Events

What were Coloradans doing during Geography Awareness Week 2011? See this slide show to learn how they were thinking spatially.

Teachers from around the world, including several in Colorado, are participating in the Association of American Geographers' My Community Our Earth (MyCOE) Global Connections and Exchange Program Initiative.

U.S. Schools Forge Foreign Connections Via Web, Robin L. Flanigan, Education Week, January 23, 2012

Global Learning Blog, Education Week

Teachers from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah met in Durango June 19 - 25, 2011 to explore human-environment interaction during the Four Corners Summer Institute.

• National Geographic's Giant Map of Asia visited schools on the Western Slope in April 2012.  Watch the video from the KREX newsroom for a new view of the continent.
• Experts say social sciences are being left behind.  Read an article in Education Week from November 30, 2011 or the report by University of Michigan faculty.
• Just in time for your holiday wrapping pleasure: FREE maps for holiday wrapping at the USGS Map Store; as in past years, bundles of "government surplus" topographic maps are being given away for use as gift wrapping (alternatively, "suitable for framing", if you happen to get a map that you really like!). Available now through Christmas, in-person at the store only. A map of the Denver Federal Center can be located at: http://rmmcweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/dfc.html. Please feel free to stop by the U.S. Geological Survey Central Region Library located in Building 20, Room C2002. Thanks to Jenny M. Stevens, Lead, Library Technician/Circulation, U.S. Geological Survey, Central Region Library for this information!
• Geography Awareness Week - check out a brief slide show to see how Coloradans were thinking spatially.
• National Geographic's Giant Map of the Pacific traveled to several schools in Colorado, including those in Norwood.  See the last page of The Norwood Post for photos.
• July 20, 2011 saw the release of the latest indication that students' knowledge of social studies is on the decline.  Check out various interpretations of "The Nation's Report Card: Geography 2010, Grades 4, 8, and 12".  Education Week, National Geographic, and EdNewsColorado have all weighed in. To see the complete report, click here.
• Giant Map in Pueblo - "Mapping Knowledge", Adrian Garcia, The Pueblo Chieftain, Sunday, June 12, 2011
• Blueprint Needed for Geography Education - Association of American Geographers' Newsletter, April 2010
• Colorado State Assessment System to Include Social Studies Summative Assessment
  • Colorado State Board of Education Approves Attributes for Colorado's New Assessment System, December 7, 2010
  • SBE adopts framework for new state tests, December 4, 2010
  • Bleak prospects for future K-12 support, December 3, 2010
  • Colorado State Board of Education and Colorado Commission on Higher Education Unanimously Adopt State Assessment Attributes, November 29, 2010
  • Teachers want social studies assessment test, November 9, 2010
  • State Board of Education Hears Suggestion to Add Social Studies as Statewide Test, November 4, 2010
  • Groups Want Social Studies Added to Statewide Tests, November 4, 2010
  • State board starts to look beyond Dwight, November 3, 2010
  • Colorado Department of Education, Assessment Stakeholder Meeting, Minutes, October 15, 2010
• UCCS-based Colorado Geographic Alliance earns technology award
• During Geography Awareness Week 2010, National Geographic Society Chairman of the Board Gil Grosvenor discussed why effective democracy requires geographic literacy, and other benefits of a thorough geographic education. Check out his comments on the Nat Geo News Watch.
• Listen to The Writer's Almanac to learn about the first issue of National Geographic magazine, published on September 22, 1888.
• Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic announced in June of 2010 six Grosvenor Teacher Fellows, K-12 teachers who have demonstrated a firm commitment to and accomplishment in geographic education.  Colorado was fortunate to have Daniel Snare, who teaches 11th and 12th grade Science, Technology, and GIS at Warren Tech in Lakewood chosen as a Fellow, with Erik Eckhoff from Poudre High School in Fort Collins selected as one of four alternates.  Congratulations all around!  This year's Grosvenor Teacher Fellows joined expeditions to the Arctic during June and July. See photos from Dan's trip in the Summer 2010 Newsletter.
• Kudos to Martha Alvarez, biology teacher at William J. Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, and to Martha Morris, science teacher at Commmunity Prep School in District 11 - they both attended National Geographic's 2010 National Teacher Leadership Academy: Ocean in La Jolla, California.
• National Geographic Bee - Colorado 2010 Finalist, Isabella Contolini, YouTube
• Reflections on ESRI-Colorado Geographic Alliance Collaboration on Five Professional Development Opportunities, by Joseph Kerski
  
• Giant Map in Colorado Springs: Giant map to aid geography education - PowerPoint of Giant Map in Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs Gazette photo - Galileo School of Math and Science
• Coordinators Steve Jennings and Rebecca Theobald provided 50 high school sophomores with perspectives on Global Awareness during "21st Century Skills - The World Beyond", a program sponsored by Junior Achievement and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.  See newspaper and television coverage.
• Grant leads geography education revamp, December 1, 2008

Planning

• COGA Stakeholders: Landscape Discovery
• 2008 COGA Survey Results
  
  

Workshops

• See photos from the 2010 summer institute in Leadville.
• 2009/2010 COGA Workshops
• National Geographic Student Expeditions