IT in the geography department

[kendallb]

The head of geography popped into to see me on friday. He's looking to do something a little different basically anything that will engage with the kids.

 

His actual request was "I want something cool"

 

He already has all the basics available just wondered if anyone out there was pushing the boundaries or had any ideas

[bclarke]

I saw the Kinect sandbox. Never had a chance to set one up but looks pretty cool for geography lessons.

 

http://idav.ucdavis.edu/~okreylos/ResDev/SARndbox/

 

[kendallb]

Looks fun! Im sure I could spend playing with that myself

[synaesthesia]

Interactive whiteboards can be put to good use for geography. You probably already have them, if not then maybe some interactive touchscreens.

 

VR - I know Oculus Rift may be out of reach, but how about the Google Cardboard thing! Flying around Google Earth would be awesome, zooming in on hotspots, geographically and geologically interesting areas. A little bit out there and need a compatible mobile device but could be worth a shot!

[kendallb]

Yeah we already have iwb's, just a little old hat really. Ill have a look at google cardboard, I respect what hes trying to do, I do believe tech in classrooms has become mundane

[plexer]

Ah so another person with no clue asking you how to waste the taxpayers money.

 

Ben

[kendallb]

I'm not the kinda guy who would approve the spend if there wasnt a good educational reason for the kit. Personally I love to see good use if it in lessons and agree that IT can be difficult for subjects such as geography Edited September 21, 2014 by kendallb

[kendallb]

Thanks DocHouse after looking this seems to be fairly common, usually means successful. I like the idea of other software being used too might have to cost it up

[localzuk]

One thing that I've been a big proponent of is use of Minecraft in schools. So many possibilities out there.

 

People have built pre-made lesson ideas/worlds ranging from human geography (Communities - an adaption of Ecosystems Junction | MinecraftEdu World Library) to farming and limited water resources (Water Challenge | MinecraftEdu World Library) or environmental problems (Escape from Everest | MinecraftEdu World Library), along with many many more.

[Sylv3r]

We've used Video Conferencing quite a bit in Geography.

 

National Space Centre Education - Operation Montserrat

 

The students love doing this. We've done it for the last 3 or 4 years now.