The image above is of a slide from a workshop session I have been working on for the last couple of days.  The session will be the first of the InThinking ICT for Humanities workshop [London, Saturday 25th September - places still available].  I'm taking a 'geographical systems approach' to ICT tools - looking at various online services and tools I use to collect information and news (inputs), services I use to make and process things (processes), online stores (stores) and services I use to publish (outputs).  I hope this approach works ...

This week should be the first 'normal' week of teaching - but there is no school on Thursday due to Jeûne Genevois and on Friday I will be on a fieldwork day with Year 13 students.

This week ...

Year 8, who I only see for 90 minutes a week will be starting a unit on Plate Tectonics by looking at What are Plate Tectonics?.

Year 9 will be polishing their web research skills with a lesson focused on extreme weather hazards [lesson to be developed today] and then will look at heatwaves and note taking skills via Too Hot.

Year 10 will be looking at the Demographic Transition Model using this webpage Population and Development and then started the assessment piece Comparing Population Data.

Year 12 students will have their first IB Geography lessons.  Straight in with Population Trends and Patterns.

Year 13 will spend a lesson preparing for the fieldwork day and their newt formal lessons they miss due to Jeûne Genevois and the fieldwork day.

Back to school ...

Monday and Tuesday are teacher days - no students.  The teaching 'proper' starts at 1050 on Wednesday after assemblies, homeroom time etc.  Year 12 students have their IB Induction sessions so will not be in lessons until next week.  I see Year 8 at the start of a normal week - so miss them this week.

I like to get started without too much fuss.  I briefly outline my expectations.  Students can sit where they wish until there behaviour/focus/work means that they have to move.

This week ...

Year 9 will start a unit on Weather and Climate by looking at How are we affected by the weather?, What affects the Weather we get? and Measuring the Weather.  The Weather and Climate unit will last for this half term.  Next half term they will be looking at the importance of tourism and it's impact through a unit I am still developing but that will include some local fieldwork.

Year 10 will start a unit called Demography > 7 Billion Soon? by looking at The Global Population. Last year I taught over half of my Y10 lessons in the computer suite.  I don't have that luxury this year so will have to be redeveloping some of the resources to make them easier to teach in a 'normal' classroom set-up.

Year 13 will revise the start of the Freshwater optional theme with a brief look at 'The Water System' and 'Drainage Basins' - focusing on Hydrographs.  They will then be developing a flooding case study - I just have decided upon which case study to use yet ...

[One of the highlights of my summer - climbing the Devil's Slide on Lundy]

One of many things I love about teaching (other than the holidays - see above!) is the fact we get two 'new years' - the new calendar year and the new academic year.  Two opportunities for looking at larger scale targets - especially so with relatively full batteries at the end of the summer break.

This coming academic year I will be teaching Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 12 and Year 13 classes.  Some of the classes are being taught units I have taught and resourced before but there will be plenty of new materials to prepare.  

I feel the coming academic year is going to be mainly IB Geography focused. By the end of the year I will have taught and resourced the whole of the 'new' IB syllabus as well as getting a good feel of the true demands of the new course and the Internal Assessment element.

So my main work focuses for the coming academic year:

1. The development of IB Geography resources for geographyalltheway.com - lots will be added on a weekly basis with the 12 periods of IB teaching I have a week.
2. Preparing and delivering IB Workshops and presentations - I really enjoy the challenges these opportunities present.  This year will include workshops for both new and experienced IB Geography teachers for InThinking and two presentations at the GA Conference.
3. As well as developing online IB Geography resources for geographyalltheway.com - I will be reviewing (with the support of various publishers) the printed materials available to support IB Geography teachers and students.

On a more personal note - targets include maintaining some sort of work-life balance, lose more weight (5kgs gone - at least another 5kg to go), improve my cardiovascular fitness, climb some ice this winter and ski more!

[The whole route from sea-level]

Hans Rosling, Director of the Gapminder Foundation will present the Keynote Address on Saturday 16 April at the 2011 GA Annual Conference and Exhibition - I'm very excited about it!

I like the one below that explains the references:

and this news story related to it:

UPDATE: I thought I should also add the original of which the Newport video is a parody: