A neat tool that I will continue to use in my classroom is GoogleEarth. You can type in a coordinate, such as 34 48 34.62N, 87 40 54.61W into the program, and click the historical imagery button to view the landscape change. This coordinate is the university, and it's awesome to see the changes that have happened (even since 1997).
We went on a field walk of the city to analyze it. So far our experiences downtown have really just included dinner, so it's awesome to get out and look at Florence through a geographic-lens. The town has many signs of the past that are unique to Florence, such as Trowbridges (an old diner with excellent ice cream)...
...and the lions Leo III and Una that are the mascots right on campus.
It was really neat to identify buildings of the CBD of Florence that have been repurposed, revitalized, or even currently not in use. So many clues can be gathered if you look closely at the buildings to determine its past story. I would love to do this with students in Lancaster, PA because it is also a historical city (settled in the 1700s) and can be studied and plotted with GPS units in the same fashion.
Then we looked at Climate Change from the AAG. Their resources are excellent that I want to use in my Global Perspectives class (Energy and Environment unit). I was able to do a global footprint calculator, and even though I am embarrassed by my results, I'm going to post them below:
I wonder what my students' results will be, and if this simple-to-use resource can be an eye-opener to educate them before its too late to change their habits.
Unfortunately, a family emergency has popped up and I'll be leaving the conference this afternoon for North Carolina. I've learned a lot and will do some contemplation of incorporating into my class as soon as I return home. I will post my final project in the days to come :-)
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