flooding in the UK and the facts and fables surrounding international migration. A wealth of downloadable resources is available including, video clips, maps, student activity sheets and teachers' notes. Users are able to interact with the site in a number of ways. A forum allows teachers to review the materials, students are able to report news stories with a geographical perspective from their local areas, a bulletin board enables users to give their views on 'hot' geographical topics and there is an interview area for interaction with experts.

Newfoundland and Labrador: The heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador is the result of a unique combination of geographical and historical forces. Located on the northeastern corner of North America, the province is closer to Europe than any other part of the continent. It was perhaps the first part of the New World to be explored by Europeans. Firm archaeological evidence has shown that Norse voyagers reached Newfoundland and Labrador around 1000 C.E. There are also strong indications that Newfoundland was the site of John Cabot's landfall during his first voyage to North America in 1497. This website provides information of this area under the following headings: Natural Environment, Aboriginal Peoples, Society, Economy & Culture, Exploration & Settlement, The Arts, Government & Politics, Facts & Figures and Maps.

Mapsarea: This website provides a portal of world maps and atlases. On the front page there are links to some of the best map websites available on the web. This includes National Geographic Society's Map Machine Atlas and the University of Texas' map library collection. The site also features a keyword search engine. In addition to maps, there are links to map companies, map magazines and forums, and a large list of historical map resources.

WorldAtlas: An outstanding website for all students of geography. As well as maps the site contains features such as country flags, current time (different countries), currency conversion (latest rates), continents (populations and sizes), map clip art, outline maps, map questions, and a daily geography quiz with prizes. There is also a list of of continents, countries, dependencies, islands, territories, lakes, rivers, seas, oceans, mountains, and the highest, lowest, biggest, smallest, tallest, deepest, oldest, youngest, richest, poorest places on the planet.

Milking It: This Cool Planet Oxfam website focuses on world trade and globalisation. It deals with issues such as international trade and unfair trade, and how these can affect the lives of dairy farmers in very different countries. This includes the case-studies of two farmers from Jamaica and Wales. The website also includes differentiated activities and interactive quizzes.

Slamnet: A collection of geography Powerpoint presentations for primary school students produced by teachers in Suffolk schools. Titles include: Homes across the World (Jackie Derbyshire, Sally Rose, Martine Sills), What do we know about where we live? (Amy Gray), "Handa's Surprise", "A Walk Around the Farm (Becky Flint and Jo Smith), Geography Through the Window (Sarah-Jane Sharman) and How has the seaside changed? (Aileen Bale).

Sligo's Coastline: "From Skerrydoo to Carrickfadda, a Study of Sligo's Coastline" is a schools heritage and ICT project, which seeks to promote high levels of awareness and understanding of seashore heritage amongst participants. The project ran in 12 County Sligo primary schools from October 2001 to May 2002 and is an extension of 'Exploring the Field Fences of County Sligo', a Schools Integration Project (SIP). Over 300 students participated in the project which was coordinated and supported by staff from Sligo Education Centre and The Heritage Office, Sligo County Council. Students studied a number of topics relating to their local shoreline including animals, habitats and plants, geology, history and folklore, and man and the sea. The website which summarises the work done by the students will prove a valuable resource for teachers involved in a similar project. Most important of all the project can serve as a model for schools in any coastline community who wish to use ICT creatively in a heritage project.

Global Teenager Project: The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) assists developing countries to realise locally owned sustainable development by harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The Global Teenager Project was launched in 1999 to bring the full potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into the classroom. In short, GTP's aim is to enhance secondary pupils' ICT skills and learning skills while increasing their understanding of other cultures by staging lively, global classroom debates in cyberspace. GTP unites secondary school pupils from all over the world in a safe, structured virtual environment, thereby helping to bridge the cultural and digital divide between the developing and developed world. So far, over 3000 pupils from 95 schools in 20 countries are taking part and the number is rising every month.

Moving Here is the ultimate database of digitised photographs, maps, objects, documents and audio items recording migration experiences of the past 200 years. The Exhibition section allows you to sample the in-depth resources on Caribbean, Irish, Jewish and South Asian migration. The Tracing Your Roots gallery will guide you through the many different ways you can find out when and how your family first came to England and where they settled. Collected together here for the first time are documents, photographs, sound and film clips selected by curators and researchers at archives and museums all over England. These incredible fragments of history are presented by specialist writers and historians and available for you to download.

Wildlife Interest Group: The American Society of International Law's Wildlife Interest Group website seeks to provide educational resources on the role of international law in protecting endangered wildlife species. These resources include the following: (1) The full text of hundreds of wildlife treaties and declarations; (2) The full text of hundreds of pieces of national legislation and regulations from virtually every continent; (3) The most comprehensive set of links on the Internet on wildlife science, law and policy issues; (4) A list of over 100 environmental law and policy journals; (5) A series of research of bibliographies on species-specific issues, beginning with whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

Geosense is an online, one-two player geography based game. You compete against an online opponent to place a city on a world map as quickly and accurately as you can. It plays in realtime with a built-in chat. It is fast paced and tends to keep kids interested while being educational. There are no ads, banners, fees, etc.

Global Wise: WaterAid is a charity dedicated to helping people escape the stranglehold of poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation. WaterAid works in partnership with local organisations in 15 countries in Africa and Asia to help poor communities establish sustainable water supplies and latrines, close to home. WaterAid also works to influence governments’ water and sanitation policies to serve the interests of vulnerable people. The Global Wise website leads pupils through a series of activities which teach them about WaterAid water and sanitation programmes in India and Ethiopia.

Newcastle upon Tyne: This website takes the form of a residential areas case study for Newcastle upon Tyne. Surfers can locate the five selected areas using an interactive map and are encouraged to research the areas using external links to maps, air photos, council data and ward-based national statistics. Each area has a webpage including photos, background information and dedicated links. This website can be used with any specification including urban patterns of growth and decline at a local scale and policies to improve and regenerate urban areas.

Zoom: From June until the end of November this year, primary school and kindergarten children all over Europe are collecting Green Footprints for a symbolic journey to the UN Climate Conference in Milan during December 2003. Zoom invites them to carry out an activity week dedicated to sustainable mobility and climate change, focusing on the fun of movement and independent mobility. By zooming to school on foot, bikes or scooters, the kids discover their daily journeys and experience how this helps to treat the world's climate with care. For each journey they make using a sustainable means of transport, they receive one Green Footprint. Zoom aims that together the children of Europe will collect enough Green Footprints, each representing one kilometre, to make a symbolic journey, taking them 28,029 km from the EU headquarters based in Brussels, to Kyoto in Japan, where the climate protocol was adopted, and then to Milan, where the next UN Climate Conference is taking place in December.

Climate Prediction: Climate change, and our response to it, are issues of global importance, affecting food production, water resources, ecosystems, energy demand, insurance costs and much else. There is a broad scientific consensus that the Earth is likely to warm over the coming century, but estimates of how much vary hugely. This website has been developed to allow a state-of-the-art climate prediction model to be run on home/school/work computers. By taking part in this experiment you can help to improve scientific forecasts of 21st century climate.

From Skerrydoo to Carrickfadda: This study of Sligo's Coastline is a heritage and ICT project involving more than 300 pupils from 12 primary schools in County Sligo, Ireland. The children learned about the flora and fauna of their area, conservation and pollution issues, stories and folklore of the sea and the importance of the sea in the local economy. Pupils also learned to use ICT as a presentation and research tool. The project website is now also a resource for teachers and can be a model for schools in other coastline communities wanting to use ICT creatively in a heritage project. In awarding the Irish project first prize, the judges of the European eLearning Awards, said that the "project served as a great inspiration and source of ideas that may be replicated".

Learning Science Through Play: This website shows various science projects made by 2- 5 year old children. Daily life at the Iðavöllur Kindergarten in Iceland revolves around play, activities, work and cooperation which works towards giving the children the opportunity to learn, to discover themselves and to explore their boundaries, both on their own and also with the help of others. Teachers at this kindergarten consider education and development as integral and therefore, when they work on projects they try to bring together as many aspects of the curriculum as possible, together with the development of the person.

Global Mappings: This interactive website, Global Mappings: A Political Atlas of the African Diaspora, demonstrates linkages between transnational black politics, social movements and world historical events of the 20th century. The website is the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year partnership between faculty, graduate students and technical staff at Northwestern University. Certain software is necessary to view the site. Most important is a current version of the Macromedia Flash player.

Isle of Skye: The Skye Museum of Island Life is a group of seven thatched cottages exhibiting life on the Isle of Skye in former times. The exhibits relate mainly to the village life of ordinary people, but there are also items connected with the crofter rebellions in the nineteenth century, items used by Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald, weapons from the age of clan warfare, and even Stone Age axeheads used by Skye's earliest inhabitants. The websites take you on a tour through the museum in words and pictures.

Valuing Places is a CPD-led curriculum development project to explore how our teaching about places at key stages 2 and 3 can develop pupils’ understandings of global interconnections. From October 2003 to December 2005, groups of teachers will be planning and evaluating classroom activities, and the GA is seeking Regional Co-ordinators to support these groups. The project regions are North-East, North-West, East Midlands, West Midlands, South-East, East Anglia, South-West and London. There will also be an inclusion group, offering special school colleagues the opportunity to explore significant place-based issues appropriate to their settings. An honorarium of £200 per day plus expenses is available, and there is a small budget to support each region’s work. Towards the end of the project each region will be asked to hold a continuing professional development session, funded by the project, for local colleagues.

British Geological Survey: This section of the British Geological Survey site provides information on geological topics aimed at schools and the general public. This includes: Fossil Focus (facts about the major groups of animals commonly found as fossils), Holiday Geology Guides (an introduction to the geology of some classic sites and to the building and ornamental stones used in some of our most historic buildings), Rocks in Your Eyes (Jane Robb's personal account of some of her geological experiences) and Soufrière Hills Volcano (an account of the Soufrière Hills Volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat that began erupting in 1995).

Geological Timechart ( reference material setting out the geological timescale and geochronological terms used by the British Geological Survey) . The BGS Geological Timechart aims to provide colourful reference material for use in schools, colleges and the home, setting out the geological timescale and geochronological terms used by the British Geological Survey.

Virtual Geology: Rocks form the Earth's hard outer layer or crust. They are a mixture of different minerals such as quartz, calcite, feldspar and olivine. Although there are hundreds of different kinds of rocks, they fall into just three main groups : igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. This simple grouping is based on how the rocks formed. The Virtual Geology Menu so far includes Igneous Rocks, Metamorphic Rocks and Sedimentary Rocks.

Geographical Association: The GA website has been redesigned to make it more attractive and easier to navigate. The GA website incorporates teaching advice, professional development opportunities and valuable online resource materials. The resources index covers each phase of education. There is also information on projects and a forums section. Two new features include Geography in the News and Unlocking the Archives. These sections draw on contemporary research and the Society's heritage resources.

GeoResources has now made available a Baseline Assessment Pack for Year 7 Geography pupils. The author, David Rayner, is a full time Head of Geography at a secondary school in Kent and has written and trialled the pack in his own school. It is already being used in around 60 schools across the country and has received a lot of praise from geography teachers, senior management and OFSTED. The pack provides a wide range of options so that schools can choose what suits them best. All sheets are photocopiable and can be marked relatively quickly (answer sheets and overlays are provided). There is the option of converting the assessment scores into a National Curriculum Level for those teachers that wish to use it. Further details and an order form are available from the GeoResources website.

EPSA: The European Primary Schools Association (EPSA) was created by four primary school teachers, (2 UK, 1 Italy, 1 Netherlands). The association's website provides free resources, ideas and information for any primary
school teaching about Europe. There is a large selection of maps, flags, crests, and other images to download, including outline masters. There is a large section giving details about how to make links in Europe - and what to do once the links have been created. There are also some outline details of primary level education across Europe.

Geography Department: The site is published by the author, R. Prutton who is Head of Geography at The Wrotham School in Kent. The site is primarily run as a resource bank for the pupils (Key Stage 3 - 5), but now contains many resources that teachers can use, the powerpoint presentations are constantly being added. The photo gallery makes fieldwork images easy for pupil access. The site is being updated every month and is starting to have worksheets and paper based resources added to it. So visit it regularly for updates. Teachers are encouraged to send the website resources for publication.

Pick A Trail: The Wilderness Society was established in America in 1935. The organization campaigned for a Wilderness Act. Passed by Congress in 1964 it set aside selected areas in the "national forests, national parks, national wildlife refuges, and other federal lands as units to be kept permanently unchanged by humans; no roads, no structures, no vehicles, no significant impacts of any kind". The Wilderness Society has now developed a Pick a Trail website. It offers general information about backpacking and hiking in the United States and different trails in other countries, such as the United Kingdom. Information on each trail includes a brief sketch of the host country, including basic climatic information, local topography, and the type of terrain that each trail traverses.

ENO-Environment Online is a global web school for environmental awareness. Four environmental themes (dimensions of sustainable development) are studied within a school year (Social, Natural, Cultural Environment and a sustainable way of living ) on a weekly basis. ENO Program is a strong and active network of schools. It has been running since 2000 and it is administrated by the city of Joensuu, Finland. The main idea is to lay emphasis on local environment and see it in a global aspect. Information is gathered from local communities and shared together in the website. At the end of each theme there is a campaign week when students share their results and raise them up in their local communities.

InsideWorld is a collection of country and region web sites providing local news and information to a worldwide audience. You can also use the site to access the latest stories. InsideWorld provides country background information for many countries and regions. Information covers topics like economy, government, demographics, geography and more. You can also sign up to receive a free daily e-mail with news about the countries you select.

Country Portals: InsideCountries features a growing number of country portal sites. These portals are designed to give you a comprehensive overview of the websites available for that specific country. Covered topics include: business, news, travel, education, government, and much more.

Online Atlas: This website provides a choice of physical or political maps of each part of the world, which may be selected by clicking on the appropriate continent. It is possible to zoom in further to an individual country or region for a more detailed map. The reference section provides a set of online specialist maps covering world history, volcanoes, time zones and aerial images.

World Atlas: This website is organized into six channels: Plan A Trip, Map & Travel Store, Explore with Maps, Get Directions, Learn & Play, and Business Solutions. It also includes a free online atlas. It covers seven continents, twelve regions, 190 countries, and 50 US States, including maps, flags, and statistics. You explore these maps by clicking on one of two globes: Political World Atlas and Physical World Atlas.

SchoolNet Global: This project started in 1998. Since then over half a million young people, aged 4 to 18 have been involved. Many have recorded their thoughts and feelings about life in the 21st Century, on over 54,000 web pages. They write about their own lives, homes, interests, wild ideas, hopes and dreams and how they will make the world a better place.

NationMaster: Luke Metcalfe admits that the idea for NationMaster arose as he was surfing around the CIA World Factbook. As he points out: "It's a great read but I felt the individual figures (like number of TV's, or kilometres of coastline) didn't mean much on their own. They'd be more illuminating if they were placed alongside other countries and shown relative to population. So I decided to put together a website that allowed users to generate graphs based on numerical data extracted from the Factbook." Metcalfe's objective is to make it easy to engage with the indicators that shape global commerce, health, politics and ecology.

Learn Geography: A collection of online geography tests for secondary school students. Subjects covered include Flood Disaster, Earthquakes & Volcanoes, People Everywhere, Exploring England, Environmental Geography, Geography Skills, Rivers, Coastal Environments, Investigating Brazil, Limestone Landscapes, Weather Patterns, Shopping, Crime and the Local Community, Development, Mining, Tourism and Globalisation.

National Geographic: Since its inception in July 1996, National Geographic magazine’s award-winning online edition has provided visitors with exciting exclusives that bring the intriguing stories of National Geographic magazine right to your desktop. Each online feature includes a Web-exclusive photo gallery and a full bibliography and list of related Web sites provided by the National Geographic Research Division. The “On Assignment” features allow visitors to step into the world of National Geographic writers and photographers as they share their best, worst and quirkiest adventures encountered in the field. Multi-media “Sights & Sounds” presentations, animation, video, audio clips, photo galleries and exclusive printable maps allow visitors to go even deeper into the story. Online forums invite users to speak their minds on hot topics and global issues plucked from the pages of the magazine. The National Geographic magazine collectors’ editions also include educational, interactive features such as a hieroglyphic translator in the “Treasures of Egypt” site and an “Exploring Space” trivia game. Archives of the past eight years of the online edition and “Flashback” vintage images are also available.

Global Witness: In 2002 Global Witness was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The organization campaigns to achieve real change by challenging established thinking on seemingly intractable global issues. We work to highlight the link between the exploitation of natural resources and human rights abuses, particularly where the resources such as timber, diamonds and oil are used to fund and perpetuate conflict and corruption. There are a wide range of reports available on the website including Time For Transparency (coming clean on oil, mining and gas revenues), A Conflict Of Interest (an uncertain future of Burma's forests), For a Few Dollars More (how al Qaeda moved into the diamond trade), The Usual Suspects (how the Liberian Government supports arms trafficking and mercenary activities in west Africa), Logging Off (how the Liberian timber industry fuels Liberia's humanitarian disaster and threatens Sierra Leone), All the Presidents Men (the devastating story of oil and banking in Angola's privatised war) and Deforestation Without Limits (how the Cambodian government failed to tackle the untouchables).

Zoom: From June until November 2003, children aged 4-10 years old from all over Europe are asked to make a symbolic journey to the Ninth Climate Change Conference in Milan. For one week they explore their daily journeys through fun and movement, and learn about sustainable mobility through play. More than 80,000 children from all over Europe collected half a million Green Footprints to protect the global climate as part of the Zoom campaign. ‘Zoom – Kids on the Move to Milan’ brought together children from fifteen countries, who collected a total of 544,008 Green Footprints to protect the global climate. A Green Footprint was awarded for each journey made using a sustainable means of transport – on foot, by bike and scooter, or by bus or rail. Zoom is financially supported by the European Commission's Directorate General for the Environment.

Our Own Voice: Launched in March 2000 as a 3-year project jointly implemented by Plan Haiti, Radio Nederland Training Centre (RNTC) and the Panos Institute. "Our Own Voice" is a component of a wider programme, of Plan entitled "Child Rights and Participatory Media in Civil Society," which currently involves children from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua. Through this programme, groups of child journalists in various local communities produce regular radio magazines, which are being broadcast through local radio. Children are trained as reporters and assisted in their covering events of interest to community development or child rights. They are further expected to carry out awareness campaigns on child rights issues and produce comic books and posters.

Wildlife & Countryside Services: This organization provides a wide range of products & services on a wildlife, gardening and education theme, including: environmental education services; advice on school nature areas and nature studies; wildlife garden & pond construction; supply of native UK wildflowers, shrubs, trees, seeds & bulbs; nestboxes; free e-mail advice; links to lots of other wildlife, conservation and eco-friendly web sites. Whether you want help with an existing project, or help and advice with a new one, Wildlife & Countryside Services will do what it can to help.

Migration: Rates of migration vary widely between regions. Rural districts in the north-east gained around 800 people in 2001-02, while their counterparts in the south-west gained 29,500 new residents. Net migration from urban to rural districts is estimated at 115,400 people in the 12 months to June 2002, and the overall trend towards rural life has been taking place for the last 15 years. Fourteen million people (28.5% of the population) now live in England's rural areas. This is causing housing problems. In 2003, 37% of the rural population spent more than half their income on mortgage payments, compared with 26% of urban residents. However, for many people living in rural areas, buying a house on their low income is out of the question.

Exploring the Environment: This website is being developed by Wheeling Jesuit University as part of the NASA Classroom of the Future Project. Supported by NASA's Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications Program, Exploring the Environment is a series of interdisciplinary, problem-based leading modules for students. The project enables students to address real-world problems related to weather, population growth, biodiversity, land use patterns, volcanoes, water pollution and global warming. Excellent section for teachers which provides module notes and advice on planning, facilitating and assessing.

2 comments:

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