ICT Training
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Secondary Geography - Using Generic resources in Geography
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Module 2 |
Contents |
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Generic software is a term used to indicate 'general-use' software, also known as framework or content-free software.
Here generic resources have been taken with a wide definition and you might not agree that some of the examples are generic, this is to be inclusive and we hope it will not confuse.
Click here to see a chart that summarises where generic resources assist the gathering, analysing and using of information in geography.
Using Spreadsheets and databases
Geography teachers will need to know particularly about how to use spreadsheets and databases. There follows some examples of both. You will need to know how to use the following skills:
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Some ICT skills needed in using a database |
Some ICT skills needed in using a spreadsheet |
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Discuss with your adviser the following question:
How much ICT do you feel you are in a position to incorporate in your teaching now and how much further professional development do you feel you need to be able to extend this?
Use the training diary to plan and record the training you require.
Lesson
Idea: Traffic Survey
Ways of analysing data: Using Excel as a spreadsheet
There are a variety of investigations that could be carried out depending on the local traffic issues:
Click here to see a sample spreadsheet in Excel for calculating the totals of traffic travelling in and out of town in 15-minute periods in the morning rush hour. The two sheets in the document show a worked example and the formulae needed.
The software enables pupils to quickly present their data in two or three different ways before making a final choice.
How could you incorporate this exercise into your scheme of work?
What activities could you set using the data in this spreadsheet?
You might like to consider: creating charts or graphing the data, e.g. bar-graph, scattergraph; allocating a score to types of vehicle to look at pressure on the road.
How could you extend this study? E.g. use of noise sensors.
Lesson Idea:
River Study
You can use ICT (i.e. a spreadsheet) to help create a river cross-section. Pupils
measure the depth of the river at measured distances from one bank to the other.
By plotting these measurements in Excel or Appleworks the pupil will be able
to see the profile displayed. Data from different points along the river reveals
what is happening, for example, on the bend of the river.
Click here for a spreadsheet (Excel), which analyses the results for the River Ravensbourne in Lewisham.
A spreadsheet speeds up the drawing of graphs and the calculation of the velocity of the flow, which enables the pupils to spend more time on analysing the results and increases the accuracy of the fieldwork. Pupils could then word-process their report merging the chart and velocity calculations in with their text.
Activity
Task 3
Develop an activity in which a spreadsheet or database is used.
For teachers developing their confidence adapt one of the lesson ideas in this module.
For more confident teachers develop a new resource and activity that could be shared by other geography teachers. E-mail your activity to the course tutor.
Ways of storing and interrogating data: Using Excel As a database
Lesson Idea: Shopping Survey
Included with the resource booklet for teachers entitled 'Shopping and Traffic Fieldwork' (Produced in 1994 by NCET and the GA) is a database.
Click here to see a copy of the database in Excel.
A suggested enquiry using the database is to test the hypothesis "The more frequently people visit a particular shopping area, then the more likely they are to buy convenience goods." Use a word processing package to present your report.
You could start by searching to make a list of those people who visit the centre more than once a week. What do those people buy? By copying and pasting this column into a new spreadsheet you could analyse this data more carefully, and draw a chart to present your results.
The benefits of using ICT in this activity enable the pupils to pose questions and investigate the data quickly and easily to provide possible answers to test their validity.
What further lines of enquiry / questions could you ask of the data?
How could you incorporate this exercise into your scheme of work?
When might you want the pupils to word-process the report and when to hand-write it?
Lesson Idea: Investigating
Weather Data
The "Resource Booklet for Teachers : Investigating Weather Data", published by NCET (1994) contains five activities for investigating weather and is accompanied by disks containing weather data.
One of the activities requires the interrogation of the database (weather data taken hourly). The task is to describe one of the periods and to try to make a prediction for the following day. A summer and a winter high-pressure system affect the two periods respectively.
Use of Spreadsheets for Professional Administration
Activity
Task 4
If you are not already familiar with databases and spreadsheets, this is a good time to find out more. A package like Microsoft Excel can be used either as a spreadsheet or as a database, and this saves on learning time. Spreadsheets can be enormously helpful in departmental administration, for instance in producing class and set lists: you can add test and exam results and sort the lists by alphabetical or rank order. As a minimum you should be able to do the following:
- Know the difference between rows and columns
- Understand cell labels
- Enter text, numbers and formulas
- Sort data
- Add up a column of figures
- Format text and numbers (e.g. turn numbers into properly formatted currency)
- Produce a chart (such as a pie chart) from your data
- Use a spreadsheet or database for departmental records
Write a brief description of what you have done, using a word processor, and add this to your portfolio.
Using generic resources raise a number of ethical issues relevant to teachers' and classroom uses. These include:
What safe guards should be incorporated when pupils are using the Internet or electronic mail?
When pupils are using the Internet for course work what should they take into consideration as far as copyright is concerned?
What are the formalities for recognising in coursework the sources from the web?
Discussion