more on the Middle East

Interesting discussions and controversial proposals in class today, as we continue studying Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

Earth & Chrome

I believe you guys have Google Earth already loaded on your computers.  If not, take a couple minutes this weekend and download it, and keep the icon handy so you can get to it easily.  It is a valuable resource, and a fun site to play with.  Find your house!  Then fly to the pyramids!  Navigate over to the Eiffel Tower!  Check out the terrain in Afghanistan!

Also, I highly recommend using Google Chrome as your browser, especially if your computer has been locking up on you.  Just as easy to use as Firefox (but with cooler features), more virus-resistant than (yuk) Explorer.  Download it here.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Identifying countries

When we discuss the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or rainforests in Brazil, or oil coming from Saudi Arabia or Russia or Venezuela, or nuclear weapons in Pakistan or India, it's important to know where these countries are.  Today's exercise is simple: locate some major countries on the world map, and identify the continent where they can be found.

This class exercise can be found by clicking Identifying Countries: classwork, found under Hot Links.  Follow the directions you see there.  This is a graded assignment which must be completed in class.

exploring our world

The CIA World Factbook)^[2] is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world.  The Factbook is available in the form of a website, which is partially updated every two weeks. It provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics,geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 266 entities^[3] including U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.

The World Factbook is prepared by the CIA for the use of U.S. government officials, and its style, format, coverage, and content are primarily designed to meet their requirements.^[4] However, it is frequently used as a resource for academic research papers.^[5] As a work of the U.S. government, it is in the public domain.^[6]           (Click here for the entire Wikipedia entry on the CIA World Factbook.)

^{In other words, the CIA Factbook ROCKS.  We explored it in class today, and, although we barely scratched the surface, we found an amazing variety of facts about every country on earth.  We will be using the Factbook A LOT this year, so it is good to be very familiar with how it is laid out.}

paper deadline

It seems like a number of people are having trouble with this assignment.  First, let me clarify the technical expectations for this assignment, and for all papers turned in to me for this class.


The paper is to be completed on Google Documents (GoogleDocs) and submitted through your blog.  Here's how:

GoogleDocs actually saves automatically as you write.  So when your paper is done, you just need to publish it.

In Google Docs, on the right-hand side of the page, under Share, drop down to Publish on the Web.  
Then click Start Publishing, then OK.  
Copy the web address that appears under Document link.  
Paste that address into a new posting on your blog.

Really, it's that simple.

Don't forget to give the paper a title in the title box, or you may soon find yourself with several papers, all titled "Untitled Document".

The new deadline for this assignment to be posted to your blog is 4:00 PM today, Tuesday 9/14/10.  10% will be deducted for every day (or portion of a day) the paper is late.  This deduction begins at 4:01 today.

So, if you are having trouble, I recommend you stop by Room 121 in the Fine Arts wing right after school to get some help.  

two good questions about citations

A student just emailed me a couple questions, asking if they needed to cite a source if they were just paraphrasing from that source, and asking about the Works Cited that appears at the end of the paper.  I answered her question below.  I put the answers in the form of a paragraph that might appear in a research paper about writing research papers!  Here it is:



Paraphrasing is "a restatement of a text or passage giving the meaning in another form" (dictionary.com).  It is perfectly acceptable to do this, because you are still giving credit to the original author.  Even a prestigious university like Purdue University includes information on this process:  "If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number" (Purdue Online Writing Lab).  In this case, we are not concerned with page numbers, since we are dealing with online sources.



Using EasyBib.com, this would be the Works Cited for the two online sources I used in the above paragraph:

"Paraphrase | Define Paraphrase at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paraphrase>.

"Purdue OWL." Welcome to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Web. 12 Sept. 2010. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/>.



I hope you find this helpful!  (Thanks, Elena!)

first big grade of the quarter

Greetings, all.  It's a rainy Sunday afternoon, the Ravens aren't playing today, and I hope by now you have begun work on your paper.  If you have questions, feel free to comment on this post or send me an email.

Reminders of what you should include in this paper:

• good, quality, error-free writing
• an informative summary of the events of 9/11 
• an interview with someone who has vivid recollections of that fateful day
• a thoughtful analysis of the long-term economic impact of the attacks, based on the links I have provided for you, plus any other resources you find
• a Works Cited at the end of your paper, listing the online sources you used (EasyBib.com will help with this)

Don't forget to write the paper on Google Documents, share it by publishing it to the web, and placing that web address in your blog.

Let's see what you've got!

First Paper of the Year

We have begun this school year by discussing globalization, which is the defining concept of our Human Geography course.  This week marks the anniversary of the single event which has had more global impact than anything else in your lives - the September 11 attacks.

This week we will view actual television coverage - in real time, as it occurred - of September 11, 2001.  Most of you were in kindergarten that morning - I was right here at John Carroll.  I think there is a real value to seeing how events unfolded that morning, as America and the world watched.

You will be assigned a paper to write on 9/11.  This paper is to be 3-4 pages long, and will cover three aspects of 9/11. 

• What happened on the morning of 9/11?  Approach this like a historian, or a reporter, or a human geographer - answer the essential questions:  Who?  What?  When?  Where? Why?
• What do your family members remember about that day?  You may also include your reaction from watching this video in class, but it is important to interview someone who was old enough in 2001 to realize the importance of these events.
• What was the long term economic effect of the attacks?  I will provide you with some material (introduced in class) that can help you answer this question.

I want you to produce this paper using Google Docs.  You should write 750-1000 words - that would be three to four pages of text.  You are also encouraged to add pictures, charts, or any other images that will enhance your writing.

In addition to the material I will give you, you are encouraged to do a little research into this subject.  Cite your sources.  No Wikipedia or other encyclopedias allowed.

The assignment is due Tuesday, September 14, by 8:00 am.  It is worth 100 points.

definitions

Today, Sections 04 and 05 did not meet.

Section 01 discussed the definitions of terms, with our conversation branching into the reliability of internet sources.  (For the record, Shakespeare did NOT weigh 450 pounds!)  

Don't forget to post a blog entry describing what we did in class today, Section 01!

your first grades

This weekend I will be posting your first grades.  Here's a brief explanation:

• Your first assignment was the Six Word Memoir, worth five points.  
• Each week I will post a grade for your blog entries (called Week 1 blogs, Week 2 blogs, etc.) worth five points.  As I explained in class, you are expected to post every day we have class, by midnight that night.
• The class assignment on definitions and population is more complicated than a six-word bio, so it alone is worth 10 points.  This assignment is due before your next Human Geo class meets.  Be sure to follow all the directions.

These may not seem like a lot of points, but they add up.  Get in the habit of posting regularly and posting well, and two good things will happen.  You will get good grades every single week.  And, you will have great notes you can refer to later.

Questions?  Email me or ask me in class.

Happy Labor Day!

the end of week one

We made it to Friday!  Now it's time to really get up to speed.

I want you to define the following terms:

• geography
• globalization
• population
• immigration
• industrialization
• culture 
• religion

In addition, I want you to do a little research, and list the population of the world, the population of the five largest countries, and identify the five largest religions in the world.

Very important:  you need to cite your sources.  This means you need to tell me where you found your information.  There are a lot of sources out there: the CIA Factbook, dictionary.com, Facts on File, the History Study Center, Wikipedia, Groliers, and many more.  Place the source after each response.

This, of course, is entered into your blog.  What you don't finish in class today is due before your next class. 

housekeeping

We did a lot of technological housekeeping in class today.  If you did not complete any of the following tasks in class today, please do them for homework tonight.

• subscribe to my blog
• set up your own Human Geography blog
• email me the web address of your HG blog (I'm at rschick@johncarroll.org )
• post your Six Word Memoir to your blog
• post your Did You Know? 3.0 assignment to your blog

Any questions or problems, just email me.  Thanks for your patience.  Let's git'r'done!

Your blog, and your future.

Today the 04 and 05 sections met for the second time. We completed the process of creating a blog and posting our first assignment. Today in class, we watched a YouTube video that described the technologically complex world in which we live. Students discussed what it means to live in such a world.

Homework for 04 and 05: In tonight's blog posting, summarize what your group discussed today. Pick two statements from the video, and discuss how they affect you, as an American high school student in the 21st century.

Section 01: you guys met with me for the first time today. You need to do the following:

• subscribe to my blog
• set up your own blog through blogger.com
• send the web address of your blog to me at rschick@johncarroll.org
• do the Six Word Memoir assignment we discussed at the end of class, and make that the first posting on your brand new blog! (You may look at the Six Word Memoir magazine article I have posted to the right, under Hot Links, for inspiration.)
• this assignment is worth 5 points, due by midnight tonight

Do your best, and let me know if you encounter any problems, either by email tonight or in class tomorrow.

Greetings HumGeo students!

Welcome to our site!

This is where we are going to do all our communication about our Human Geography course. I will post what we did in class, links for you to check out, homework assignments, and more.

You will submit your assignments and observations on your blogs.

More on all this in class.

In the meantime, here (as we discussed in class) is your first assignment: The Six-Word Memoir. Set up your Human Geo blog here (be sure to include both your name, and HG or HumGeo or something like that, in your blog title). Then, for your first posting, post your memoir on your blog by midnight Tuesday night. (The magazine article on the Six Word Memoir is on this blog, listed under Hot Links to the right.) This assignment is worth 5 points.

Last but not least, don't forget to subscribe to my blog.