For nearly a year, Elyx has been the UN’s first digital ambassador. With a light touch and good humor, Elyx has been working tirelessly with the UN family to spread the word on global issues and raise awareness on International Days.

Needing no words to communicate a view of the world, and having no race, age, nationality, or gender, Elyx, created by renowned French digital artist YAK, serves as a universal messenger for the ideals of the United Nations.

To celebrate the UN’s 70th anniversary, Elyx is travelling  ‘Around the world in 70 Days’. During this adventure, Elyx will travel across the globe to shine a light on the work of the organisation, guided by colleagues in the numerous UN missions from all the UN agencies, across the five continents.

Ely’s journey starts on 15 August and ends on 24 October 2015 at UN Headquarters in New York City. You can follow this global adventure on various social media channels and using the hashtag #UN70and #Elyx70days.

For more information, see: http://www.elyx70days.org/about-2/

Here’s a good article on the need for modern cartographers: http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2013_03_18/caredit.a1300045#.VdyDZ55YR9Q.facebook

Remote Sensing Analysis in an ArcMap Environment has been authored by three Virginia Tech experts, including Jim Campbell of the Geography Department. Read more about it at http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2015/08/082115-cnre-remotesensingebook.html

Those teachers and educators who have access to Kindle Unlimited might rejoice in the fact that you can download the book for free at http://www.amazon.com/Remote-Sensing-Analysis-ArcMap-Environment-ebook/dp/B00VGE0464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430936182&sr=8-1&keywords=remote+sensing+in+an+arcmap+environment

Dr. John C. Finn, Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology, Christopher Newport University, and member of the VGA is honored in the NCGE spotlight this month: http://www.ncge.org/member-spotlight

An excerpt from his  essay: “In the end, I believe that one of the most important things that we can do as geography educators is provide students with the intellectual tools to destabilize their notions of the fixity of our social and geographical existence, to destabilize the seemingly natural, universal ground upon which we all stand. That is precisely the reason for the ruthless criticism of everything existing. And the geography classroom is a perfect place to start.”

In light of NCGE’s 100th anniversary, in an effort to honor the next generation of geography educators, we have launched our new Future GeoLeader Program (and no longer have the NCGE Student Membership option available for purchase). This program was established to provide needed support and resources to an expanding geographic education community, while also providing an opportunity for our student members to connect with the greater community of geography educators and leading experts in the field.

MSNBC presents The Geography of Poverty, a work in progress about towns and cities in the United States with high poverty rates: http://www.msnbc.com/interactives/geography-of-poverty/index.html. The site features an interactive map, photographs, and text as a virtual journey is taken across the country. Introductory material is now available. The actual journey will soon begin in the Southwest. Other regions are scheduled to be added this summer.

The course is 5 weeks long, beginning 24 June, offered through enetlearning.org.  There is a modest  fee for eNet to support and deliver the course.  Video and description below.  Each week, there are a few readings/short videos, a discussion forum, a hands-on activity (including the use of ArcGIS Online and a few other tools such as Urban Observatory), and a short quiz

2 graduate credits

Instructor: Joseph Kerski

Course Description:  http://www.enetlearning.org/professional-development/online-course-catalog/geography-for-the-21st-century/

COURSE SYLLABUS:  Geography in the 21st Century Syllabus

COURSE CONTENT:

Fundamental to geography is the study of issues surrounding land use, natural hazards, population, economics, land use, and political issues, which will be emphasized in this course. However, as geography encompasses all that is in the world, at multiple places, scales, and time periods, it is impossible to cover its breadth in the short time that our course will run. Therefore, this course will touch on these issues but will focus on how to use 21st Century perspectives, themes, and tools to teach these issues.

Rural, Urban, Economic, Land Use, and Population Issues: Over the 5 weeks of this course, participants will deepen their understanding of and ability to effectively teach population dynamics (including such concepts as settlement, land use, age, birth rate, growth rate, and human-environment interaction), land use issues (such as zoning, sense of place), urban issues (such as historical and current development of cities, site vs. situation, and challenges facing cities), and economic geography (including industrialization, employment, measures of development).

Core Geography Themes: Embedded in studying these issues are core geography themes such as considerations of scale in patterns and processes, interpreting maps and analyzing geospatial data, understanding and explaining the implications of associations, networks, and interconnections among phenomena in places, defining regions and the regionalization process, and understanding the nature of and limitations of geographic data.

Spatial Perspectives and Tools: The spatial perspective is critical to understanding geographical content and processes. Being competent and confident in the application of the spatial perspective to geographical understanding enhances and strengthens our ability to communicate and teach about human geography. A number of powerful web mapping and related tools are now available for the geography instructor, and this course builds familiarity and confidence in using these tools through a series of hands-on activities.

The Library of Virginia presents the Sixth Annual Anne & Ryland Brown Teacher Institute on August 3rd and 4th. Join Library of Virginia staff and guest speakers in this year’s two-day institute focusing on emancipation and the Reconstruction Era, with special emphasis on the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and their legacy. Teachers will explore how to use primary sources to enhance student learning in their classrooms and learn about new digital resources available.

Registration information is available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-anne-and-ryland-brown-teacher-institute-tickets-16804191790.

Here is a great way to offset the cost of the NCGE conference this summer and also attend a great workshop!

There will be a workshop beginning on Wednesday August 5 from 1:00 until 5:30 pm and resuming Thursday, August 6 from 8:30 until 11:00 am in the JW Marriott Hotel, which is the conference hotel. The workshop is by invitation only and will be open to teachers from VA, FL, and NM.

The workshop will feature short information/discussion sessions regarding the East Sea geographical naming issue, lessons about the East Sea name and its cultural importance to Koreans, and roundtable discussions regarding the East Sea name, the issue over the name, and its inclusion into the social studies or geography curricula. The activities will address the VA educational materials requirement for dual naming of the East Sea/Sea of Japan.

Teacher support for the workshop is available. Each participant from VA will be provided the following funding.

1. One night’s lodging in the JW Marriott at the NCGE rates on Wednesday night
2. Local registration reimbursed  at the Early Bird Rate of $275 (available to workshop participants)
3. Workshop dinner on Wednesday evening
4. Thursday’s breakfast.
5. Travel expenses will be prorated based on the least expensive travel costs from your home to Washington DC, with a reasonable maximum amount set by the overall budget.
6. Honorarium: if a workshop participant is able to present a follow-up workshop to a meeting of local teachers, or teachers at Geographical Alliance activities, or teachers at a state conference, then there is a $100 to $130 honorarium for the presentation. The activity must be documented by a program page or proof of delivery to satisfy the funding requirements.

The Virginia Geographic Alliance will accept applications and nominate teachers from VA. This is for VA teachers only!  We have a finite number of slots and these will go fast!  We will give some preference to applicants in underserved areas of our state, but all teachers are welcome to apply!

To apply, please complete the following online link by June 5^th, 2015.  Participants who are selected will be notified by June 12th.

https://goo.gl/Jv8Cbg