Thursday, August 23, 2012

A concentration of geographers!



Image: Leaving Adelaide, heading for Melbourne. Glenelg below (not Glenelg on Mars!)

Related sites to the Spatialworlds project
Where am I??
Adelaide, Australia: S: 34º 55' E: 138º 36

Geographers gathering in Victoria this time

A concentration / world / agglomeration of Geographers! Just some fun with a collective noun for a gathering of geographers but it would be good to have one accepted as the collective noun. 

Ever since 2001, in late August I make the journey across to Melbourne for the biggest gathering of geographers in Australia at the Geography Teachers’ of Victoria (GTAV) annual conference. The conference normally attracts up 350 geography teachers and is always an outstanding event. I am sure the 2012 GTAV conference, being held in Queens Street in the Melbourne CBD will be no exception. The program is worth having a look at to see the breadth and quality of the presentations and fieldwork available at the conference.

My role at the conference as AGTA Chair is to present and participate in several workshops on the Australian Curriculum: Geography and one workshop on Geographical Thinking. I am looking forward to the conference as always because of the collegiate and professional feeling of the event.

Here are my workshop presentations for those attending them and any Spatialworlds readers who may be interested. They are on Dropbox at:

* Australian Curriculum workshop

* Geographical Thinking workshop

* The Thinking Geographically DVD

* Order form for Thinking Geographically DVD

I am sure the next posting will contain the gems of information and resources I always gather at the GTAV conference. Even if you are not a Victorian it is worth getting to Melbourne for this conference. Anne Olsen, a geography teacher from Wellington New Zealand is one who also makes the pilgrimage to the GTAV conference every year. Anne is the leading geography teacher promoting spatial technology in schools in New Zealand and is always worth having a chat with.  

The GTAV has been the leader with spatial understanding in Australia and their Spatial Skills book and Spatial Concepts posters are excellent resources for professional learning and the classroom. These resources are available on the GTAV  website.  

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