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| Activity Resources
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| Activity 5 |
Click on the Web link above and select the Mapzone website. Explore the site to investigate what you can do. Make notes in your online Notebook of your response to the following questions:
- How could you build in the use of this software for your class?
- How might you relate its use to other mapping activities in the classroom?
If you would like more background information on GIS, click on the Web icon above and select the Ordnance Survey website.
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| Using technologies creatively to support learning |
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‘The traditional, narrow conceptualization of a map as a printed document has to be revised since ‘maps’ are no longer the final products they used to be.’
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This unit began with the use of a computerised mapping system. This section looks at these systems in more detail and specifically at how new technologies can help in supporting children’s understanding of mapping activities. Firstly you are going to read some (very brief!) background information about GIS systems.
What is a Geographical Information System (GIS)?
A GIS combines layers of information about a place to help provide a better understanding about that place.
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| GIS system - Taken from the Geographic Information Systems website at http://www.gis.com/whatisgis/index.html |
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It is both a database and a set of operations to use that data. It has many applications, for example, it can be used to set up a computer model to predict the fall and rise of water levels and identify potential flooding areas.
So how can we use this technology in the classroom?
Fortunately, many useful resources are provided for teachers in a form that is easy to use.
For example, Ordnance Survey provides a digital map of Britain which tracks the alignment of roads and pavements as well as the shapes of individual buildings, all available over the internet.
Activity 5 encourages you to explore some of these and to summarise what you have learned in this unit.
You now need to summarise your notes.
In this unit you have been able to update your awareness about new developments in mapping and reflect on how children’s understanding of mapping evolves. Mapping is not an end in itself but is a medium of communication, which when carefully used can support activities across the curriculum.
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Brown, M. (2000) ‘Understanding, making and using maps’ in Clipson-Boyles, S. (ed.) Putting Research into Practice in Primary Teaching and Learning, London, David Fulton, pp. 105–114.
Catling, S. J. (1992a) Mapstart 1, Harlow, Longman.
Catling, S. J. (1992b) Mapstart 2, Harlow, Longman.
Catling, S. J. (1992c) Mapstart 3, Harlow, Longman.
Catling, S. J. (1979) ‘Maps and cognitive maps: the young child’s perception’, Geography, vol. 64, pp. 288–96.
Mills, D. (1981) Geographical Work in Primary and Middle Schools, Sheffield, The Geographical Association.
Papert, S. (1996) The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap, Atlanta, GA, Longstreet Press.
Sandford, H. A. (1979) ‘Things maps don’t tell us’, Geography, vol. 64, pp. 276–306.
Walford, N. (1999) ‘Making more of maps’, Geography, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 128–38.
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Unit Resources
