Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2007

OUR GLOBAL COMMUNI TY

Think Globally

The latest technology combined with creative teaching has allowed Year 11 Geography students to gain a real understanding of how people in developing countries live.

Affluenza is Spreading Fast , from World Vision’s YouTube site. A number of the contrasts presented in this media format were particularly confronting for the girls and provided them with a realistic way of understanding many of the concepts underlying their study of development. The video and the messages it conveyed challenged the students to contrast their own lives and values with those of children living in different parts of the world. Far from feeling powerless to help they were empowered by the opportunity World Vision presented through its 40 Hour Challenge programme. One of the significant elements of this approach to student learning is the way in which it challenges the students to think about their attitudes and responses

Geography is a subject that focuses on a global as well as local view of important issues and debates. This positioning is central to the development of our curriculum and aims to provide the girls with a realistic view of the world around them. A range of diverse and challenging learning experiences are incorporated into the curriculum. These include the use of relevant forms of technology, specifically the World Wide Web and spatial technology such as ArcGIS, a Geographic Information Systems (GIS), together with more traditional interactive approaches such as role plays to deepen the learning environment of our students. In many ways the People and Development Unit studied by our Year 11 students readily encapsulates this approach. With technology being such an integral part of our daily routine it seemed appropriate to introduce this unit by showing an online video, Teenage

to confronting such global issues. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been

incorporated into the study of Geography in a variety of ways. Through the use of ArcGIS, girls were encouraged to create

4 grammar gazette spring 2007