Queensland Geographer

Transit of Venus - 6th June 2012

2012-04-29T15:52:00.001+10:00

Transits of Venus are rare and historically important astronomical events. Most of Australia is well positioned to witness the next transit of Venus on Wednesday 6th June 2012. The Surveying and Spatial Sciences industry in association with the Astronomical Association of Queensland (AAQ) is providing resources to enable students to participate in a re-enactment of a great scientific endeavour and in doing so learn valuable lessons in science, mathematics, history and geography.

These resources are available by clicking here - Transit of Venus Resources

A webcast of the transit will also be available on the Transit of Venus Website.

Background information on the Transit of Venus can be found in the presentation prepared by the SSSI below.

Transit of Venus Presentation

View more PowerPoint from becnicholas

Online Resources for Sustainability

2012-04-29T14:20:00.000+10:00

New free 'water' resources are available from the savewater! website. These resources have been designed and developed to align with the Australian Curriculum Cross Curriculum Priority of 'Sustainability', and are now available for teacher use.

· Water Savers – saving water in and around the home based largely on the Mission H2O online game for years 6 – 8.

· Carbon Tradies – environmental sustainability at home and in the local area associated with the Mission CO2 online game for years 7 – 9.

· Climate Change – a detailed worksheet using the Climate Change – The cold hard facts DVD for years 9 - 10.

Teachers can download these educational resources free of charge from the savewater!^® website and register for a copy of each of the Teacher’s Guides.

GTAQ Conference 2012 - Geography in the 21st Century

2012-04-18T22:10:00.000+10:00

The GTAQ 2012 Conference - Geography in the 21st Century - will be held on Friday 27th July (fieldwork day) and Saturday 28th July at the University of Queensland.

A website has been created to provide all information for interested participants, as well as those people interested in presenting a workshop, manning a trade display or sponsoring the conference.

Please go the the 2012 GTAQ Conference - Geography in the 21st Century - for further information.

Gold Coast Environmental Educators for Sustainability Network

2012-04-17T21:56:00.002+10:00

Interested educators on the Gold Coast are invited along to a small get-together at Merlo Coffee (107 Ferry Road, Southport) on the 23^rd of April at 4:15pm for a coffee (sustainably sourced) and chat (lively). The aim of our network at this stage is to discuss, share, inspire, enquire about and investigate all things environmental/educational/sustainable with the possibility of meeting regularly (perhaps 2-4 times a year).

RSVP phemphill@ssc.qld.edu.au by the 19^th of April so that we can book a table.

Senior Geography Assessment Professional Development

2012-04-17T21:41:00.002+10:00

GTAQ is holding a professional development workshop on developing effective assessment in Senior Geography.

The workshop will be held between 9:00am and 12:00 noon on Saturday 28th April at the Global Learning Centre, 102 McDonald Road, Windsor.

The workshop will include sessions on the 2011 State Panel Report, Stimulus Response Essays, Practical Exams, Accessing Data, Effective Short Response Tests and Reports, Using ICTs in Field Reports and Fieldwork Ideas and locations.

Morning tea will be provided.

To register, download the GTAQ Senior Assessment Flier and forward registration and payment by Thursday 26th April.

Websites of the Month!

2012-04-05T12:21:00.000+10:00

Atlas of Living Australia

http://www.ala.org.au/

The Atlas of Living Australia is a resource developed by the Australian Government.

It contains information on all the known species in Australia aggregated from a wide range of data providers: museums, herbaria, community groups, government departments, individuals and universities.

The site contains information pages on many species as well as information on various citizen science and museum-based projects.

You can access a huge range of information via their mapping tool. The tool uses Google Maps as a base and allows the user to overlay species information and locations as well as a range of climate, vegetation, geologic, land use and administrative layers.

It is quite easy to bring up a detailed map showing the average annual mean rainfall for Australia.

Look for the ‘Mapping and analysis’ button at the top of the page and the ‘Add to Map’ button to add data to the map.

Quotable Quotes

2012-04-05T11:53:00.000+10:00

Primary Teachers' Geography Day!

2012-04-05T11:25:00.002+10:00

Attention Early Learning & Primary Teachers

GTAQ is hosting a professional development for Primary teachers on Saturday 5th May at St. Margaret's.

To register, please download the registration form .

State Review Panel Report 2011

2012-04-05T10:51:00.000+10:00

January 2012

Geography B34

This report is based on information gathered from districts and at statewide comparability.

Syllabus

This is the fourth year of implementation of the Geography 2007 Syllabus. The syllabus is available from the QSA website at:

www.qsa.qld.edu.au/2053.html

Assessment design

Effective assessment design matched the recommendations for the techniques as described in the syllabus (pp. 68–70). Advice more specific to each technique has been provided.

Short-response tests

Short-response tests are the most appropriate technique to assess the Knowledge criterion.

It is most important that these tests enable students to provide evidence to match the syllabus standards.

short-response tests that best facilitated this had the following qualities:

items relevant to each key question in the unit
coverage of most of the key ideas in the unit as described in the syllabus
a number of paragraph-length responses that showed a depth of knowledge with details relating to a particular case study
very little or no choice in the questions so that students could demonstrate comprehensive, not selective, knowledge
limited single-word, multi-choice and single-line answers in these tests so that students were able to demonstrate thorough knowledge
spatial knowledge that was linked to the case studies undertaken in the units
spatial questions that included recall of places and patterns on maps at local and national scales, not just at a global scale
written descriptions of spatial patterns e.g. “Describe the pattern of annual rainfall in Australia”.

Data response tests

Effective data response tests had the following qualities:

assessment of analytical processes and/or decision making processes only
responses that were in-depth and paragraph length
data such as images, maps, graphs and statistics with limited use of text.

Practical exercises

An improvement in the manipulation of data in this technique was evident.

The best examples of this technique had the following qualities:

manipulated data and produced choropleth maps, scattergraphs and used correlation coefficients
followed conventions in the presentation of graphs and maps including the use of borders, ruler-dawn legends, titles and acknowledging sources.

Stimulus response essays

The quality of stimulus in stimulus response essays has provided students with effective assessment opportunities.

Where this was evident:

stimulus was manageable, easy to read and included mostly graphs, diagrams, maps and statistics with little text material
the essay question had a section that was based on analytical processes and another section based on decision-making processes.

Reports

When designing this technique consideration of which units make collection of primary data by students easier to undertake is important.

Catchments and Biodiversity for example, provide a significant opportunity for the collection of primary data.

The most effective reports had the following qualities:

primary data collection was based on local field work not collection of statistics
the collected data was explained so analysis was authentic and not extracted from other sources
decision making was linked to the analysis and based on local, small-scale alternatives, not tasks that governments would grapple with for years
tasks enabled students to work within the syllabus requirements and conditions for reports (refer to Section 8.5 of the syllabus, p. 70).

Application of standards

Judgments about student achievement are made by matching the evidence in student responses with instrument-specific criteria and standards drawn from the syllabus standards.

Evidence presented through the moderation process in the past year indicates that schools are making informed decisions about the match between the qualities in student responses and the standards descriptors in the syllabus.

The few concerns about application of standards were associated with the following:

Criterion 1, Knowledge at B and C standards. At B standard geographical and spatial information should be detailed, accurate and relevant whereas C standard requires basic, accurate and relevant coverage.
Criterion 2, Analytical processes, identification and explanation of relationships at B and C standards. At B standard simple and complex relationships should be identified and explained whereas C standard requires only simple relationships to be explained.
Criterion 4, Research and communication at A and B standards. A standard requires clear and concise expression and accurate use of geographic conventions while B standard requires clear expression and appropriate use of geographic conventions.

Support

Support materials for the Geography 2008 syllabus are available from the QSA website at:

www.qsa.qld.edu.au/2053.html

These include:

Designing effective assessment instruments. This document helps teachers design effective assessment instruments that give students the opportunity to cover the syllabus general objectives and demonstrate the syllabus standards.
Quality assuring senior assessment instruments: A tool for schools. This is a useful tool to evaluate and refine an assessment instrument after it has been constructed.
Subject-specific advice (Highlighted standards). This document highlights different aspects in the standards and how these aspects vary across the different standards.

Additional support materials for the Geography 2008 syllabus include:

data response tests
reports
stimulus response essays
geographic conventions
sample assessment instruments
sample instruments and responses.

To receive updates on support materials, subscribe to the QSA News RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed available from the QSA website at:

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/index.html

QSA memos also provide educators with important information.

These can be received through the Memo subscriptions service available at:

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/qsa_secure/memos.act

Jo MacDonald & Jackie Dunk

State Review Senior Education

Panel Chair Officer

2012-04-05T09:35:00.000+10:00

How to live sustainably is of local, national and international importance, and many educators are bending their minds towards how best to incorporate sustainability into their curriculum and teaching practices.

Many school students are learning about and becoming engaged in sustainability matters.

The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) provides networks and resources to support teachers and students in schools to engage with and implement education for sustainability. Community organisations such as Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) and Get Up! provide activities and actions to inform, engage and empower young people. Australia’s new national curriculum has ‘sustainability’ as a cross-curriculum priority (ACARA), lending policy weight to implementing sustainability and education for sustainability in schools.

But what about the very young?

Young children are most at risk from unsustainable ways of living. Yet, early education investments aimed at addressing such issues, until recently, have been neglected or under-rated. Fortunately, this is changing as practitioner interest, coupled with the emergence of an international coalition for early childhood education for sustainability, begins to expand.

The Gothenburg Recommendations on Education for Sustainable Development (2008) identifies early childhood as a “natural starting point” for all ongoing education for sustainability.

While this might seem an unremarkable point to make, this document is important as it is the first international statement to explicitly identify early childhood education as contributing to education for sustainability.

Early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) is an emerging area of EFS activity; Australians and New Zealanders are at the forefront of international work in this area as advocates, teachers, teacher educators, and researchers.

There is a growing list of first class exemplars of children and teachers in kindergartens, child care centres, preschools, preps and schools who are engaged in education for sustainability activities and projects in water education, energy reduction, recycling, growing gardens, strengthening Indigenous communities , supporting refugee families, and the like.

There is mounting evidence that these early lessons in learning for sustainability help reshape adult actions around sustainability issues and that young children have impacted on actions and learning in schools once they have moved into formal schooling, for example, by advocating for ‘litterless lunches’ and better recycling processes as a result of these experiences as preschool.

Some people think that it is inappropriate to ‘burden’ young children with sustainability issues. I agree - it is inappropriate; indeed, I would go so far as to say that it is unethical to expose children to ‘doom and gloom’ scenarios. The type of EFS that is promoted here, though, is based in socially-critical approaches to learning and change, built on learning interests and engagement, democratic practice and empowerment.

The key idea is to support young children to be problem-solvers and thinkers, designers and creators, wrapped up in a ‘I can make a difference’ frame of mind.

Already, we are able to show that young children - with the help of caring and interested teachers in preschool - can do things differently – for themselves, for the planet, for their communities, and for the future.

Please join us in this project. Below are some ways you can be a part of this growing movement.

Author notes:

Julie lectures in the SEC at QUT.

She edited the first-ever text book on ECEfS, published by Cambridge University Press, for early childhood teacher education. She convened the 1st and 2nd Transnational Dialogues in Research in ECEfS in Norway (2010) and Brisbane (2011). Julie presents regularly at local, state, national and international conferences and meetings.

In 2011, she was awarded a national Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) citation for her work in developing and contributing to ECEfS, in Australia and internationally.

Want to know more?

Useful Organisations/websites:

Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE)

This association supports early childhood educators through its general education activities such as conferences and newsletters, and also has a Significant Interest Group (SIG) with an early childhood focus,dedicated to sharing and networking across the nation through regular e-newsletters and email.

http://www.aaee.org.au

*****

Australian Curriculum, Reporting and Assessment Authority (ACARA)

http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/cross_curriculum_priorities.html

*****

Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI)

This is the national organisation for Sustainable Schools

http://www.environment.gov.au/education/aussi

Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC)

A youth-run community movement aimed at delivering the short-term political impact and long-term cultural change needed for a safe climate future.

http://aycc.org.au

*****

Get Up!

An independent social movement that maximises social media to build a progressive Australia and bring participation back into our democracy.

http://www.getup.org.au/

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Global Learning Centre

This is a not-for-profit community organisation supporting teachers in global education

http://www.glc.edu.au

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Queensland Early Childhood Sustainability Network (QECSN)

This sub-group of Qld’s branch of Early Childhood Australia provides meetings, workshops and an e-newsletter for those with interest in education for sustainability at the early childhood education level.

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/state_territory_branches/queensland_branch/queensland_early_childhood_sustainability_network.html

*****

Books/papers/reports on ECEfS

Davis, J. (Ed.) (2010) Young children and the environment: Early Learning for sustainability. Cambridge University Press: Melbourne.

Davis, J. (2009) Revealing the research ‘hole’ of early childhood education for sustainability: A preliminary survey of the literature, Environmental Education Research, 15(2), 227-241.

Davis, J. & Elliott, S. (2009) Exploring the resistance: an Australian perspective on educating for sustainability in early childhood. International Journal of Early Childhood, 41(2), 65-77.

McNichol, H., Davis, J. & O’Brien, K. (2011) An ecological footprint for an early learning centre: identifying opportunities for early childhood sustainability education through interdisciplinary research Environmental Education Research, 17(5), 689-704.

Pramling Samuelsson, I & Kaga, Y. (Eds.) (2008) The contribution of early childhood education to a sustainable society. UNESCO: Paris.

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001593/159355E.pdf

The Gotherburg Recommendations on Education for Sustainable Development (2008)

http://www.desd.org/Gothenburgl%20Recommendations.pdf

ACARA UPDATE

2012-04-05T08:42:00.000+10:00

Feedback to ACARA on Draft Australian Curriculum Geography

The following feedback was collected through consultation of GTAQ members in February 2012.

A forum was held in Brisbane in early February, along with smaller regional consultations in Townsville, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.

NEW RESOURCES

2012-04-05T08:41:00.001+10:00

To link in with the Australian Curriculum: Geography, we would like to highlight a range of free resources for educators.

All of these resources meet some requirement of the Australian Curriculum: Geography draft document that is available on the ACARA website at: www.acara.edu.au/geography.htm

Environmental Sustainability

New educational resources designed and developed in line with “Sustainability” being a cross curriculum priority of the new Australian curriculum are now available for teachers to use.

There are three sets of materials all available:

Water Savers

Saving water in and around the home based largely on the Mission H2O online game for years 6 – 8.

Carbon Tradies

Environmental sustainability at home and in the local area associated with the Mission CO2 online game for years 7 – 9.

Climate Change

A detailed worksheet using the Climate Change – The cold hard facts DVD for years 9 - 10.

Teachers can download these educational resources free of charge from the savewater! website and register for a copy of each of the Teacher’s Guides.

The site also offers links to water related conferences and professional development opportunities. The direct link is: http://www.savewater.com.au/how-to-save-water/in-education

Catchments and Water Quality

The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management have created a range of Geography resources as part of their ‘Water: Learn it for life!’ program.

Both resources have been mapped to the Australian Curriculum: Geography draft and both are aimed at year seven but could be adapted to a range of years. The resources are:

Mapping your waterways

Students collect visual data on the quality of water in sites on their local waterway using a Waterway Health Check (online).

They then map their results on Google Maps and adjust the symbols to indicate the health at each site on their waterway before sending the map to their teacher.

Explaining our catchment

Conceptual diagrams are simple illustrations of catchments that convey complex information. Students can use an online tool to select a suitable background that matches their catchment and illustrate the land use in the catchment using simple symbols. Processes such as nutrient run-off and sedimentation can be added using coloured arrow symbols: a very useful tool.

Teachers can access these resources through the ‘Water: Learn it for life!’ curriculum resource that is available to schools free of charge.

The resources and information on how to order the disk can be found at:

http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/waterwise/education/units/index.html

Water Infrastructure

Seqwater have developed a range of Virtual Tours of their various pieces of water infrastructure in south-east Queensland. They are well organised under the headings source, store, treat, supply and they cover Wivenhoe Dam, treatment plants, desalination plants and a …..coming soon…….tour of the water grid itself, I personally hope it is based around a map!

You can find these great resources at:

http://www.seqwater.com.au/public/virtual-tours

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2012-04-05T07:54:00.002+10:00

GTAQ is endeavouring to support teachers with curriculum change and assessment development. The following Professional Development has been planned:

PROPOSED PROGRAMME

Sat April 28

Senior Geography Assessment

Assessment Workshop in term 2

May 5

Primary Day at St Margaret’s

27 July

Proposed field work workshop - please express your interest

Friday 27 & Sat 28 July 21

Century Geography GTAQ conference at

UQ St Lucia

Term 4

National Curriculum workshops

Dates and locations yet to be advised

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

2012-04-05T07:34:00.002+10:00

Fellow Geographers,

Welcome back to the 2012 school year. This will be an exciting year with us all having had the opportunity to respond to ACARA on the Draft Australian Curriculum: Geography at the end of February.

It is anticipated that the publication will be released in October 2012.

Management Committee

I was honoured to be elected as your new president for 2012 at our AGM on 24th November 2011.

Thank you to those members that attended the AGM and I would especially like to acknowledge the contribution and hard work of all State Council members over the past year.

A special thanks to Anne-Marie Gerlach for her tireless efforts as GTAQ president over the last six years. The 2012 committee has no new members just position changes. I wish to thank all elected committee volunteers in anticipation of your great efforts in the coming year.

Forum on Draft Australian Curriculum: Geography

On 9 February 2012 GTAQ conducted a forum on the Draft Australian Curriculum: Geography at RGSQ where 30 geographers gathered to discuss and respond to the Draft.

Simultaneously Gold Coast GeoNet and Wide Bay teachers also reviewed the Draft curriculum and sent feedback to us. Other regions such as Townsville and Sunshine Coast also gave responses that were collated. Individual teachers were encouraged to respond to the survey as well as the collective voice of GTAQ.

Our response shown in detail in this journal was received by ACARA.

Thank you to Bec Nicholas for her efforts during this time and for providing AGTA with information collected at the forum on GTAQ’s behalf and for all attendees who gave of their time at this busy time of year. The response to ACARA is now closed.

Membership & Geography Competition

If you have not renewed your membership the registration form is on the website and at the end of this publication.

If using an Institutional membership make sure the emails are correct as information is emailed quickly to members.

A recent email notified you that the 2012 National Geographic Channel and Australian Geography competition registration has been extended.

Information was mailed to all schools in January. The competition will be conducted around Australia between 26 March and 4 April 2012. It is a fantastic opportunity to students and a special thank you to all teachers that are involved.

New Logo and website

At our February meeting the committee voted on a new logo. Please express your opinion on the website. Our website is continually updating and putting new information for teachers please visit regularly and have your say. Visit http://www.gtaq.com.au

Journal Development

We have decided to have a themed approach to the journal this year. You should receive the journal in the last week of each term.

Themes include:

Term 1: 2012 year of...
Term 2: 21st Century Geography
Term 3: Skills and inquiry
Term 4: The Australian Curriculum: Geography

If you have any Journal articles, assessment items or would like to showcase Geography in your school then please contact us via our website.

Don’t forget to consider the 2013 Australian Geography Teachers Association conference in Perth from 10 -13 January. 2011 was my first time attending a national conference and it provided a valuable networking opportunity and updated information.

Best wishes for the rest of 2012!

Regards,

Lerece Roberts

United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Awards

2012-02-20T21:19:00.000+10:00

Each year, in support of United Nations World Environment Day (June 5), the United Nations Association of Australia recognises innovative and outstanding environmental initiatives and projects from across Australia through the World Environment Day Awards.

The Awards invite nominations from individuals, organisations and businesses that have taken positive steps towards sustainability and demonstrated environmental excellence in their homes, schools, communities and workplaces.

In 2012, the Awards are held in support of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All and United Nations World Environment Day 2012 'Green Economy: Does it include you?'.

The 2012 Award Categories are:

Biodiversity Award
BHP Billiton Business Awards
Virgin Australia Community Award
Environmental School Award
Excellence in Marine and Coastal Management Award
Excellence in Sustainable Water Management Award
Green Building Award
Individual Award for Outstanding Service to the Environment
Local Government Awards
Media Award for Environmental Reporting
Peter Szental Award for Sustainability Entrepreneurship
Sustainability Education Award
Sustainability Leadership Awards

ENTRY DEADLINE: Friday 4 May Winners will be announced at the Awards Presentation Dinner to be held on Friday 8 June at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne.

For more information about the Awards, including entry criteria and nomination forms, please visit www.unaavictoria.org.au. If you have any enquiries, don’t hesitate to contact the UNAA Victoria office on (03) 9670 7878 or via email: awards@unaavictoria.org.au.

2012 Professional Development @ GTAQ

2012-02-19T16:31:00.000+10:00

Below is an outline of the major professional development opportunities offered by GTAQ. Make sure you jot these dates down in your diary and let your HOD know about the GTAQ Conference.

Late April - Saturday - Writing Effective Geography Assessment for Senior Geography

Primary Geography Conference - Saturday 5th May. More information will be provided soon.

Friday 20th July - UQ Geography Student Day.

2012 GTAQ Conference - Geography in the 21st Century - Fieldwork Day on Friday 27th July and the conference on Saturday 28th July at the University of Queensland. A program will be available by the end of Term 1.

Geography Skills Workshop - Early November (Date TBA)

GTAQ AGM - Thursday 22nd November

AGTA Conference 2013 - Geography's New Frontier - January 10th - 13th in Perth, Western Australia. More information on this conference can be found by clicking here.

Australian Ocean's Treasure Map

2012-02-05T18:27:00.000+10:00

Through its bioregional marine planning process, the Australian government is currently planning the establishment of a national marine reserve network in Commonwealth waters. 2012 is to be the year of delivery and, when established, the network will lead the world in oceans conservation.

As part of our campaign to ensure that the national marine reserve network is effective in protecting Australia’s ocean life, the Australian Conservation Foundation has prepared the Australian Oceans Treasure Map.

The colour map has been printed at B1 size (1100mm x 707mm) and can be supplied either folded or flat or as a high-resolution electronic file. The electronic file could be used in PowerPoints in classrooms or used as the source file for a print-out at a local print shop.

ACF believes that the Australian Oceans Treasure Map will be an excellent resource for environmental educators and their students during this important year for Australia’s oceans.

Australian Curriculum Geography Consultation Forum

2012-01-30T20:57:00.001+10:00

SAVE THE DATE - GTAQ AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM FORUM

On Thursday February 9th GTAQ will be hosting a forum discussion to provide members with the opportunity to provide feedback on the Draft Australian Geography Curriculum. The discussions at this forum will guide GTAQ in their official response to the Australian Geography Curriculum. All GTAQ members and other interested geography teachers are invited to attend.

The forum will be held at 4:30pm, at the Royal Geographic Society of Queensland, 237 Milton Road, Milton.

Please RSVP by Wednesday 8th February via email - rnich101@eq.edu.au for catering purposes.

We also encourage regional members who cannot attend the Brisbane meeting to hold their own consultation and provide this feedback to GTAQ. These members should also contact Rebecca Nicholas for a consultation package designed to help them organise and synthesize their findings.

If you are unable to attend and would still like to provide some feedback, go to The Australian Curriculum Consultation Online page and complete the online survey. The draft F-12 Australian Geography Curriculum can be found here, or a printable copy can also be downloaded here. To access the curriculum or survey, you will need to register on the Australian Curriculum site.

Please bring a copy of the F-12 Australian Geography Curriculum and any comments to the forum. Refreshments will be provided.

Geography Websites of the Moment November 2011

2011-11-25T23:07:00.000+10:00

As a regular occurance we'll be putting up a post that highlights the most useful, inspiring, relevant, informative, distinctive and fun websites out there related to our wonderful subject. Now, what were you about to do with the next hour or so? Enjoy!

Population Reference Bureau’s 2011 Population Data Sheet

Every year the Population Reference Bureau collates a range of global demographic data and presents their Population Data Sheet to millions of waiting educators and demographers. The 2011 version can be accessed as a pdf document but you can also use their interactive map application to view the data in a different format to the traditional table.

Gapminder

Gapminder is an amazing data visualisation tool that really sets the standard in terms of viewing development data over time. Creator Hans Rosling is a mini-celebrity in his own right and his wonderful presentations on a range of engagingdevelopment topics can be found on the TED website. Take time out to explore this site after watching Hans in action.

WWFWildfinder

The WWF Wildfinder site is a simple spatial tool that allows you to search for an animal species in order to generate a Google Map showing the extent of that species. You can view a variety of basemaps, including satellite imagery and links are provided off to other WWF resources related to some species.

GeoscienceAustralia’s natural hazards portal

We’re coming into that time of the year when we batten down the hatches, bring in all the loose stuff floating around the yard, clean out the gutters, prepare our escape plans and generally prepare for the worst. Yes, it’s hazard season! The good thing about this time of the year is that there are always opportunities to reinforce the content you have covered in class by looking at what is happening across our state and country. Geoscience Australia have put together this hazards ‘portal’, which consists of links through to all of their resources for students that are related to natural hazards. There is great information and it is very appropriate for secondary students; very useful for research tasks or even as a tool for you to grab figures and other resources for use in class.

MapZone – Ordnance Survey

The UK’s Ordnance Survey is essentially the UK equivalent to Australia’s Geoscience Australia. Here they have collated a range of resources for teachers and students related to the teaching of Geography. There are notes, games, figures, diagrams and other information to help you and your students grasp general spatial concepts such as scale and latitude and longitude. There is a lot of content that is of very high quality, just don’t get too distracted by the games!

AGTA 2013 Conference - Geography's New Frontier

2011-11-25T22:07:00.000+10:00

The AGTA 2013 Conference page has gone active on the AGTA Website at http://www.agta.asn.au/conf2013/index.htm

The conference titled, ‘Geography’s New Frontier’, will be a crucial event in relation to the introduction of the Australian Curriculum for geography in 2013 (to be held in Perth from January 7th-10th 2013)

The information on the AGTA website at shows that we have international speakers of significant note presenting keynotes at the conference. They include the leading geographical educators from the UK; Professor David Lambert (CEO of the UK Geography Association) and Professor Simon Catling (Primary Geography specialist from Brookes Oxford University). The work of these two gentleman has been very influential in the development of the Australian Curriculum for geography over recent years.For more details on David and Simon go to http://spatialworlds.blogspot.com/2011/11/without-geography-world-would-be.html

Please consider putting in a workshop proposal and/or expression of interest for this conference as they are wonderful networking opportunities with a wide range of high-quality presentations in all fields of geography education. Although January 2013 seems a long way away, the time will go fast and it will be on again for AGTA at the Perth conference.

National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition 2012

2011-11-10T05:44:00.000+10:00

Date Claimer for your 2012 Calendar

Entries for the 2012 National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition close on the 29th February 2012. The competition will run between 26th March and the 4th of April across the country.

Full details are sent to all secondary schools in mid January, and are on the competition website from late December

Interested primary teachers can use the information on the web or contact us directly.

For information on why you should enter your students in the competition, or for promotion in your school, click on the following link - National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition Poster.

Nathan Wolfe's Jungle Search for Viruses

2011-11-09T11:50:00.000+10:00

This is a great video that may be useful when teaching the Geography of Disease.

Virus hunter Nathan Wolfe is outwitting the next pandemic by staying two steps ahead: discovering deadly new viruses where they first emerge -- passing from animals to humans among poor subsistence hunters in Africa -- before they claim millions of lives.

Free PD Event - Our Community, Our World - Rebuilding Societies After Disasters

2011-11-09T09:47:00.000+10:00

The past year alone has brought an unprecedented number of disasters throughout the world, with millions of people having been affected. We've seen floods in Queensland and Vitoria, floods in Pakistan, Brazil and the Philippines, an earthquake and tsunami in Japan, as well as earthquakes in New Zealand and china.

Many of us have had first-hand experience of the tremendous amount of turmoil, disruption and heartache associated, with the after effects lasting not just a few weeks, but rather years and sometimes decades.

In the past ten years, disasters have killed an average of 98 000 people each year and destroyed the homes and livelihood's of millions more. When there is a loss of infrastructure, a lack of drinkable water, roads are destroyed, families are displaced without shelter, with many at risk of malnutrition and diseases such as cholera and malaria, the enormity of the task at hand can seem overwhelming. And the impact of a disaster is not evenly spread, as unequal power relationships can meant that women and children are disproportionally affected and their differing needs are not always addressed.

So what happens when the cameras stop rolling? what happnes in the wake of disasters and what can we do to help mitigate the impact of these? How do we ensure that local knowledge and communities are acknowledged and included as crucial to effective responses? And what are the potential obstacles when it comes to rebuilding not just homes, but people's lives?

BRISBANE EVENT FEATURING:

Trish Broadbridge - Founder of REach Broadbridge Foundation

Dr. Chiung-wen (Julia) Hsu - Associate Professor at Naitonal Cheng Chi University, Taiwan and former Journalist for China Television Company

Caitlin Wilson - Director of Humanitarian Emergency Response, AusAID

Major General Richard Wilson AO - Chari, Queensland Reconstruction Authority

Terri Begley (Moderator) - Presenter, Mornings on 612 ABC Brisbane

Date: Tuesday 15th November 2011
Time: 6:00pm to 7:30pm (entry from 5:30pm)
Venue: State Library of Queensland, Stanley Place, South Bank
Free Entry - Please RSVP by clicking on the following link - RSVP

GOLD COAST EVEN FEATURING:

Dr. Chiung-wen (Julia) Hsu - Associate Professor at Naitonal Cheng Chi University, Taiwan and former Journalist for China Television Company

Andrew Judge - Chief Executive Officer, SurfAid International

Judy Moore - Humanitarian Advisor and former Senior Relief Coordinator for World Vision's Global Rapid Response team

Tim Cox (Moderator) - ABC Gold Coast's Breakfast Presenter

Date: Monday 14th November 2011
Time: 6:00pm to 7:30pm (entry from 5:30pm)
Venue: The Arts Centre, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise
Free Entry -Please RSVP by clicking on the following link - RSVP

SPECIAL FREE EVENT FOR SCHOOLS - Gold Coast

Date: Monday 14th November 2011
Time: 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Venue: The Arts Centre, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise
Free Event - Please RSVP to alicia.rennie@worldvision.com.au

For more information on the speakers or the event, go to One Just World.

2013 AGTA Conference - Register your Interest

2011-11-03T15:18:00.000+10:00

The final draft of the Australian Geography Curriculum was realeased on Thursday the 20th October and with the final curriculum documents to be released in October 2012, the conference will be a great opportunity to gain new insights and ideas to assis you with implementing the new Australian Geography Curriculum. With these developments we believe the conference theme, 'AGTA 2013 - Geography's New Frontier', aptly describes the opportunities the new curriculum will offer geographical educators. Perth and Western Australia may also offer you the opportunity to explore some new frontiers.

The four-day event is to be held at Perth College between Janyary 7th-10th, 2013. International and Australiasian Geography teachers and academics will be invited to the conference to participate in a stimulating education program of presentations, hands on workshops and field trips. We anticipate an unprecedented attendance at the conference in response to the need for professional learning as a result of the requirements of the new F-12 Geography Curriculum. 250 teachers from around Australia attended the last AGTA conference held in Adelaide, South Australia.

As well as the academic program, an exciting social program highlighting some of the best of Western Australia is being developed. Pre conference tours (2nd-5th January), a Swan Valley tour, (6th January), a Welcome BBQ, (6th January), the legendary AGTA Games - state versus state and a Conference Celebration Dinner are all being planned. All participants will be provided with a range of free resources and materials including all AGTA Conference keynote and workshop materials provided by presenters.

The bi-annual AGTA Conference is the premier school geography educator's professional development event in Australia. AGTA 2013 will be a pivotal and crucial event in the implementation of the Australian Curriculum Geography. We would encourage you to set aside these dates in January 2013 to attend AGTA 2013. WE would love as many geographers around Australia participate in this watershed happening for school geography.

Details of AGTA 2013 will be live on the AGTA conference website by mid November and on line registrations will open by April 2012. We will keep you regularly informed with program updates and details via the website and regular emails. The AGTA 2013 committee looks forward to your participation.

The GTAQ AGM

2011-10-30T21:30:00.000+10:00

All GTAQ members are cordially invited to attend the 2011 GTAQ AGM. This will be held on Thursday 24th November, starting at 5:30pm and finishing at 7:00pm.

The evening will begin with a presentation by Anne-Marie Gerlach on Urban Renewal in Seoul, South Korea at 5:00pm. The AGM will begin at 6:00pm and will include the election of office bearers for the 2012 GTAQ committee. Refreshments will be served from 6:30pm.

The AGM will be held at the Royal Geographic Society of Queensland, 237 Milton Road, Milton.

Nomination forms for the AGM can be found by clicking the following link - AGM Nomination Form.

Please RSVP by 22nd November by contacting Terri Bourke, the GTAQ Secretary - gtaq@live.com.