SEATS STILL AVAILABLE!
Tried & True: A Veteran Teacher's Approach to APHG Exam Prep
THURSDAY, March 22, 2012*
*this is the only webinar not on a Wednesday this spring*
8pm Eastern/ 7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific
 Ken Keller
AP Human Geography Teacher
Danbury HS, Danbury, CT
Don't miss this session teachers to learn some established and successful methods on how best to prep your students to earn a score of "5" on the AP Human Geography exam. Emphasis will be placed on review methods to help students be successful on both multiple choice and free response questions. Participants will learn how to employ best practices related to teaching test taking strategies in the classroom as well as teaching their students some techniques to reduce stress and be more focused when they go to sit for the exam. An emphasis will also be placed on providing exam prep tips for teachers of 9th graders.
Ken Keller has been teaching the course since its inception and has been an exam reader for the past ten years. Heteaches at Danbury High School in Danbury, Connecticut, and has been an exam scorer since 2002. He is a former member of the AP Human Geography Test Development Committee and servers on the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) Curriculum and Instruction Committee. He has conducted numerous week-long institutes and one-day workshops, training new and experienced teachers of human geography, and he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from NCGE in 2004. Mr. Keller holds an MA in European History from Western Connecticut State University. Join us for a casual conversation on what works best for you and your students!
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The Geographic Advantage: Supporting Online Investigations in the Classroom
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
8pm Eastern/ 7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific
*PARTNERSHIP WEBINAR: FREE for EVERYONE!
Sponsored by Association of American Geographers (AAG)
Susan Gallagher Heffron
Sr. Project Manager for Geography Education
AAG
Washington, DC (via Australia)
Learn more about a free new resource, "The Geographic Advantage: An AAG Companion Website for Understanding the Changing Planet". This new web-based resource provides guided geographic investigations for students to illustrate the 11 research questions identified in the recent NRC report, Understanding the Changing Planet: Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences, at the K-12 level.
Dr. Susan Gallagher Heffron serves as the Senior Project Manager for Geography Education at the Association of American Geographers. In her current role, Heffron facilitates AAG projects for K-16 education with a special interest in K-12 teachers and learners. Her work includes facilitating the dissemination of research to inform classroom and online instructional strategies as well as effective teacher professional development experiences. Heffron completed a BA degree in Social Science Education, followed by a MA and PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Heffron taught at the middle and high school levels as well as higher education prior to her position at the AAG. She also served as a co-coordinator for Geographic Educators of Nebraska.
Join the discussion as she shares how students can explore geographic questions related to the themes of Environmental Change, Sustainability, Rapid Spatial Reorganization, and Technological Change. Each investigation includes a student activity that can be easily integrated into your existing course curriculum as well as additional resources for exploring and learning more about the research questions in the report. Don't miss the details on this rich resource!
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Starting Your Own Geospatial Semester
Wednesday, April 4, 2012 8pm Eastern/ 7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific
 Bob Kolvoord
Professor of Integrated Science and Technology and Educational Technologies, Co-Director of the JMU Center for STEM Education and Outreach & Interim Director of the School of Engineering
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA Looking for ways to engage high school seniors with geospatial problems? Trying to find ways to bring geospatial technologies into the curriculum? Searching for different ways to engage students with Geography? The Geospatial Semester is a collaborative effort between James Madison University (JMU) and Virginia school districts. Students take a semester- or year-long course in geospatial technologies and pursue an extended, locally-based project. Faculty from JMU support the high school teachers and provide technical and project support. Best of all, students can earn JMU credit for their efforts. Currently in its 7th year, the Geospatial Semester has provided opportunities for students to get engaged with geographic thinking and geospatial technologies. In this webinar, we'll share details about the Geospatial Semester, examples of student work, and discuss how you can get the Geospatial Semester started in your locale. Dr. Bob Kolvoord is a professor of Integrated Science and Technology and Educational Technologies at James Madison University. He also serves as the Co-Director of the JMU Center for STEM Education and Outreach and the Interim Director of the School of Engineering. His research centers on the use of data visualization and geospatial technologies by K-12 teachers and students, as well as how students' spatial thinking skills develop through the use of these tools. He's been active in developing curricula and providing professional development workshops for teachers for the past two decades, both in the US and abroad. With Kathryn Keranen, he is the co-creator of the Geospatial Semester and co-author of Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS (ESRI Press). In 2011, he was recognized by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia's Outstanding Faculty Award (Teaching with Technology). Register Now

Space, Place & Relationships: Exploring Spatial Cognition in 2012 and Beyond
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
8pm Eastern/ 7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific
Diana S. Sinton
Director of Spatial Curriculum and Research
University of Redlands, Redlands, CA
Nora S. Newcombe Professor of Psychology James H. Glackin Distinguished Faculty Fellow Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Welcome back Dr. Sinton and her esteemed psychology colleague, Dr. Newcombe as they guide us through the explorations of space, place and relationships. Psychologists, geographers, and educators have long studied how children and adults understand and use space, such as how we navigate, read maps, and manipulate objects in 3D. In this session we will review some of these complex questions and answers, and preview where this research agenda is going next. We will focus on topics particularly relevant to geographers and geographic education. Whether you're a researcher or educator, understanding more about these topics will infuse your endeavors with new perspectives. Don't miss it!
Diana Stuart Sinton is the Director of Spatial Curriculum and Research at the University of Redlands (California) where she leads LENS (LEarNing Spatially), a campus-wide initiative to integrate mapping and spatial perspectives into diverse academic disciplines. Her focus is the role for spatial literacy in higher education, a topic that she has written about in publications such as UnderstandingPlace: GIS and Mapping across the Curriculum (ESRI Press, 2007). At Redlands she helped to design a new Master of Arts in Education degree in Spatial Literacy Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, and teaches its first course, Foundations of Spatial Thinking. She was a 2009-2010 SPLINT (Spatial Literacy in Teaching) Fellow at the University of Leicester (UK). Diana previously worked for NITLE, the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education, where she developed mapping-based curriculum and taught workshops for faculty at many different universities. She has taught geography, GIS, and environmental studies courses at Alfred University and the University of Rhode Island. Diana holds a BA in Comparative Religions (Middlebury College) and MS and PhD degrees in Geography (Oregon State University).
Nora S. Newcombe received her Ph.D. from Harvard University and is currently Professor of Psychology and James H. Glackin Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Temple University. Her research focuses on spatial cognition and development, including the nature of gender differences in spatial ability. She is also interested in the development of autobiographical and episodic memory. Dr. Newcombe is the author of numerous chapters, articles, and books, including Making Space with Janellen Huttenlocher (published by the MIT Press, 2000). Her work has been recognized by several awards, including the George A. Miller Award and the G. Stanley Hall Award. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Society of Experimental Psychologists. She has served as Editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General and Associate Editor of Psychological Bulletin, as well as on many grant panels and advisory boards. She is currently Principal Investigator of the NSF-funded Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, whose mission is to understand human spatial cognition, with an emphasis on the idea that spatial knowledge and skills can be improved, and to apply the resulting knowledge to foster spatial learning, especially in STEM disciplines.
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10 Tips for Easy Geotagging in Any Classroom Wednesday, April 18, 2012 8pm Eastern/ 7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific *PARTNERSHIP WEBINAR: FREE for EVERYONE!
Sponsored by Esri, Redlands, CA Tom BakerEducation Manager Esri Kansas City, KS
Geotagging, using pictures and other digital files to support student inquiry, fieldwork, and data analysis, can be a simple and fun ways to engage students in GIS and GPS. Student data, photos, and recorded audio can build on interactive basemaps and allow students to tell their own "geostories" about a place or phenomenon. Ideal for earth and environmental science and geography teachers, this webinar will only use tools that are free and web-based, allowing educators to use tomorrow.
Register Now: Exploring GPS, Geocaching & the Geography Classroom
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 8-9:30 pm Eastern/ 7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific Ashok Wadwani
NCGE 2011 President's Award Recipient
President of Applied Field Data Systems
Houston, TX Roger & Anita Palmer Teachers, Authors & Consultants with GISetc Dallas, TX
Eric Schudiske
Public Relations/Social Media Manager with Groundspeak
Seattle, WA
Join us for this expanded session, an hour and a half, on the connection between geography education, GPS and geocaching! We've collected a host of experts to guide you through the ins and outs of all things GPS! Ashok Wadwani, 2011 NCGE President's Award Winner, will discuss GPS technology and equipment. He's joined by Roger and Anita Palmer of GISetc who have authored curriculum for GPS in English and Spanish as well as regularly lead GPS trainings for students and teachers. Our presentation is rounded out with Eric Schudiske from Groundspeak who will cover Geocaching.com and how the activity can positively impact families and community, with fun/easy tips for how to add geocaching into your family or community activities. These presenters offer you the perfect tools getting outside for the end of the school year. Don't miss this great event! Register Now |