mapping news 30 summer 2006 - Ordnance Survey

Issue 30 summer 2006
mapping news
mapping for education
- Head of Geography - Geography teachers - Geography coordinators - Geography advisors - Head of History - Head of Humanities - ICT coordinators - Head of ICT -

Contents and editoral mapping news summer 2006
6
14
40
Information
Free maps for Year 7/Primary 7 pupils
Free maps competition to win a
3
day out with Ray Mears 5
The action plan for geography 6
Is your school worldy-wise? 7
Plymouth High’s geography trip to Ghana 8
Map Pilot 10
Who killed G Joe Raphical?
Discovering Antarctica –
1
a major new online resource 14
New geographic information resource
Resources for looking at
16
our street and our town
Putting geography at the heart of your
17
CPD programme 18
Geograph your area!
Aegis 3 GIS made accessible
Transforming teaching with Anquet
0
Ordnance Survey software
Ordnance Survey award for
furthering understanding of
4
children’s geographies 007-08 7
Geography awareness week
The Ordnance Survey workshop for
8
PGCE trainee geography teachers 30
Box 1, Year 1 use of Aegis 3 on field trip 3
Pointing a way forward for
Ordnance Survey 33
RGS courses and publications 34
Geodoku 35
Educational software 36
Data supply service 38
Ordnance Survey Options outlets 39
Where could we take your school? 40
So,
mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
are you wondering what the front
page is all about? This is the
fantastic photograph project that is Geograph.
A unique website dedicated to the goal of
building an archive of photographs covering
every square kilometre of the British Isles,
which is free to access! Gary Rogers details its
history and the tie-in with Ordnance Survey.
Becta and Ordnance Survey have announced
details of a pilot scheme that will enable all
schoolstohaveeasyaccesstoOrdnanceSurvey
digital data. There are several articles inside
that will show you how to use the data within
the classroom.
More good news, the free maps for 11-year-olds
scheme will be back for 006–07. This will
be the fifth year of the scheme, which has
seen Ordnance Survey give away 3. million
OS Explorer Maps. Look out for more details
on our website.
Congratulations to all the winners of both the
Ray Mears Bushcraft free maps competition
and to the free GI software winners.
Ordnance Survey will be attending two
exhibitions in Scotland: SETT, Glasgow in
September and SAGT, Dundee in October.
Make sure you come along and visit our
stands; we will be pleased to see you.
Hope you all have a great summer.
Publishing Editor
Phone: 0 3 8079 975
Fax: 0 3 8079 014
Email: darren.bailey@ordnancesurvey.co.uk
For copyright and general enquiries contact our Customer HelpLine:
Phone: 08456 05 05 05 Welsh HelpLine: 08456 05 05 04 Textphone: 023 8079 2906 (deaf and hard of hearing users only please)
Fax: 0 3 8079 615 Email: customerservices@ordnancesurvey.co.uk Website: www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
For product advice and to place an order please contact your Ordnance Survey Options ® network supplier (see page 39).
Designer: Julie Buck-Rogers Phone: 0 3 8079 799 Email: jules.buck-rogers@ordnancesurvey.co.uk
Ordnance Survey, the OS Symbol, ADDRESS-POINT, Code-Point, Explorer, Land-Line, Landranger, MapZone, Ordnance Survey Options, OS, OSCAR, OS MasterMap and
TOID are registered trademarks and Boundary-Line, Get-a-map, Integrated Transport Network, OS Select, Our Favourite Places and Street View are trademarks of Ordnance
Survey, the national mapping agency of Great Britain.
ArcView and ESRI are registered trademarks of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. BP is a registered trademark of BP plc. Eastenders is a registered trademark of
The British Broadcasting Corporation. GeoMedia and Intergraph are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation. Mac OS is a registered trademark of Apple Computer,
Inc. Microsoft and PowerPoint are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Kabushiki Kaisha Sony Computer Entertainment
(also trading as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc). Sustrans is a registered trademark of Sustrans Ltd. The Independent is a registered trademark of Independent News and
Media Ltd. University of Bath is a registered trademark of The University of Bath. Verizon is a registered trademark of Verizon Trademark Services LLC. Webraska is a registered
trademark of Webraska Mobile Technologies (sociéte anonyme). Yellow Pages is a registered trademark of Yell Ltd.
Free maps Free maps Free maps Free maps
Free maps for Year
7 / Primary 7 pupils
Happy fifth birthday
We are now entering the fifth year of the scheme and to date a
fantastic 3.2 million Year 7/Primary 7 pupils have received their
free Ordnance Survey maps throughout Great Britain. By the
end of this year’s scheme this number will have risen to almost
4 million.
Last year there was a total of 736 500 maps sent out to schools in
England, Scotland and Wales, and I hope that all of your Year 7
pupils have benefited. If you need more information about the
scheme or advice on ordering your maps then visit our website –
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/freemapsfor11yearolds – where
full details are posted.
The start of the 006 scheme was announced at George Green’s School,
London Borough of Tower Hamlets, by Vanessa Lawrence, Director
General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, with Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Minister for
London at the Department of Trade and Industry Jim Fitzpatrick.
Left to right: Vanessa Lawrence, Director General and Chief Executive Ordnance Survey,
Kenny Frederick, Principal George Green’s school, Jim Fitzpatrick, Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Minister for London at the
Department of Trade and Industry
Pupils at George Green’s School on the Isle of Dogs heard the
announcement at the start of a geography lesson combining map and
computer skills with local knowledge. Principal Kenny Frederick, a
geographer, says:
‘This is an excellent initiative from Ordnance Survey, offering
a practical and relevant resource for teaching and learning.
By understanding the concept of location, pupils can begin
to explore the links between the environmental, social and
economic issues which shape the world.’
Roger Jeans, Education Manager
After the initial launch formalities, geography
teacher Neal Long led a really absorbing
lesson using the free maps on a theme of a
treasure hunt, using many local photographs,
identifying their positions on the map and then
working out the grid references.
Staff from Ordnance Survey that attended
the launch were each allocated a table with a
group of pupils, who quickly accepted them
to the group. The room was buzzing as each
group raced each other to complete each task.
We were all extremely impressed by the way
the pupils threw themselves into the challenge
and how good their map-reading skills are.
Vanessa’s group
Scott’s group
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 3

Free maps Free maps Free maps Free maps
Roger’s group
Geoff’s group
It proved to me how well pupils can understand
the maps and recognise features from their local
area. After half an hour, with the lesson drawing
to a close, Neal consolidated what had been
learned and many pupils were keen to show
what they knew. A big thank you goes to Principal
Kenny Frederick for inviting us to the school.
It was interesting to note that many children
who entered the 005 free-maps competition
to win a day out with Ray Mears commented
on how big the map they received was. Well, as
you can see from the picture below, it certainly
is a big piece of paper! Each map covers at
least 600 sq km ( 30 sq miles) of land at a
scale of 1: 5 000, and every Year 7 pupil can
get their one totally free!
The 006 scheme will be open for schools to
order their maps in early August for Scottish
Primary 7 pupils and in September for English
and Welsh Year 7 pupils. All eligible schools will
receive a letter that contains their user name and
password for ordering the maps online at those
times. So keep your eyes open and order as soon
as possible once you get your letter to ensure
that your pupils receive their free map as early as possible. Please note that
until you receive your letter you will not be able to order any maps.
Please be aware that in ordering the maps you are agreeing to distribute
them to the pupils at Year 7; they are not the property of the school
although teachers’ maps are included in the ratio of one teacher’s map
for every 5 pupils’ maps ordered.
It has been brought to our attention that a few schools have not
distributed the maps to the pupils. Unfortunately, this jeopardises the
continuation of the scheme for all schools, so please ensure that the
pupils at your school do receive their maps.
Free maps to remain
in Primary 7 for
Scottish schools
Free maps have always been distributed to Year 7s in England and
Wales and Primary 7 in Scotland. However, at the SAGT conference in
Dundee, representations from some Scottish secondary schools led to
Ordnance Survey undertaking a further survey in 005 to explore whether
this was the best placement year for the maps. The results were clear,
with 93% of primary schools wanting the maps to continue to be given
to Primary 7s and 9 % of secondary schools wanting the maps to be
distributed to S1s. The HM Inspectorate (HMI) for Geography in Scotland
was asked to provide a definitive answer to this problem and, after further
investigation, it was agreed to leave the map distribution at Primary 7.
Reasons include:
• It being felt that Primary 7 was the optimum time to develop mapping
skills.
• Distribution at primary level gives a greater likelihood that a pupil’s
home and school will both be on the map (known to provide far
greater engagement for the pupils). Travel to school distances for
secondary pupils tends to be greater in Scotland than in England and
Wales, so this reason carries greater weight for Scottish pupils.
• Many primary schools have developed extensive new teaching
resources based on the expectation that they would continue to
receive the free maps.
Ordnance Survey has agreed to:
• provide a checklist of map skills that all primary pupils should
acquire by the end of Primary 7 so that S1 teachers will have an
assurance that all pupils are at the same level;
• provide online access to schools sign-up information so that all
secondary schools can see if their feeder schools have ordered
maps to promote this facility to them; and
• increase promotion of the scheme to Scottish primary schools to
ensure maximum take-up.
Having undertaken this extensive consultation, the decision to leave
free maps in Primary 7s must now be considered as final. Thank you to
all 490 Scottish schools who took part in the survey.
4 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
Free maps Free maps Free maps Free maps
Free maps competition
to win a day out with
Ray Mears
We had a fantastic response for this
competition and received over 3 000 entries.
It has taken a while to read all the entries
and it was good to note that the pupils were
each pleased to receive their map and the
enthusiasm they have shown in getting good
use from it.
It is obvious from the entries that pupils have used their map to
discover many new things about their area such as ‘the Preseli
Blue stones that were used to build Stonehenge’, ‘remains of
Iron Age settlements’, ‘new routes to school’ and ‘pathways
for undiscovered walks’. Some considered the effects of global
warming and used the contours to establish what the rise of sea
level would mean to their area, and many hundreds of pupils
commented on the comparative size of features such as woods and
forests compared with built-up areas.
The standard of entries was very high and it was an extremely difficult job to select the winners. The twelve winners will be
contacted and the runners-up will receive their prizes through the post. A full list of winners can be viewed on our website
at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education.
Well done to all who entered and congratulations to the winners. Make sure
your pupils enter this year’s competition to win a day out with the Time Team!
Free software competition – win a copy of GI software
In the GIS for schools booklet that was included with the last edition of mapping news, we ran a competition to win a
copy of each of the GI packages that were reviewed. After trawling through the many entries, the following schools were
the lucky winners:
Scalford Primary CE School – Melton Mowbray
Chilwell School – Chilwell
Manorfield CE Primary School – Stoney Stanton
Chichester High School for Boys – Chichester
Smestow School – Wolverhampton
Verdin High School – Winsford
St Teath School – St Teath
Benfield Junior School – Portslade
Downside School – Radstock
Helston Community College – Helston
Upavon School – Pewsey
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 5

The action plan for
geography
The Geographical Association (GA) is thrilled to be working in close partnership with the Royal
Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers (RGS-IBG) on a programme
called Geography in Action. This was launched with considerable fanfare and flourish at the
RGS-IBG on 30 March – with Michael Palin leading the way. His book Himalaya will find its
way into secondary schools with a letter from the Minister for Schools, Lord Andrew Adonis,
anticipating the recovery and resurgence of geography in schools.
You can find more details about the Action Plan on the web. This article is going to
focus mainly on one element of the plan, namely the need to promote and support
‘subject leadership’ in schools.
Geography: making connections
David Lambert
The launch of Geography in Action was reported in The Independent ® newspaper.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this article focused (yet again) on geography’s challenging
circumstances in schools – declining numbers at GCSE and A level, poor Ofsted
reports in primary and KS3 and so on.
But the article also made a link to The
Independent’s ground-breaking theme
for the week: ’Your world. Your
say’ – a forum of letters and comment
about global warming. Furthermore, I
couldn’t help but notice that the front
page of the paper that day was covered
in maps (of the Middle East).
There is no doubt about it. Geography
is a 21st-century subject. It concerns
the future, as well as the past and
present. Without geography you
may be limited in your ability to
read The Independent,(or watch
the six o’clock news for that
matter). Geography provides the
learner with an appreciation of the
interconnectedness of the world and
the various issues and challenges
that lie ahead, and the means to think confidently about the future – something a
professor of geography was urging as a priority.
‘Why isn’t climate change… the core subject of our schools…?’
Nicki Penaluna
‘I have read little about scenarios that may lie ahead (about 50 years)’
Prof R Bradshaw, Dept of Geography, Liverpool
‘Although I am only 14-years-old I believe my opinion can make a
difference. So here goes…’ Helen Way
‘People must make informed choices…’ A-level geography class
(Quotes from the Your world. Your say forum from The Independent on the 30 and 31 march.)
6 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
The GA’s contribution to Geography in Action is to
emphasise subject leadership. No matter how much
we love geography and enjoy the wow! factor of
special places, we need to be clear about how to select,
organise and sequence wonderful learning experiences
for children, with a clear sense of how and why it is
relevant to their education.
Perhaps, ‘to be able to read the news intelligently’
just about covers everything. In fact, Rita Gardner
(the Director of the RGS-IBG) and I will be devoting
considerable energy to clarifying an overarching
framework for school geography – in our capacity of
Geography Advisers to the Secretary of State.
We will want to show how geography can switch on
curiosity about the world, open eyes and encourage
the exploration of diverse people and places, establish
aspects of geographical capability to operate
confidently with knowledge and understanding about
the physical and human worlds, and the skills of
informed and aware citizens.
Subject leadership operates at all levels, and within
the shared framework all teachers will need support
and encouragement to do their bit – the selection,
organisation and sequencing of geography curricula.
This is what we mean by curriculum making
– so watch out for courses, publications, and online
opportunities, literally to lead geography closer to the
centre ground of the curriculum!
The GA will have dedicated primary and secondary
teams to offer subject leadership CPD (continuing
personal development) and curriculum development
opportunities. In addition, we will be rolling out the
Primary and the Secondary Geography Quality Marks
from September 2006.
Is your school
worldy-wise?
The Geographical Association’s (GA) Worldwise initiative enables young
people to take part in fun and engage in free activities to promote geography
in schools.
With opportunities to take part at both a local and national level, the project
culminates in the annual Worldwise challenge, a weekend of free fieldwork
activities. Ordnance Survey has hosted the Hampshire round of the
competition for more than two decades and is one of the main sponsors with
ESRI ® UK and the Field Studies Council.
The head of geography at King Edward VI’s school in Southampton, Mr Garry
Hunt, has been involved in Worldwise since 1983.
He recalls:
‘At that time the event was run in Southampton by the local
branch of the GA and it took place at, what was then, the
Curriculum Development Centre in the city. Sponsorship
has been a key element, and during my second year of my
involvement I invited Ordnance Survey to attend, resulting in an
offer to host the following year’s event.’
‘At one stage there was a regular series of rounds, starting at a local level in December.
Then there was a regional final, which took place in February, followed by a national
final, which was normally tied into the GA conference at Easter. One year there
was even an international final based on taking one team member from each team
competing in the national event. King Edward VI was fortunate enough to come second
nationally that year, and I can still remember the agony of trying to decide which one of
our team members should get an all-expenses paid trip to America.’
‘The quiz today is a rather different animal. There is now only a
local round to the quiz, which I feel is a shame in many respects.
There are, however, other elements – which include various
online activities and competitions – that no doubt appeal to a
wider audience and are more accessible. The Field Study Council
sponsors the winner’s visit to Malham Tarn Field Centre.’
‘The children that I know enjoy taking part in the event and staff
are often very pleasantly surprised by the level of knowledge
demonstrated by their students. I have enjoyed my involvement in
the quiz and have been fortunate to work with many like-minded
individuals. Having Ordnance Survey as hosts has made
organising the quiz much easier and has given the Southampton
area an independent base from which to run it. This has helped
to make it such a successful event.’
All secondary schools are eligible to enter teams for the local round of the
quiz. Each team is made up of three pupils who must all be under 16 on 1
September of the year of entry.
For more information visit http://www.geography.org.uk/events/worldwise
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 7

Plymouth High’s Geography Department
has been using GIS in a very simple way
for some years but has decided it is time
to move things up a bit. Pat Frean will be
taking a group of pupils to Ghana; here she
writes about the forthcoming project.
Pat Frean
Geography AST, Plymouth High School for Girls
I am taking a group of 8 Year 1 geography students to visit our partner school in Ghana for a week
in June. We are going to do fieldwork with eight students from Ahantaman Senior Secondary
School in Sekondi-Takoradi and we are going to need a decent map, particularly as there are no
addresses for particular buildings; post office boxes are used.
Whilst we are there, our School Network Manager is aiming to network the school and bring in
broadband. If successful, this will mean that Ahantaman can be a communication hub for all the
local schools that have partner schools in Plymouth.
Sekondi-Takoradi is a city of about 50 000 population, similar to that of Plymouth. Like Plymouth,
it is a naval port and it is about the same travelling time from the capital – Accra – as Plymouth is
from London. We chose each other as partner cities partly because of these similarities. I want
my students to look for similarities and differences too, and on at least one of the days we will be
looking at land-use patterns in Sekondi-Takoradi.
With great anticipation I looked up Sekondi-Takoradi on Google Earth – nothing there really.
There isn’t enough information and the picture pixilates as you zoom in. We have a simple poster
map of Ghana that I picked up in Accra last year and I bought a map of Ghana from Stanfords,
but I don’t have decent street map of Sekondi-Takoradi. The Japanese have surveyed Ghana and
have produced excellent quality large-scale maps of the country but there still isn’t anything I
can find that resembles a street map of the town.
The Ghana: The Bradt Travel Guide, which I bought before last year’s trip, has a reasonable
street map of Takoradi, so that seems a good place to start. The students will be set the task
8 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
of taking digital photographs in strategic places around the market circle and along streets radiating out from there.
They will need to record very carefully where they are standing and where they are facing. This seems an ideal project
for English and Ghanaian students to undertake together. We will take a digital video camera and digital sound recording
machine. If we are very lucky we will attain permission from the local airfield for the air force to take us up for a fly-over of
the city, since there are not really any tall buildings from which to gain a good view.
Once we have collected all of our data, the plan is to put hyperlinks into the map in the Local Studies package to make
it interactive. If we can manage to take a laptop with us we will be able to do this with our Ghanaian counterparts, which
will mean we are less likely to make mistakes and match the photos with the wrong locations. We should then have
several camera icons to click on for still photos, at least one video clip of an aerial view of the city, plus sound files of the
marketplace, the seafront, the school and so on.
If we are successful, we will be able to make the files available to all the schools in Plymouth that have links with
Sekondi-Takoradi schools, as long as they have the basic Local Studies package.
Following this we hope to raise sufficient funds to bring a small group of Ahantaman students to Plymouth for fieldwork
in 007. We should be able to do the same activity with a street map of Plymouth and the Local Studies package so
that students in Sekondi-Takoradi will be able to see what Plymouth is like when it is their turn to access the Internet at
Ahantaman’s Centre for Skills Acquisition.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 9

Becta has been working with Ordnance Survey for the
last few months on developing an initiative for making
Ordnance Survey digital map data more accessible
to schools. This work is part of broader Becta activity
to provide improved access to digital resources for
e‑learning. A pilot map‑data service is now under trial.
The trial is being jointly managed by the Advisory Unit Computers in
Education (a school GIS software company) and eMapSite (map-data
delivery specialists) and will have two main outcomes.
1 Improved access to map data for schools through
suppliers’ products
A number of Ordnance Survey map-data products (for example,
OS MasterMap ® ) will be held centrally for the whole of England,
Scotland and Wales, so school suppliers who use map data within
their educational products will have easier access to it and can satisfy
school requirements. Importantly, there will be no charge to suppliers
who want to take map data to add to their products, provided that these
are restricted to school use. This will make it easier for suppliers to
create teaching and learning resources for schools, which in turn will
make it easier for schools, who won’t necessarily have to load map
data into computer packages themselves.
10 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
The free use of map data in suppliers’
educational products will be permitted for
the duration of the trial, and, assuming this
is successful, extended into a full service to
be delivered through the National Education
Network (NEN). Schools should therefore
expect to see a greater choice of resources
with map-data content available in the near
future.
2 Understanding the benefits of teaching with digital map
data
The trial also involves working with a number of schools to address key
questions about the use of digital map data for teaching and learning.
These include:
• establishing which Ordnance Survey datasets will be most useful
for schools;
• exploring the data formats, standards and specifications required
for a range of services, including data download and web services;
• scoping and testing data security in schools (authentication); and
• investigating the educational benefits of different options.
Once these issues are understood then a map-data delivery specification
can be drawn up for delivery of data to all schools through the future
NEN.
We are looking for a number of schools that are interested in working on
the pilot. These schools need to have strong geography departments
and have some experience of using digital map data, and probably
some ideas for which they need greater access to data to fulfil.
We still have some vacancies for schools to take part in the trial, so if
your school is already successfully using Ordnance Survey map data
for teaching and learning we are interested in hearing from you. Please
send a brief email to mappilot@becta.org.uk
Map data on the web
It is already clear that delivery of map data via web services has a
number of attractions for schools. These include the fact that schools
do not have to store or locally handle raw data themselves and the ease
with which teaching materials can be delivered alongside the mapping.
The pilot will investigate some schemes already available to schools in
some locations and will aim to provide some examples that all schools
will be able to use.
Trial report
The trial is expected to report in summer 007; look out for further
reports in mapping news.
Questions
Will I still be able to get digital map data from my local authority (LA)?
Yes: any service provided to schools during the trial, or subsequently
developed, will have no effect on the supply of Ordnance Survey
map data supplied directly from LAs. Some LAs have very advanced
data‑delivery services for their schools. However, others have been
unable to develop a service. The option of taking data directly from a
Becta‑managed service will simply provide more choice for schools.
I am an independent school and currently obtain data from ESRI ® Maps
Direct. What will happen to this service?
This service will continue for the duration of the trial, and we are
reviewing the data products available within it to ensure that they
complement the trial.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 11

G Joe Raphical was brutally
murdered after enjoying a quiet
drink in the Swallow Falls public
house, outside the village of
Betws-y-Coed, on Tuesday 30
April at around 8.15 pm. He was
aged 28 and single, and believed to be
a visitor from the West Midlands area.
He was dead within seconds of being
attacked and his body was dumped in
the river; a post-mortem revealed two
slash wounds to the chest and that he
had been in the river for two hours.
The question is, who killed him?
In a dual attempt to boost
numbers around options time,
and also to encourage the
gifted and talented in our school
to see that geography was not
just about processes and places,
I devised a murder weekend for a
group of Year 9 pupils.
The theme of the weekend was the
detection of who, where and why did a
young geographer called G Joe Raphical die
on holiday in Snowdonia National Park. This
was linked to units delivered in the autumn term
(crime in the community and National Parks).
What did they do?
We used the Wolverhampton Outdoor
Education Centre (OEC) at Capel Curig as our
base for the weekend trip. After departing the
school at 5 pm on a snowy January Friday
evening, the pupils were briefed as to what
they had to do over the next 48 hours.
They were given the victim’s name, which
brought roars of derision about my sense of
humour. Then they were given the six suspects’
names (many thanks to the Staffordshire
Learning Network Geography website for
these). With the money from the RGS award,
we were able to use new analytical instruments
for soil analysis and create 60-second video
diarys, which were played, to hoots of laughter,
on Friday. (Thanks to the members of staff who
were pretending to be each of the suspects.)
Friday evening
On arrival at the centre the pupils were split into six groups/
teams for the weekend, each having to come up with their own
detective names. After settling, we went to the classroom, where I
had set up the first pieces of evidence. This took the form of six pairs
of shoes (many thanks to colleagues who donated unwanted footwear)
each filled with soil. These were the suspects’ shoes, which the pupils
were to compare with the
sample they already had
taken from the victim’s shoes.
I had already prepared at
school three basic types of
soil – one sandy, one clay and
the last one loam – by mixing
my garden soil with varying
percentages of sand.
The pupils were then given a suspect each and had to analyse the soil
using the settling technique outlined in the booklet. They then left these
to settle out overnight.
After the soil testing the centre staff took the pupils out for a night walk,
which, after the long school day and journey, was enough to get them
to bed quickly and quietly.
Saturday morning
After checking their soils sedimentation experiments, and interpreting the
soils using a triangular graph of soil compositions, the teams were ready
for the next crime scene. Each team was given a map extract showing a
route along a local river and the location of where G Joe Raphical’s body
was found. They were
sent out along the
route at timed intervals
and had to use map
skills/orienteering to
find the location on
the river bank where
the body was found.
This was executed so
enthusiastically that
teams were finding and
recording clues even
when there were none!
Once at the location on the river, the teams were given a
stopwatch, 10-m length of rope and a tennis ball. They had
10 minutes to devise a method of measuring the velocity of the
stream using these tools (no prompting was given by staff, but lots of
hints about Year 7 river study fieldwork were dropped). Once they had
devised their method they repeated it three times to get an average
speed, then velocity.
That afternoon we were taken on outdoor pursuits by the OEC staff to
allow team building and plots to thicken.
Saturday evening
After a good day’s sleuthing
in the river, the teams were
given time in the evening to
compare their soil findings
with those of the victim and
also used their river velocity
measurements, along with
a local Ordnance Survey
map, to figure out where
the body entered the river.
How? They had an autopsy report that said the victim was in the water
for two hours, so by some simple numeracy skills they could calculate
the distance travelled at the velocity they recorded. Once the distance
had been plotted on the Ordnance Survey map back upstream, they
could see which of the suspects’ houses (conveniently four of the
suspects lived by the river) were closest to the entry point of the body
to the river. We went to bed mentally and physically tired but ready for
the final day and the who dun it?
Sunday morning
The teams were informed after
breakfast that one of the suspects had
tried to flee in the night, but fortunately
for us the final pieces of evidence
had been blown away in a local wood
(and oh so conveniently the pieces of
evidence happened to coincide with
an orienteering course set out by the
OEC staff). So the teams were issued
with Ordnance Survey maps and
Geographical murder mystery in north Wales
Developed by Anthony Cheetham
Head of Geography & Environmental Science
Highfields Science Specialist School
WOLVERHAMPTON
checkpoints and set off on an orienteering
course to collect as much evidence as they
could in two hours. After a few red faces
from certain teachers when one group had
to be reminded of what the blue lines on the
map were for, all the teams engaged and ran
themselves into the ground.
Back at base they were showered and fed
and then given one hour to put together their
interpretation of who, what, where and why.
In conclusion, it took a lot of work to set up and
with the help of my department – Rachel Cutter;
Jodie Mills and Laura Tunstall – and Highfields
Science Specialist School along with the staff
at The Towers OEC, Capel Curig, it has been a
worthwhile project. We now use it regularly in
the summer term as a reward for those pupils
who have
worked hard
during the
year; we
have had
requests
from
parents to
participate.
In terms of impact on the subject, it has raised
the profile of the department with parents and
governors, senior leadership of the school and
the wider community through media and joint
ventures with other schools. For next year
we are developing a locally based murder
mystery, which will allow us to invite parents
along with their children to learn or practise
map skills and use the free Ordnance Survey
maps that the Year 7 students receive.
1 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 13

Discovering Antarctica –
a major new online resource
A major new educational online resource, launched at the
Antarctic Treaty consultative meeting in Edinburgh
in June, has been developed by the Royal Geographical
Society with the Institute of British Geographers (RGS-
IBG) in partnership with the British Antarctic Survey
(BAS) funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO).
This exciting and innovative new site can be found at
www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk. Primarily for teachers of
Key Stage 3, it provides online interactive resources that could be
used on an interactive whiteboard or in the computer suite. Each
section features activities, images, video clips and activity sheets
to help pupils learn about this distant, frozen wilderness. There are
also downloadable resources to be used in the classroom without
involving the use of ICT.
Teachers and learners are invited to take a journey through
Antarctica; a frozen, windswept continent, so hostile and remote
that it has no permanent inhabitants. Scientists working there
have made many discoveries from studying Antarctica’s land
and atmosphere, and from clues buried beneath the ice. These
discoveries also reveal warning signs of changes in the future
that could affect us all. The site is divided into 10 learning areas.
From Imagining Antarctica through to the first Journeys South
to Living There Now; the importance of the Antarctic Treaty is
examined and pupils can investigate the fact that Antarctica is
Under Pressure and speculate about The Future of the continent.
The Changing Climate is explored, looking at ways in which what
we do in our daily lives can affect the climate of Antarctica.
Pupils discover where Antarctica is, what it is like and why
Antarctica is as it is. They can find out cool facts about the continent.
Icebreaker activities can be used at the start of the lessons; these
include a wilderness challenge and finding out why tourists go
there. Who’s looking at you? examines the ecosystem beneath
the waves: Antarctica’s landscape is far too harsh to support much
life; conditions for living things are far better in the surrounding
ocean. Although the water is very cold, the temperature doesn’t
change much during the year, and the water is rich in nutrients.
The main body of the activities, when pupils Go with the Floe,
include making a trailer for Antarctica the movie. There is an
enquiry about the use of resources with a choice between either a
focus on fish or bioprospecting. The latter is a new area of science
14 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
that people have called ‘the gold rush of the 1st century’. The
exploration of Antarctica past and present is examined through the
Rime of the Ancient Mariner and the story of the race to the
Pole at the start of the 0th century, while the sort of clothing and
equipment necessary to survive in Antarctica are discussed.
Meltdown activities conclude the lessons. For example, pupils are
encouraged to investigate the ways in which people from different
countries worked together in Antarctica. They can complete a form
to apply for the job of a lifetime – a 1 -month posting to the Halley
VI research station – but they have to consider life without fast
food, Eastenders ® or a PlayStation ® ! Finally, they can report on the
future of the continent by looking at two different scenarios. In the
first Antarctica is used to make money by exploiting its resources;
the second is to keep it as a world park for scientific research.
The site has had an enthusiastic response from the teachers who
have reviewed it:
‘There are loads of useful information and
interesting activities. Great stuff!’
‘The world upside down is a great resource.
The trick question even got me fooled
for a short while.’
‘Movie planning is a really interesting idea.
The sounds are wonderful and easy to access.’
Local learning through GIS
This is the planned third stage of the strategic programme of online
geographical information system (GIS) support developed by the
RGS-IBG through the Use of GIS in teaching geography project
available at www.rgs.org/education; the previous two stages
being Getting Started in GIS and Embedding GIS in secondary
geography, with its series of software evaluations and exemplars.
This project supplies teachers with easily accessible resources
such as data as well as case studies.
Learning about your local area lies at the very heart of geography,
but in the past has been difficult to deliver owing to limited access
to data sources and linked mapping activities. This has recently
changed with the advent of a combination of GIS, new and free
data sources, and easier access to downloading data from the
Internet. An understanding of the local area can motivate pupils
and the ease of access to data means they can work at their own
pace. Geographic data and information changes over time, and
this provides for up-to-date resources. Much of the fieldwork
and out-of-classroom learning undertaken by pupils in schools
concerns their local area, and the outcomes of this project will
provide a further valuable resource to enhance the attainment of
young people.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 15

New geographic
information resource
Memory-Map has released a teacher’s
resource pack that can be incorporated in
geography lessons and teaches key skills in
the curriculum.
The pack contains information sheets and
worksheets for Key Stage 3 and GCSE, and
covers topics such as:
• Map skills
• Settlements
• Tourism
• Coasts and industry
There is also a CD that includes copies of all the
worksheets from the teacher’s resource pack
and a 30-day free trial of the Memory-Map
software.
The resource pack has been designed to
be used with Memory-Map software and
Ordnance Survey digital data to enhance
the use and understanding of geographic
information within the classroom.
David Rayner, geography teacher for Grammar School
for Girls, Wilmington, Kent, comments:
‘I have been using Memory-Map software in
my geography lessons for a number of years
now, and this teacher’s resource pack will be an
invaluable asset to teachers wanting to stimulate
their pupils’ interest and make geography
lessons much more fun’.
Gillian Stott – St. Peter’s RC High School, Tuffley
‘Students can create customised routes and
trails, inserting comments, icons and even digital
photographs on maps.’
Michael Thum – Berkhamsted Collegiate School,
Berkhamsted
‘Settlement studies, tourism, rivers, and rocks and
relief are just some of the GCSE topics where the
program could pay real dividends…’ ‘…invaluable
for planning The Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.’
For further information about this product, visit
www.memory‑map.co.uk/education.htm
16 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
Resources for looking at our street and our town
Every school, whether in the town or the
country, uses the area immediate to the school
for collecting information and developing
understanding about a familiar world, the better
to understand the wider world. This information
is drawn, mapped, discussed and displayed,
and used to develop literacy and numeracy
skills as well as drawing attention to elements
of science and the foundation subjects.
The themes Our Street and Our Town –
Geographical Association superscheme units
no 6 (Our Street) and no 6 (Our Town) – use
enquiry skills from geography, history and art
to look at ‘any street’ as a useful prerequisite
to looking at ‘any town’. Starting with
children’s own knowledge and experience,
children go on to record street features,
using camera, tape recorder, map and pencil;
to trace development over time, using old
maps, directories, newspapers and census
documents. These activities develop:
• children’s observation and recording skills in
considering environmental likes and dislikes,
visual improvements and responsibilities,
and numerical and literary associations;
• foster enquiry skills, by comparing maps of
different dates, building geographies of the
street’s inhabitants and their occupations
over time; and
• extend children’s knowledge of their own
street through fieldwork and research.
The main purpose is to develop curiosity and an
eye for detail, and so widen children’s knowledge
and understanding of familiar and unfamiliar
places. Maps and photographs are an integral
part to this knowledge and understanding – and
in this technological age maps particular to our
needs are literally at your fingertips.
Have you ever needed to find where a place
was, such as a new school, a hospital, a
hotel? And, of course, you went to a website
such as Multimap (www.multimap.com/)
or Streetmap (www.streetmap.co.uk/),
entered the postcodes and there was a
map with a circle or arrow at the address
showing where you should go. These maps
are mini OS Landranger Maps complete with
information on parking, important buildings,
hospitals, schools, works and so on. This is
the first thing you need for looking at the street
– or nearby streets – in which your school is
Rachel Bowles
situated. In Multimap click upon the camera (aerial) to obtain an aerial
photograph at the same scale – and at the point of the cursor the streets
are overlaid on the photo. What better answer to the question ‘where’s
my house?’ Use your interactive whiteboard (IWB), and with the children
go on to find out how much they notice on their way to and from school
– the shops, the library and the park.
Build a portfolio of maps using the drop-down menu of scales above
the first map. Go to print to save the map and the photograph (the
superimposed map information does not save). The largest scale (1:5 000)
is just a street plan; the next scale up (1:10 000) shows both street names
and uses – whilst the aerial photograph demonstrates how ‘green’ your
local area is and somehow emphasises better than the map the patterns
made by street, buildings and open spaces. The next scale (1: 5 000)
produces a map that covers as large an area as you are probably going
to need for your local study (or contrasting local study).
However, the detail is still at the general detail of the OS Landranger Map.
If you are to keep up with and extend the children’s observation
skills, you need a map that shows small details such as gardens,
fields, trees, and slopes. Go to the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map site
(www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap/), enter your
postcode and the same OS Landranger Map comes up. In the left-hand
margin click on the circle with a large plus sign and the style changes
to the OS Explorer Map, the map for walkers and pedestrians, showing
all boundaries. Click on print/save/copy (top right-hand corner). A
new window will open and you can process the image as you wish,
for example, put into an Our Street or Our Town folder, or file in My
Pictures, copy or insert into a Word document and treat as any picture,
that is, enlarge, crop and add a legend or annotations. There you have a
base map to which, on the IWB or as a paper copy, the children can add
further information For all these maps be sure to include the copyright
information (for example, © Crown copyright 00x). For historical
evidence go to Old Maps (www.old‑maps.co.uk/) and locate a
nineteenth-century map – or find several at your local history library.
The super schemes have ideas to take you further, for example, Our
Street Activity or 5, or in Our Town Activity 3 or 5. Good researching.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 17

‘Putting geography at the heart
of your continuing professional
development (CPD) programme’
Linda Thompson
Regional Advisor
Secondary National Strategy
for School Improvement
People are a school’s most valuable resource, and increasingly schools are taking the professional and personal growth
of their staff more seriously. The main purpose of professional development is to increase professional expertise so that
pupils’ learning experiences and achievements improve. For geography teachers professional expertise includes:
• acquiring new geographical knowledge;
• improving or learning new teaching skills, strategies and techniques;
• learning new technologies;
• learning how to operate in a new role; and
• exploring lines of enquiry, problem solving, innovating and developing new approaches that can lead to increased
efficiency, motivation or effectiveness.
The new Secondary Geography Handbook provides up-to-date, geography-specific, focused support across all these
areas for secondary geography teachers at all stages in their careers, including NQTs, subject leaders, overseas-trained
teachers, returning teachers and supply teachers.
Geographical knowledge is about knowing your subject well; it is about understanding:
• the key concepts or big ideas in geography;
• progression within geography;
• how to use assessment effectively;
• contemporary applications of geography in everyday life and the world of work;
• technical expertise related to geography;
• new geographical knowledge as it becomes available and
understanding the implications for teaching and learning; and
• the most effective teaching models for learning geography.
Section 1 of the handbook Geography Matters considers many
aspects of developing geographical understanding, from nurturing
students’ geographical imaginations in chapter 1 – What’s the point of
learning geography? – to an exploration of the conceptual frameworks
teachers use to plan their schemes of work in chapter What’s the
point of teaching geography?
For geography departments seeking to clarify their thinking about
the relevance of the subject in the 1st century, Eleanor Rawling’s
chapter Changing the subject – what’s it got to do with me? and
Doreen Massey’s The Geographical Mind offer plenty of insight and
stimulation.
For teachers keen to develop their technical expertise, there is a wealth
of practical support, including chapter 7 Mapping for the future and
chapter 10 Using ICT to create better maps.
The effective use of assessment is comprehensively explored in chapters
3 to 37, which explore both formative and summative assessments
and the link between the two.
Through the support and funding for the Secondary National Strategy
(SNS), 75% of schools in England are currently developing Assessment
for learning (AfL) as a whole-school approach to improving teaching and
learning. For many geography departments, therefore, the development
of AfL will be central to their annual action plan. A teacher’s understanding
of progression in the subject they are teaching is absolutely fundamental
to the impact AfL strategies will have on the learners. Chapters on
Assessment for learning in geography, Target setting and target getting
in geography and Teacher assessment in geography all offer manageable
and interesting ways of helping pupils to make progress and to become
more independent learners of geography.
Teaching skills, strategies and techniques
Over recent years there has been a considerable revival and interest in
teaching repertoire, or the skills and techniques teachers use to demand
the active engagement of learners. This has been fuelled by, amongst
other things, the SNS’s (previously the Key Stage 3 Strategy) training
materials focusing on pedagogy and by thinking through geography
developments.
The Secondary Geography Handbook brings together, in one place,
theory about teaching in the context of learning geography, thus
ensuring that geography sits at the heart of any new developments.
The constant focus on the geography is essential in any development
of geography teaching since the prime purpose of the teaching is to
enable young people to learn geography.
A brief selection of useful chapters includes:
• Thinking skills and the role of debriefing
• Reflecting on teaching and learning – using thinking skills
• Using literacy productively
• Geographical enquiry
• Using geography textbooks
• Cracking the code – numeracy and geography
For geography teachers in schools that are developing Literacy
in Learning, Leading in learning (thinking skills), ICT across the
curriculum or Pedagogy and practice the handbook provides a wealth
of geography-specific support that will complement the generic and
geography support materials from the SNS.
Exploring lines of enquiry and problem
solving in areas where pupils are less engaged
or motivated or achieve less well is a challenging
area of CPD. Section 3 of the handbook
Geography for all provides some tried and
tested, practical advice and support in the areas
of gifted and talented pupils, inclusion, pupils
with EAL (English as an additional language),
racism and disaffected learners.
CPD in geography
The final section in the handbook considers
the role and importance of CPD for geography
teachers and includes guidance on supporting
non-specialist teachers and building on primary
school experiences. The chapter on Research
in geographical education offers a really helpful
insight into the changing landscape of CPD and
the role that classroom-based research has in
creating powerful and sustainable change in
schools. Be inspired…!
In conclusion
Teaching is complex, so teachers need to
draw on a wide range of knowledge and
understanding to design for effective learning.
The Secondary Geography Handbook is a
comprehensive, well informed and exciting
resource that will meet the needs of the modern
geography department well into the future. On
a practical note, it should provide the central
plank for their ongoing CPD programme…and
on a more inspirational note, it should ignite
the interest of all teachers to try something
new! You may be interested to know that the
Geographical Association (GA) has worked
with the SNS to produce guidance that links the
SNS whole-school initiatives to the Secondary
Geography Handbook and other recent GA
publications. It can be downloaded from the
GA website – www.geography.org.uk
18 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 19

Geograph your area!
Many years ago, in the late 70s, I remember sitting in Mr Brown’s geography class looking at
Ordnance Survey maps and trying to answer his tricky questions about what might actually be
visible in a particular area. I have to admit that although I was fascinated by the questions, I
was hopeless at answering them!
I remember wishing that a window would open up in the pages
of the atlas and I’d be able to peer through it and see the real
landscape behind all the contours and symbols of a particular
grid square. What crops might grow in that featureless, white field
to the west of the B5206 in Billinge?
Image copyright owned by Gary Rogers, who has kindly agreed to its free use under a Creative Commons licence
What do the trees look like in that pale green area of woodland to the
south of the M54 in SJ6410? How would I ever know that it was once
quarried and that the slope on which it lies is made of granophyre?
Image copyright owned by Bob Bowyer, who has kindly agreed to its free use under a Creative Commons licence
by Gary Rogers
School years passed, O level geography came and went, and my underdeveloped interest in the subject faded and gave
way to a career in the glass industry – where the years passed even faster! Then, after twenty years, I suddenly found
myself with some time on my hands and I discovered the little known hobby of geocaching, a web-based treasure hunt in
which you use a hand-held GPS unit to locate the thousands of plastic treasure chests hidden all over the UK.
As well as getting me away from the computer and out and about in the countryside,
geocaching rekindled my interest in maps and reminded me of those afternoons
in Mr Brown’s geography lessons. Now, at the age of 40, I once again found
myself faced with the problem of trying to visualise countryside scenes from map
information in my attempts to locate hidden treasures. And then, whilst looking at a
map and staring at the digital camera at the side of the computer, I had an idea!
What if there was
a website full
of pictures and
information about
Britain, catalogued
by grid square,
where school kids
could go to answer
their questions
about maps? The
website would be
free and open, a
national geography
and photography
project for anyone to
contribute to or use.
Image copyright owned by Roger Mclachlan, who has kindly agreed to its free use under a Creative Commons licence
Perhaps if the word
got round there would be enough interest among geographers, photographers, teachers, geocachers and so on to collect
the quarter of a million or so images necessary to fill all the squares.
My website building skills weren’t up to the
challenge, but geocaching held the answer to
that problem too! After a plea for help on the
geocachers’ web forum, two very talented and
generous web developers, who I had never even
met, contacted me and offered to build and
host the site free of charge; and within a matter
of weeks the project was live and we soon had
hundreds of images being contributed every day!
www.geograph.org.uk has now been up
and running since March 005 and we already
have images for over 5% of Britain’s grid
squares. It’s been fascinating to watch the
mass of little red dots that denote grid squares
that have been geographed grow on our map,
but there’s still a long way to go.
We need your help to fill all the squares with
geographically representative images, and
we’re interested in geological and historical
photos and information too. So why not
geograph the area around your school as a
class project or come and search the website
and see if the square you live in has been
photographed. If a square near you has been
photographed, perhaps you can provide
additional geographic or historical information
– or even supplementary images? We’ll also need your help to check
the accuracy of locations and the information given by others, so we’ve
developed a quick and easy way to contact us if you find a problem.
Triassic sandstone at Pex Hill, Cheshire.
Image copyright owned by Gary Rogers, who has kindly agreed to
its free use under a Creative Commons licence
There’s a guide on our
website to get you started,
and our image submission
process makes it easy to
upload images straight
from your home or
classroom computer live
onto our website within
minutes!
Ordnance Survey has
kindly agreed to provide
funding to significantly
improve our servers and
web hosting during 006,
and to help us develop the
educational usefulness of
the site. It will replace the
Our Favourite Places section on the Ordnance Surveys MapZone ®
website. The link will take you from MapZone onto the Geograph website
and, eventually, we hope to provide downloadable teaching resources
– but first things first. We’d love to hear your ideas on how the growing
database can be developed into a more educationally useful resource,
so come and join our online geographing community and help bring
map reading and geography lessons back to life!
0 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 1

Aegis 3
– GIS made accessible
Helen Young, a secondary school teacher from Bristol, has been using
Aegis 3 over the past eight years. In this article she reflects upon the
reasons for its popularity in schools across the country and takes us
through some of its many uses in the geography curriculum.
Introduction
I started using Aegis 3 as a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education)
student with the University of Birmingham in 1997. I remember being
impressed by the flexibility of the package, even though back then it
was a little time-consuming, to say the least. Along with my colleague,
we’d devised a Year 9 activity on National Parks that allowed students
to discover why some National Parks were busier than others. The
lesson was a huge success, unlike many of my other lessons back then,
and I was instantly hooked on the powers that are Aegis 3!
When I first joined my present school we weren’t using any GIS software
at all, even though we considered ourselves to be advanced in ICT
usage. Then, following the award from the GA in 003, we decided it
was time to invest in a copy of Aegis 3. I attended a course run by The
Advisory Unit (producers of Aegis 3) in June of that year and we were
immediately set up and ready to go.
I arrived back at the school and had written my first Aegis 3 worksheet
within days. The procedure was so much more straightforward than
the previous version I’d worked with. Shapefiles (downloadable outline
maps with data attached) are much more readily available and inputting
data was much simpler. There are essentially three things needed to
create a worksheet:
1. A map. This can be an Ordnance Survey map, a shapefile, a map that
you’ve created yourself, or even an aerial photograph or raster map.
. Data or photographs. In order to plot information on the map you need
some data. Shapefiles come with data already included, although
you might need to add to it to make it relevant to your lesson. You
may wish the students to add the data themselves, for example, a
local survey where the students put their own ‘scores’ into a table.
3. Text boxes to give the students instructions about the task.
You can download most files and lesson plans from this article from
www.advisory‑unit.org.uk/aegis3/welcome_to_aegis_3.html
or contact Helen on helenyoung@blueyonder.co.uk
Helen Young
The possibilities…
Before long we’d found ourselves with an
abundance of activities using Aegis and our
students quickly became familiar with the
package, needing very little instruction on using
worksheets. The activities span all ages and
abilities and include lessons such as: The lessons
GIS will inevitably be easier to use in some
School microclimate survey
Year 7 local survey (all abilities).
Murder mystery in Rio de Janeiro
Year 8 investigation into death
squads in Brazil, using photographs.
This is a true story and the worksheet
contains a hyperlink to a news report
about the murders (all abilities).
Land use mapping across Bristol
Year 10 ‘virtual fieldtrip’ activity
using photo interpretation to
evaluate traditional land use models
(foundation level).
Industry in Japan
Year 11 activity, which encourages
students to learn regional place
names that can be used in their
exams (higher level).
Rural issues in the UK
AS activity that analyses rural
changes over time, with particular
reference to the introduction of the
CAP (higher level).
World development issues
A activity looking at issues of debt
restructuring and appropriate aid
(higher level).
schools than others. As a humanities status
school, we’re lucky enough to be kitted out
with wireless laptop trolleys and overhead
projectors, which obviously make ICT more
accessible. All schools generally have some
computer suites that can be booked out.
Once the initial hurdle of finding ICT facilities is
over, the lesson runs pretty much as standard. A
starter activity can be used to draw the students
into the lesson, followed by a demonstration on
the board, after which time the students can
work pretty much unaided. I’m going to give
you a run down of two lessons to give you an
idea of how it works in practice.
Example 1: Year 8 – Local crime survey
(middle ability)
The preparation for this lesson involved a walk
round the local area to assess the threat from
crime. Before setting off for the walk, students
were encouraged to devise their own criteria
for assessing crime levels. They suggested
various indicators of crime, from ‘broken glass’
to a ‘perceived fear’. All results were recorded
onto individual sheets, which were taken in at
the end of the lesson.
The following lesson consisted of a quick recap,
followed by students inputting their own data
to formulate their personal conclusions about
local crime levels. Higher-level students could
then move on to look at targeted strategies for
crime reduction.
Example 2: Year 11 – Industry in Japan
(high ability)
This activity had a very specific aim: to
ensure that students could compare industrial
change within two regions of an MEDC (more
economically developed country). To assess
how effectively the aims had been met, the
students sat an exam question during the
following lesson.
Setting up the lesson was fairly straightforward
as we had covered industrial change as
a topic in its own right already, and we had
also studied Japan. This was also a top-ability group containing many
gifted and talented students, where it’s anticipated that all 33 students
will gain A* to B grades. The lesson was scaffolded to give in-depth
instructions at the start, moving on to give no instruction at the end.
By the end of the hour lesson all students had gained an overview
of regional industrial change in Japan and many had completed the
extension activity, which posed open-ended questions that demanded
more thought and concentration.
This particular lesson was observed by an Ofsted inspector, who was
most impressed with the activity and could suggest no improvements!
In conclusion
I’m a big supporter of Aegis because I think it’s easy to use and can
be applied to the complete spectrum of ages and abilities. I thought I’d
leave you with a few pros and cons for you to consider.
Major selling points:
Flexibility We come up with new worksheet ideas all the time and haven’t
found an activity beyond Aegis’ capabilities yet!
Support The Aegis 3 website has useful forums and I always receive
answers to email queries within a day.
Accessibility This isn’t a package where you need to guide students
through. They can work independently, which is something you don’t
always get with other GIS packages. Its design resembles Microsoft ®
Office, so students get the hang of it really quickly.
Differentiation All activities can be easily differentiated for the more- or
less-able student. It’s also easy to scaffold activities for the mixed ability
classes. We’re in the process of designing an activity for one of our link
primary schools, so it can even be used with very young students.
Cross-curricular potential This isn’t just a geographical tool – we’ve spoken
to several other departments in our school that could all use AEGIS in
some way. For example, spatial events of history and playing positions
on a hockey pitch.
Updates There are constant improvements going on – version 1.3 has
even greater flexibility, including the ability to do screen dumps and
landscaped worksheets.
Learning Styles Suitable for those with both kinaesthetic and visual
learning styles.
Improvements please:
We need more sharing of worksheets – there’s no point in reinventing
the wheel!
The ability to attach sound files to places on the map would give even
more scope for activities.
mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 3

Transforming teaching
with Anquet software using
Ordnance Survey mapping
Christine Lloyd-Staples
Buckinghamshire School Improvement Service
If you have not yet discovered the educational benefits of
using Ordnance Survey mapping with 3‑D software, now
is a very good time to start. This article illustrates how Anquet can be
used in the classroom, although these examples are just a few of the educational
possibilities that open up when you have access to digital maps for the whole of
Great Britain at your fingertips
Anquet Maps have a new entry‑level version 06 product, which gives complete
1:50 000 scale coverage of all 13 National Parks in Great Britain. This is the
equivalent of about 30 standard OS Landranger Maps to achieve coverage of all
the National Parks. The new CD gives instant access to seamless Ordnance Survey
map coverage of the parks, and in doing so enables some of the most awe‑inspiring
and geographically fascinating landscapes to be explored as a standard or 3‑D map
from all angles using just a few mouse clicks.
The National Parks
CD represents just one
of Anquet’s products
offering real benefits as
a teaching and learning
tool; teachers can then
gradually supplement
it with additional
Figure 1 – Red Tarn and Striding Edge
software from the range.
Complete coverage of
Great Britain at 1:50 000
at 600% zoom level
and 1:25 000 scales
is available, and the
purchase of aerial photomaps adds yet another dimension that is well worth the
investment, enabling stunning 3‑D photomaps to be viewed as a virtual landscape
from all angles.
Using Ordnance Survey data with this software has the benefit of catching the students’
attention, making it easier to focus upon the exact area or feature being discussed.
When teaching basic map skills with a paper map it is difficult for a teacher to be
certain that all students are looking at the correct area of the map. Using a map on a
screen along with a mouse
pointer enables students’
attention to be directed to
the exact location.
Figure 2 – Helvellyn at 100% zoom level
The software is
user‑friendly. One major
benefit is the levels
of zoom that can be
achieved. The lowest
zoom level is 10%, which
aid students’ orientation
within the general
location. Being able to
zoom to a level of 600% enables viewing detail within
part of a kilometre grid square (this can be seen in
figure 1). The required level of zoom can be selected
by one click, using a drop‑down menu containing 25
options. Alternatively, it can be achieved in incremental
steps by clicking on the map, thereby transporting
students on a ‘scale journey’ as they travel into or out
of the map until the required area is achieved.
Figure 2 shows a map of the Helvellyn area at 100%
zoom level, which would be a typical starting point for
applications of map skills, transformations of the map
into 3‑D landscapes or cross‑section drawings.
Examples of practical
applications in lessons
Understanding topography using 3-D
contour transformations
Understanding contours and visualising terrain from
maps is something that students often find difficult.
The ability to convert a contour map into a realistic 3‑D
relief image with just one click is an impressive feature
of the software; this greatly aids the students with
the development of their ability to interpret contour
patterns. It can transform map‑skills lessons into an
exciting virtual reality field trip, where landscapes
literally come alive before students’ eyes.
Figure 3 – Wasdale: 3‑D virtual landscape
The 3‑D landscapes can be viewed from different
angles and elevation and can be flown over at your
chosen altitude and speed. The fly‑over can be
produced very simply with the aid of an on‑screen
virtual landscape control panel. In a very short time
students and teachers become confident at exploring
the topography and features of landscapes from
different perspectives. It is wonderful to see a buzz
of excitement amongst students as they recognise
features that they have learnt about. Figure 3 shows
Wasdale in an Anquet 3‑D virtual‑landscape image.
Using high definition aerial photography
Additional Photo Map CDs are available for six
regions, covering the whole of England and Wales. The
high‑definition aerial photography for your local area
can add another dimension to landscapes and bring
them even closer to reality. A simulated fly‑over using
a 3‑D Photo Map is about as good as it gets in terms
of a virtual visit to locations around the country. Figure
4 shows a view of part of the Snowdon horseshoe in a
split screen 3‑D/2‑D view.
Figure 4 – Snowdon:
split screen Photo Map view
Drawing field sketches of virtual landscapes
A screen capture of a 3‑D landscape can be used to
create the outline of a field sketch. The process of
creating the sketch can be modelled to the whole class
by simply projecting a 3‑D image onto a whiteboard
and then creating the sketch outline by drawing over
the main landscape features before switching off
the image. Students can repeat the same process
for their own landscapes to create an ideal base for
annotations. The field sketch shown in figure 5 was
created using the outline used in figure 3 above.
Figure 5 – A field sketch of Wasdale
produced from a 3‑D landscape
Creating and describing cross sections
Cross sections can be created in just a few seconds;
they are adjustable in size, both horizontally and
vertically, and this enhances a student’s understanding
of contours and relief. A useful feature is the colour
changes from blue to pink whenever a section is
showing true proportionate scale – see figure 6.
A feature that is particularly useful in a teaching context
is the red dot that appears on the cross section as you
run your mouse over it. As the dot moves, a second
dot simultaneously moves along the line of the section,
following the exact location being shown on the profile. The exact altitude of the
dot is shown in the top right of the profile window; this is a feature that enables
the teacher to draw
students’ attention to the
link between the contour
pattern and the relief of
the cross section.
Students themselves really
enjoy the opportunity to
describe cross sections
with the support of these
synchronised dots. If you
have a wireless mouse
with a sufficient range,
then a student can
remain in their seat, take
control of the red dots and describe a cross profile to the rest of the class. The quality
of students’ descriptions rapidly improves using this strategy, as the whole class learns
to see and draw upon all the details from a map.
Constructing river long profiles
Anquet’s route‑profile tool works equally well when constructing a river long profile. In
figure 7 the course of the Glaslyn river has been highlighted in blue from its source near
the summit of Snowdon,
downstream to its entry
into Llyn Gwynant. The
two synchronised red
dots give details on
altitude as you move
down the profile, which
is useful when discussing
the course of a river.
Points of interest such
as the height of the back
wall of the Glaslyn corrie
and even the rock lip at
its exit can be focused on
by the whole class, and
Figure 6 – A cross profile across Snowdon
Figure 7 – A long profile along the Glaslyn river
precise altitude details can be obtained. Students can then annotate the profile with
geographic details and sketch in the location of the lakes.
Applications in human and environmental geography
The software is useful for teaching aspects of human and environmental
geography. Investigating the influence of relief upon the site and situation of
settlements, land‑use patterns, communication routes or reservoir locations are
just a few of the ways in
which virtual landscape
images can be used. A
student’s knowledge and
understanding of maps
can be developed by
the ability to add extra
materials through the
use of waypoints and
hyperlinks. For example,
photographs of different
housing types can make
Figure 8 – Waypoints with hyperlinked resources
urban geography come
(Photography courtesy of Jack Hill, www.geograph.org.uk)
alive and help promote
4 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 5

students’ visualisation of urban structure. Figure 8 shows a resource that is linked
to every waypoint inserted, creating a hot spot of information. A student could be
asked to interpret the waypoints to which the photo relates.
Any geographer’s mind should now be racing ahead with all the imaginative
possibilities that the hot‑spot feature opens up! Linking photographs, word
documents, animations, PowerPoint ® presentations, soundfiles or video clips to
specific locations on a digital map can transform the entire map into an informative
and interactive experience for students.
Figure 9 – Blaenau Ffestiniog:
The environmental impact of slate mining
A particularly powerful
educational benefit of
this software is access
to maps from all around
Great Britain. You find
yourself saying, ‘Let’s
call up a map of…,’ for
example, the farm case
study in our textbook,
the town that was
flooded, the bypass
that was debated, the
reservoir that was built,
or the impact of mining
described in an article
(see figure 9). This results in much more frequent, natural use of maps and the
continual reinforcement of map skills as an integral part of geography.
Geography in the news
Instant access to Ordnance Survey maps enables national events to be brought
directly into classrooms while they are front page news items. A recent example
was the explosion of the Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead. digital
mapping and aerial photos of the site could be studied in class immediately and the
geography of the event debated.
The ability to interpret mapping and aerial photographs is an essential skill in
geography. Traditionally, students have practised their map skills using a limited
range of extracts contained within textbooks, together with the department’s stock of
national exam extracts.
Using software on a
school network, together
with access in geography
classrooms using a digital
projector, can literally
transform map work.
The ability to call up an
Ordnance Survey map
Figure 10 – The Buncefield Oil Depot,
to support the teaching
of any location in Great
Britain makes this a
useful and dynamic tool
for teachers. In addition
Hemel Hempstead
to developing map
skills and geographic
understanding, it should be remembered that the use of digital mapping is also a
tool for developing students’ ICT skills.
There is no doubt that the software enables students to visualise the link between
maps and the real landscapes they are describing or visiting. Looking up places
mentioned in the news, textbooks and websites becomes instinctive; contours
6 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
come to life, map work becomes exciting and the
understanding of physical and human landscapes is
enhanced.
Further details of the range of product and costs can
be found on Anquet’s website, www.anquet.co.uk.
Quotes from geography teachers on Anquet
‘Using the Great Britain package is very
useful in the development of activities
such as long profiles. It also provides an
excellent interactive whiteboard tool to
assist map skills. Students are able to
recognise features across the country and
complete decision-making exercises using
specific locations. The software is also
helpful for the preparation of field visits
within the UK.’
Mike Corby – Aylesbury Grammar School,
Buckinghamshire
‘I teach in Norfolk, which is apparently
‘flat’, but of course nowhere is truly flat
and students can appreciate this with the
virtual landscape feature. Students can
also measure distances and construct
cross sections. The National Parks product
is very competitively priced and is also
valuable for BTEC Travel and Tourism
courses.’
Alan Parkinson – King Edward VII School, Norfolk
www.geographypages.co.uk
‘Map skills are deeply embedded in
our courses and Anquet is a revelation,
allowing maps to be brought to life in
an imaginative and creative way. Our
syllabus requires students to identify river
features from Ordnance Survey maps,
so Anquet is a fantastic teaching aid.
From investigating settlement structure
to following the course of a river, this
software has something that every teacher
can draw upon and use.’
Ashley Purser ‑ The Wye Valley School,
Buckinghamshire
‘We’ve been using Anquet for two years
now and there’s never a day when it’s not
in use. Those days of “Are we all looking
at the same grid box?” are long since
gone! Turning on the virtual landscape
mode when you’re struggling with complex
contours is magic, and you can watch
as the veils lift from eyes. It is probably
the best value-for-money resource I have
bought for the department.’
Val Vannet ‑ High School of Dundee
Ordnance Survey
award for furthering
understanding
of children’s
geographies
2007–08
We invite researchers within the domain of children’s geographies to
apply for an award of £ 500 to support their research. The award
is intended to support an empirical study that will heighten an
understanding of an aspect of children’s lives and/or well being within
the United Kingdom within the context of children’s geographies. The
results of the research will be published in Children’s Geographies.
Children’s Geographies is a peer-reviewed journal, published three
times a year, which provides an international forum to discuss issues
that impact upon the geographic worlds of children and young people
under the age of 5 and their families.
Prospective candidates should submit a short proposal that details the
following:
• title and summary of the proposed project (100 words);
• why the project is worth doing (note any likely users or beneficiaries);
• the aims and academic rationale for the project;
• what is to be undertaken;
• how the project is to be undertaken (proposed methods/
methodology and timescale); and
• detailed costing (showing how the monies shall be used).
Applications on no more than four sides of A4 (10 pt) should be
submitted to:
Professor Hugh Matthews
Editor of Children’s Geographies
Centre for Children and Youth
Park Campus
University of Northampton
NORTHAMPTON
NN 7AH
Hugh.Mathhews@northampton.ac.uk
Closing date: 9 January 007
There is no requirement for the
proposed research to be related
to mapping or formal geography
teaching.
Articles published in Children’s Geographies
over the last year include:
• Territorialising the primary school
playground: deconstructing the
geography of playtime by Sarah
Thomson, from which the article The
geography of the school playground was
derived for mapping news winter 005,
issue 9.
• Growing up, going out and growing
out of the countryside: childhood
experiences in Rural England by
Robert Giddings and Richard Yarwood.
• Youth, gender and livelihoods in West
Africa: Perspectives from Ghana and
the Gambia by Sylvia Chant and Gareth
A Jones.
• The terrible twos: Gaining control in
the nursery? by Lesley Gallacher.
• ‘People don’t do odd, do they?’
Mothers making sense of the
reactions of people towards their
learning disabled children in public
places by Sarah Ryan.
• Children’s personal geographies and
the English primary school geography
curriculum by Simon Catling.
• There’s only so much money hot dog
sales can bring in: The intersection
of green school grounds and socioeconomic
status by Janet E Dyment.
Children’s Geographies is published by
Taylor and Francis. Further details, including
subscription information, can be found at
www.tandf.co.uk/journals.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 7

New for 2006!
Geography Awareness Week
Geography Awareness Week (GAW) is a new element of Worldwise
for 006 that is suitable for both primary and secondary students.
This new Worldwise activity comprises a range of suggestions and
ideas for activities that students can undertake from early years right
through to Key Stage 5. The activities are all linked to the current year’s
GAW theme and are available in electronic poster format, which can
be downloaded from the Worldwise pages of the Geographical
Association (GA) website. The resources are there for use during the
designated week (see below) – or at any other time during the year that
may be more convenient for your school.
How to take part
Simply download the electronic poster from the Worldwise GAW section
of the GA website at www.geography.org.uk/events/worldwise/.
We hope that examples of students’ work, showing their engagement
with the GAW theme, will be submitted to us here at the GA (please
email details or provide school website links to: rgill@geography.org.uk,
specifying to which Key Stages your submitted work relates). The best
entries in each Key Stage will be showcased via the GA website and the
007 GA Annual Conference. Entries received by the end of December
006 from the Key Stages 3/4 category can be used in support of your
school’s overall involvement in Worldwise, with a view to possibly being
invited to take part in the 007 Worldwise challenge.
When is this year’s
GAW?
26 to 30 June 2006
What is this year’s
theme?
Education for
sustainable
development (ESD)
We believe that the suggested GAW
activities, outlined on the electronic poster
panels, will allow students to appreciate
the range of views and issues that surround
this important subject. They should also
provide opportunities for students to reflect
on and clarify their own views, ideas, values,
attitudes and experiences. With an improved
understanding of ESD, pupils should start to
envision the sort of future that they might want
for themselves and for society in general.
There are separate panels on each of the
following key areas:
• Citizenship and stewardship
• Interdependence
• Sustainable change
• Needs and rights of future generations
• Uncertainty and precaution
• Quality of life
• Diversity
ESD panel 4:
Needs and rights of
future generations
Learning how we can lead lives that consider
the rights and needs of others, and that what
we do now has implications for what life will
be like in the future. This is at the heart of the
concept of sustainability – making sure that
we act responsibly in terms of our own use
of resources (including oil and electricity) and
protection of valuable ecosystems.
• Travel-to-school patterns – find out how
children get to school by designing a simple
questionnaire. The main modes of transport
are likely to be car, bus, bike, rail and on
foot. Which is the most sustainable and
why? Get the children to devise strategies to
reduce their transport impact, for example,
changing transport type or walk. How might
they influence people’s decisions about the
way they come to school? How can these
small actions be linked with wider concerns
about climate change and rising sea levels?
• Surveying the schools grounds – pupils
produce a sketch map of the school grounds.
Identify different land uses and parts, for
example, car park, grass, hard standing,
woodland, buildings and so on, and colour
code these onto the map. Are all the spaces
being utilised to their full extent? How could the grounds be improved,
for example, an area for seating or growing vegetables? See
www.ltl.org.uk/secondary/growing-success/documents/Growing%20food.pdf
–thismayleadtofurtherwork,forexample,microclimatemeasurements
to determine the suitability of an area.
• An audit of energy usage – there is much in the news about energy
security. Do we use too much energy? Conduct an audit of electricity
usage at home and school and find those hot-spot areas. Simply count
up the number of appliances and lights in each room, noting down their
wattage (you can usually find this on the back of, or underneath any
equipment; otherwise an educated guess will suffice). Draw up a base
map or plan of the rooms surveyed and colour code the map according
to potential energy usage, that is, red for high, yellow for medium, green
for low and so on. This study could be developed further by calculating
how many hours each day that a light or appliance is used for.
Some useful websites
• Calculate your own ecological footprint; how much impact
are you having as an individual and how can you reduce it?
http://www.bestfootforward.com/footprintlife.htm
• Visit the BP ® website and go on their carbon calculator – this will
assess your household carbon footprint –
http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/carboncalc/
• Try this: http://www.myfootprint.org/ footprint calculator. Easy
to use and good fun!
• If you are looking for ways of greening your travel and transport,
visit this website; it will show you where there is a good cycle route
near you – http://www.sustrans.org.uk/
• The Sustrans ® charity (see preceding website) also runs the Safe
Routes to Schools programme –
http://www.saferoutestoschools.org.uk/ A School Travel Kit
can be downloaded for free from this link.
8 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 9

The Ordnance Survey
workshop for Postgraduate
Certificate of Education
(PGCE) trainee geography
teachers
by Elisabeth Barratt-Hacking
The Ordnance Survey Education team has, in recent years, provided workshops for
PGCE geography groups from a number of institutions. We invited the Ordnance Survey
Education team to run a geographic information (GI) session for our trainee geography
teachers and their school-based mentors in February 2006. Our school-based geography
mentors recognise that trainee geography teachers do not necessarily see much GI use
in our placement schools and are keen to address this. We felt that the attendance of
mentors at the workshop could stimulate an important professional dialogue about GI
between experienced and trainee teachers, whilst offering professional development
opportunities in GI to the mentors.
The workshop introduced GI, digital map data, the Ordnance Survey
website and school GI software, and provided expert presentations
alongside hands-on activities. One of the hands-on activities introduced
trainees to an example of GIS software, Aegis 3, with supporting
activities for pupils. Trainees tried out and discussed exemplar pupil
activities to do with microclimates in the school grounds and changing
infant mortality in Italy.
The session was very well received by trainees and mentors alike; their
anonymous evaluations were overwhelmingly positive, as the following
extracts illustrate:
‘…this (workshop) showed the true potential of GI and
websites available…’
‘…most teachers know that GI resources are out there,
but we need people to direct us to them. I will leave this
session full of new teaching ideas…’
‘I thought the workshop was very valuable…it opened
my eyes to the GI options available and how to make
learning enjoyable for pupils.’
‘I would use GI in classrooms without hesitation.’
The evaluations suggest that the workshop was a valuable and relevant
experience that participants want to take forward in school.
We feel that the session was a useful way of stimulating interest in GI
and raising awareness of the GI resources available and their potential
for classroom application. Further, it promoted a dialogue between
trainees and mentors, both during and after the workshop when
trainees continued their reflections with their mentors in school. We
believe that the session fulfilled the Geographical Association’s advice
– ‘There should be opportunities for trainees to become familiar with
digital mapping websites and at least one school-based GIS that covers
a range of skills in order to see how a GI progression may be identified
and applied’ – for ITE tutors regarding a minimum GI provision.
How have trainees
implemented GI in schools?
At the time of writing the trainees have had just a few
weeks to implement GI in practice in their second
school placement. Nevertheless, we have evidence
that a number of trainees have attempted this. On
the following page there is a report from one trainee
teacher, Craig Lumsden, who worked with his mentor to
implement GI with A-level geography students during
their recent residential field trip. This illustrates how
PGCE GI experiences, in particular the opportunity to
try out a software package during an Ordnance Survey
GI workshop, stimulated Craig to consider practical
applications during his school placement. It further
illustrates how working with a school-based mentor
who uses GI can enhance a trainee’s opportunities to
implement GI.
30 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 31

BOX 1
Year 12 use of Aegis 3 on field trip
3 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
Craig Lumsden, Trainee Geography Teacher,
with Alan Stewart, Head of Geography,
St Joseph’s RC School, Swindon
I attended the GI workshop run by the Ordnance Survey Education team, when
they visited the University of Bath ® PGCE Geography group in February. The
leaders provided an informative session that provided the trainees with many
new avenues to pursue in using GI in their teaching. One way in which I personally
carried this forward was during a Year 12 field trip to Slapton in Devon.
The field trip was a one‑week residential to a
field studies council centre in the rural village of
Slapton in South Devon with a group of 17 students,
all studying A‑level geography. A number of days
were spent investigating coastal areas and also
one day to investigate the nitrate levels in the
water surrounding the freshwater Slapton Ley.
The Head of Geography (Mr A Stewart) had
already discussed using Aegis 3 as a method of
representing the data collected during the day.
It was decided that we would go ahead with this
and complete a rudimentary page using the GI
software during our time in Slapton.
The nitrates day involved walking between the
various 15 sites identified as suitable sites at
which to take water samples. At each site one of
the pupils took a sample tube of water that would
be analysed for nitrate levels back at the field
studies centre.
Once back at the centre a digital nitrate reader
was used along with testing strips to discover
the nitrate levels in the water around the Slapton
area. The results were then noted down onto paper.
We then introduced the GI aspect of the day and
the software package Aegis 3. At this stage it was
noted that the map and data presentation was in a
very rudimentary phase. This was just to show the
pupils how GI software could be used quickly and
simply to produce some very impressive results.
The sites had previously been added onto the map
as seeds, so that when the data was inputted it
would be able to show the exact nitrate levels at
the specific sample point. The points could be matched as the software has the ability to reference a map to
match up with Ordnance Survey grid squares. The pupils found this amazing and realised how easy it was
to get an accurate map into the package. Once this had been completed the data was inputted in a matter of
minutes, and then just as speedily a selection of bar graphs showing nitrate levels appeared on the map next
to each site.
The pupils were all impressed by this and, as a result of showing them how effective the package could be at
presenting data, some are now intending to use the software in producing their course work. The Ordnance Survey
session provided me with the confidence to go forward and to help out with using this innovative geography
learning product. I think that the sessions are very useful and that it’s a must that geography trainees can get
the experience in using GI so that it can be incorporated into our future teaching careers.
Pointing a way forward for Ordnance Survey
by Chris Phillips
Research and Innovation
Location isn’t everything. There, I said it. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll just go and collect my pink slip. For those
of us in the spatial information business saying something like that may sound like heresy. It flies in the face of
convention, especially that followed by companies like Webraska ® , Zingy, Verizon ® and other location-based service
(LBS) providers.
LBS offer mobile customers tracking capability and information based around the user’s current location. They’re
largely designed to answer queries about navigation or general feature information, like Where am I? How do I get
to…? or Where is the nearest ATM, cinema? and so on. These are ‘conventional’ LBS and rely on some positioning
technology, like the GPS, mobile-ID or a combination of both in order to function.
The possibilities being opened up by evermore sophisticated mobile devices are making us rethink our interaction
with our surroundings and with each other, making us challenge the familiar mantras location is everything and
location, location, location. In short, we’re reaching beyond asking simply Where am I?
Meet the Zapper
To explore what lies beyond this horizon, Research & Innovation
developed a small but very powerful application called Zapper.
In a nutshell, Zapper allows you to point a personal digital
assistant (PDA) at any building in the country and, at the press
of a button, receive information about that building. Zapper is
what is known as a pointing application and enables you to
ask not only where but what, just by adding direction to a
conventional location-based query.
It works very simply. With a PDA equipped with a GPS,
digital compass and a wireless connection, Zapper
links you with OS MasterMap ® . When you press the big
button on the software’s interface, your location and the
direction you’ve aimed the PDA is sent to a remote server
at head office. The server processes the data, first cutting
out a 100 m square of OS MasterMap around your reported
location and then ‘drawing’ a line along the reported bearing
from the compass. As it draws this line, it queries each polygon
the line intersects along the way, searching for one classified
as a BUILDING. When it finds one that meets this criterion, it
stops and looks up the topographic identifier (TOID ® ) associated
with the polygon. Once found, the server then runs off to a database
to fetch whatever information is attached to that particular TOID and sends
it back to you.
Pointing applications like Zapper transform the world into a virtual desktop where
features like buildings, streets, mountains and lakes become clickable. The potential uses
are wide ranging. For example, an insurance company’s risk surveyor could drive to a clients home and simply zap
the house to view information such as claim history, building attributes, area crime rate or flood risk stored in the
company’s database. At the consumer level, it’s possible to create virtual Yellow Pages ® , allowing a user to zap a
restaurant to view reviews and menus. Someone shopping for a new home could subscribe to a pointing-based
information service that enables prospective buyers to zap any house with a for sale sign in the front garden to find
out price, age and building condition – or view pictures of rooms and the back garden. All that stuff you wish you
knew about the house before you rang the estate agent to order information packets.
In the coming months we’ll be looking at ways of expanding Zapper’s potential, making it more robust, increasing the
types of clickable features and developing real-world applications with appropriate Ordnance Survey partners.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 33

Courses and
publications
Educational Visits Coordinator training courses for
independent and foundation schools
Wednesday 14 June 2006 in Sheffield
Tuesday 7 November 2006 at RGS-IBG, London
The UK’s Department for Education and Skills guidance clearly states that it is good practice for every school to have
an Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC) in order to help the school to fulfil its health-and-safety obligations for any
out-of-school visits. This training course covers roles and responsibilities, risk assessment and risk management,
competence, leadership, supervision, what the EVC needs to know and what the EVC needs to do.
Cost: £176.25 (£150 + VAT)
Certificate in off‑site safety management
Tuesday 20–Wednesday 21 June 2006
Tuesday 12–Wednesday 13 September 2006
Thursday 12–Friday 13 October 2006
Tuesday 5–Wednesday 6 December 2006
This OCR-accredited certificate course is particularly relevant to youth leaders, teachers and university lecturers who are
responsible for off-site visits within their organisations, such as geography fieldwork and cultural exchanges. The 15-hour
course concentrates on the need to plan, manage and evaluate all off-site visits. This is followed by an optional 3-hour
examination at a later date, which leads to an OCR-recognised qualification.
Cost: £211.50 (£180 + VAT), includes examination fees and lunch. Accommodation is not provided.
Publication
Field Techniques: GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing – newly published
This manual aims to provide details of fieldwork techniques, from traditional compass-based surveying through to the
use of GIS to show GPS-located sites on satellite images in diverse places displayed on a laptop screen. The manual
illustrates how geographical information sciences can help with different aspects of fieldwork projects, for example,
logistics, research, monitoring, conservation applications, technology transfer and education.
N. McWilliam, R. Teeuw, M. Whiteside & P. Zukowskyj.
ISBN 0-907649-88-
November 005
Price: £12.50
34 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
Complete the grid so that nine different Ordnance Survey map
symbols are in each row, column and small grid of nine squares.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education
mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 35

School mapping packages (that accept Ordnance Survey digital map data)
Product name School Platform Buy with
AEGIS 3
Map Maker
Safe Routes
Local Studies
Local Studies
Map Importer
Map Skills Plus
Scamp–4
with Scamp–5
‘Vista’ School
Aerial Photography
Map Explorer 2
ArcView ® School
Bundle
Eye – EDUCATE
(Geographical
Applications for
Schools)
GeoMedia ® Viewer
Primary
Secondary
•
• •
• •
• •
• •
•
• •
• •
• •
• •
•
Win 95, WIn 98, NT4,
ME, Win 2000, XP
elearning
credits
•
Price Ordnance Survey data accepted in Contact information
Single Network
site
£100.00 + VAT From £200.00
+ VAT
to £500.00 + VAT
Win 95, Win 98, NT £195.00
Win 3.1, Win 95, Win 98,
NT, ME, XP,
Mac OS ® 7&8
Win 95 or higher
Win 98, NT, ME, XP
Win 98, NT, ME, XP
Win 98, NT,
Win 2000, ME, XP
Win 95, Win 98, NT4 or
higher, Win 2000
Win 95, Win 98, NT4 or
higher, Win 2000, XP
Win 98, NT, Win 2000,
XP
•
•
•
•
•
•
£33.85
+ VAT
£60.00
+ VAT
£69.95 + VAT
per 1 km 2 &
£89.95 + VAT
per 4 km 2
NT4, ME, Win 2000, XP Free
+ VAT
From £55.00
+ VAT + p&p
Primary
From £70.00 +
VAT+ p&p
Secondary
See Note A
From £30.00
+ VAT + p&p
no extra charge
no extra charge (RM
CC3 compatible
version available)
no extra charge
for Site License
or network (larger
areas available)
Free Free
£435.00
+ VAT + p&p
Internet hosted
software — contact
for details
OS MasterMap
Land-Line
Land-Line Plus
Raster 1:10 000
Raster 1:50 000
Land-Form DTM
Historical
• • • • •
• • •
• • •
• • • • •
The Advisory Unit Computers in
Education
Phone : 01707 266714
Email : sales@advisory-unit.org.uk
Website : www.advisory-unit.org.uk
MapIT Limited
Phone : 01733 241698
Email : info@mapit-uk.co.uk
Website : www.mapit-uk.co.uk
Soft Teach Educational
Phone : 01985 840329
Email : Info@soft-teach.co.uk
Website : www.soft-teach.co.uk
Soft Teach Educational
Phone : 01985 840329
• • • • Pebbleshore
Email : Info@soft-teach.co.uk
Website : www.soft-teach.co.uk
Phone : 01273 483890
• • • • Pebbleshore
• • • • • •
• • • •
• • • • • • •
• • • • • •
Email : pebbleshore@btinternet.com
Website : www.pebbleshore.co.uk
Phone : 01273 483890
Email : pebbleshore@btinternet.com
Website : www.pebbleshore.co.uk
Wildgoose, Bluesky International Ltd
Phone : 01530 518568
Email : lynette@wgoose.co.uk
Website : www.wgoose.co.uk
ESRI ® (UK)
Phone : 01296 745500
Email : info@esriuk.com
Website : www.esriuk.com
ESRI (UK)
Phone : 01296 745500
Email : info@esriuk.com
Website : www.esriuk.com
Allied Integrated Technologies Ltd
Phone : 0870 2406531
• • • • • • Intergraph®
Email : info@a-i-t.co.uk
Website : www.a-i-t.co.uk
Phone : 01793 492714
Email : imgsQuery-UK@ingr.com
Website :
http://imgs.intergraph.com/education
Product name School Platform Buy with
36 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 37
Geomedia
Professional
Primary
Secondary
•
elearning
credits
NT4, ME, Win 2000, XP Free
Price Ordnance Survey data accepted in Contact information
Single Network
See Note B
or £230.00
+ VAT
See Note C
site
Free
See Note B
or 5 - seat licence
£575.00 + VAT
See Note C
OS MasterMap
Land-Line
Land-Line Plus
Raster 1:10 000
Raster 1:50 000
Land-Form DTM
Historical
• • • • • • Intergraph
Other schools mapping packages (Ordnance Survey data pre-loaded)
Company Product information Buy with elearning
Anquet Technology Ltd Anquet maps on CD-ROM Powerful teaching software
creates 3-D maps and profiles, allows unlimited printing
and offers tools for route planning, route cards and so on.
All Great Britain available at Ordnance Survey 1:50 000
and 1:25 000 scales.
Memory-Map Memory-Map products range Powerful teaching
software creates 3-D maps and profiles, allows unlimited
printing and offers tools for route planning, route cards
and so on. All Great Britain available on Ordnance Survey
maps at 1:50 000 and 1:25 000 scales. See Note D.
TrackLogs TrackLog digital mapping Provides a wide range of tools
for route planning, profiling, 3-D views and printing. Includes
Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 and 1:25 000 scale mapping and
aerial photography in varying extents.
Soft Teach Educational Mapping Skills Teaches students the elements of map
reading skills. Includes Ordnance Survey mapping at
1:10 000, 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 scales and Land-Line ® data.
ESRI ® (UK) MapsDirect for schools – make maps An entry-level
GIS capability through a web browser, useful for locality
projects. Provides online access to OS MasterMap ® data
at 1:1250 scale.
Digital Worlds International Ltd Digital Worlds GIS An educational software package that
combines geographic tools and a range of data centred
on the school, including Ordnance Survey 1:25 000 and
1:50 000 scale data and historic maps. Some county data
and teaching materials are also supplied.
WebBased Ltd InfoMapper A powerful easy to use cross-curricular
package combining any Ordnance Survey dataset, aerial
photography and global imagery with GIS and other VLE
tools for all key Stages.
credits
No From £19.95. Price varies with
Phone : 01793 492714
Email : imgsQuery-UK@ingr.com
Website :
http://imgs.intergraph.com/education
Price Contact details
coverage and scale. See website for
details. Software is licensed for use on
up to 35 PCs.
Yes Prices start from £24.95. See website
for details. Each piece of software is
licensed for use on up to 35 PCs.
No Varies with coverage required.
See website for details.
Yes 1–10 Computers − £90.00
1–20 Computers − £120.00
Site Licence − £165.00
VAT + P& P not included
Yes Primary - £75.00 + VAT per annum
Secondary school - £175.00 +VAT
per annum. See website for discount
details.
Yes Primary: £495.00 + VAT
Secondary: £695.00 + VAT
Yes Primary school site licence
£200 per annum.
Secondary school site licence
£600 per annum.
Anquet Technology Ltd
Phone : 0845 3309570
Email : info@anquet.co.uk
Website : www.anquet.co.uk
Memory-Map
Phone : 0870 7409040
Email : sales@memory-map.co.uk
Website : www.memory-map.co.uk
TrackLogs
Email : schools@tracklogs.co.uk
Website : www.tracklogs.co.uk
Soft Teach Educational
Phone : 01985 840329
Email : Info@soft-teach.co.uk
Website : www.soft-teach.co.uk
ESRI (UK)
Phone : 01296 745592
Email : Info@esriuk.com
Website :
www.maps-direct.com/schools
Digital Worlds International Ltd
Phone : 01303 297007
Email : sales@digitalworlds.co.uk
Website : www.digitalworlds.co.uk
WebBased Ltd
Phone : 01752 791021
Email : enquiries@webbased.co.uk
Website : www.infomapper.com
Note A: The Complete Local Studies (Local Studies, Extended Keys, Town & Country Surveys, Map Importer, Symbol Draw) – Full site licence £230.00.
Note B: Schools and colleges can receive free classroom licences of GeoMedia Professional by submitting a rough course description under the Education Grant Preogramme. See the website for details.
Note C: Use of LDZ compression requires a third party licence of £115.00 + VAT.
Note D: New teachers’ reource packs now available at £14.95.
The listing has been produced by Ordnance Survey as an aid to our customers and prospective user of digital mapping. It has been produced from information provided by individual system suppliers and
the accuracy of the information has not been verified. No liability whatever will be accepted by Ordnance Survey arising from the use of any of the products provided by the companies listed above. It is the
responsibility of Licensed Partners to inform Ordnance Survey of any changes in their data import capabilities.

Is your LEA school missing out?
LEA-funded schools watch out! Your school may be missing out on Ordnance Survey digital map data from your local
authority. All local authorities are entitled to Ordnance Survey digital map data under a national service level agreement
called the Mapping Service Agreement (MSA) with Ordnance Survey. As such, LEA schools are allowed to use the data
with a geographical information system (GIS) for education purposes as part of this agreement.
Local authorities under the MSA, have access to the following portfolio of data products:
1: 5 000 Scale Colour Raster, 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster, 1:10 000 Scale Raster, Land-Line ® , which is being
migrated to OS MasterMap ® Topography Layer, OSCAR ® , which is being migrated to OS MasterMap Integrated
Transport Layer , Boundary-Line , OS Street View , Code-Point ® with polygons and ADDRESS-POINT ® . Details
of these products can be found on the Ordnance Survey website www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
In order to gain access to this bank of data, teachers should contact their Ordnance Survey Liaison Officer (OSLO) at
their unitary or county council. Increasing numbers of LEAs are looking at ways of improving the supply of this map data
to their schools. LEA-funded schools are advised to check what services are available to them locally before opting
for other ways of obtaining map data. Your unitary or county council will be able to put you in touch with your OSLO
and you may save your school some money into the bargain! You may also use the new MapsDirect service to obtain
Land-Line data.
Map data requires suitable software, and developers are continually improving their products to make them more pupiland
teacher-friendly. Details of software packages for schools can be found on page 36.
Map data supply service for all schools
Check which colour pin best suits your school in the list below and then read all the notes pinned that apply to you.
Local educational county foundation schools and unitary authority schools.
Independent and private schools requiring Land-Line data.
Independent and private schools requiring digital map data other than Land-Line.
Further education establishments (including sixth-form colleges) requiring digital map data.
LEAs hold Ordnance Survey copyright licences, which
enable the schools they fund to use Ordnance Survey
digital map data for teaching purposes. Many local
authorities (LAs) holding digital map data can supply
their funded schools with extracts from this data
archive. This service may be free or an admin charge
applied. Contact your OSLO at your unitary or county
headquarters or your geography advisor. For the name
of your local contact,
phone: 08456 05 05 05 or email:
customerservices@ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
Schools may also choose to use the online MapsDirect
service or their local Grid for Learning for supply of
Land-Line data for local or field study areas.
You will need an Ordnance Survey copyright licence:
contact: Customer Contact Centre.
Data available through Edina (free trial this year).
Phone: 023 8030 5030 Fax: 023 8079 2615
Email: customerservices@ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
A new supply service is now
available for all schools to obtain
Ordnance Survey Land-Line map
data, including LEA, private and
independent schools. To order
this data go to www.mapsdirect.com/schools.
There is
an adminstration charge for the
service, which is dependent on
the number of map data tiles you
order. Other subscription services
will also be available on this site.
For other digital data
products not held by the
local authority, contact:
Customer HelpLine
Phone: 08456 05 05 05
Welsh HelpLine:
08456 05 05 04
Fax: 023 8079 2615
Email: customerservices
@ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
For details on how to obtain the digital map data
required, contact:
Customer HelpLine: 08456 05 05 05
Welsh HelpLine: 08456 05 05 04
Fax: 023 8079 2615
Email: customerservices@ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
Town Shop Phone
Aberdeen Thistle Reprographics 01224 213400
Birmingham TSO The Stationery Office 0121 236 7017
Blackpool Granthams 01253 624402
Brighton British Bookshops & Stationers plc 01273 220967
Bristol Blackwell’s 0117 926 2322
Bristol Stanfords 0117 927 7772
Cambridge Blackwells Map Centre 01223 568417
Cardiff Blackwell’s 029 2022 8779
Cardiff TSO The Stationery Office 029 2082 1357
Chelmsford Digital Imaging Centre 01245 493 333
Cheltenham Axworthys Ltd 01242 522737
Chester Bookland Map Department 01244 401920
Chichester Kall Kwik 01243 778711
Coalville Bluesky International Ltd 01530 518562
Conwy The Lead Partnership 01492 580800
Coventry John E Wright 024 7667 4775
Croydon Kall Kwik 0208 680 0868
Dalkeith The XYZ Digital Map Company 0131 454 0426
Derby John E Wright 01332 344 743
Dundee PDQ print services 01382 201778
Dundee Burns and Harris 01382 322591
Dunfermline Masonmap 01383 727261
Dunstable Trident Map Services 01582 867211
Edinburgh Edinburgh Copyshop Ltd 0131 556 6100
Edinburgh Entwistle Thorpe 0131 225 8515
Edinburgh Masonmap 0131 225 8727
Edinburgh TSO Scotland The Stationery Office 0131 659 7036
Exeter Eland 01392 255788
Glasgow John Smith & Son Bookshop 0141 332 8173
Glasgow Miller Reprographics Ltd 0141 331 5252
Glasgow Servicepoint UK 0141 275 2424
Glasgow The Glasgow Map Centre 0141 552 7722
Grimsby Print & Copy Centre Ltd 01472 350442
Guildford Dome Map Services 01483 536000/579616
Guildford Repropoint 01483 564888
Harrogate Centremaps @ Photarc 0800 0831009
Hatherleigh Map Marketing Ltd 08701 203088
Hereford Hereford Map Centre 01432 266322
High Wycombe Thames Graphic Centre 0800 3893197
Hornchurch Centremaps 0208 570 9393
Hounslow Rapidos 01494 451752
Hull John E Wright 01482 308622
Inverness Prontaprint Inverness 01463 233332
Ipswich Hussey and Greaves 01473 461603
Kelso Brown of Kelso 01573 224 269
Kendal Henry Roberts 01539 720 425
Largs Nicolson Maps 01475 689242
Leeds Blackwell’s 0113 246 0483
Leeds CDS-Yorks Ltd 0113 263 0601
Leicester John E Wright 0116 255 6030
Leicester Meridian Map Services Ltd 0116 247 1400
Lincoln Lincoln Copy Centre 01522 546118
Liverpool Blackwell’s 0151 709 6512
Liverpool Entwistle 0151 236 5151
Liverpool The InfoPool 0151 258 1234
Town Shop Phone
London Stanfords 020 7836 2260
London Map Marketing Ltd 020 7526 2316
London National Map Centre 020 7222 2466
Macclesfield Bollington Printshop 01625 574828
Manchester Entwistle Thorpe – Middleton 0161 653 9310
Manchester Entwistle Thorpe – Manchester 0161 839 0661
Manchester Stanfords 0161 831 0251
Manchester TSO The Stationery Office 0161 214 1158
Melksham Maps Worldwide 0845 1220 559
Milton Keynes MFS Reprographics 01908 504550
Newcastle upon Tyne Blackwell’s 0191 261 9507
Newcastle upon Tyne Traveller 0191 261 5622
Newport Centremaps @ Azimuth Land Surveys Ltd 0845 0833 575
Newtown Estate Publications 01686 622489
Northampton Merland Copy Shop 01604 632013
Norwich Jarrold 01603 697252
Norwich Trident Maps Ltd 01603 762799
Nottingham John E Wright 0115 950 6633
Nottingham Meridian Map Services Ltd 0115 950 3434
Oxford Blackwell’s 01865 793550
Oxford John E Wright 01865 244 455
Paignton Axworthys Ltd 01803 663320
Penrith Lakeland Officepoint Ltd 01768 890440
Perth Danscot Print Ltd 01738 622974
Peterborough Summit Drawing Office Supplies 01733 555789
Plymouth Bretonside Copy 01752 665254
Plymouth KenRoy Thompson 01752 227693
Potters Bar Latitude 01707 663090
Preston Granthams 01772 250207
Rainham Kent Drawing Office Publications 01634 238238
Reading Thames Print Room 0118 959 6655
Redcar The Business Shop 01642 490401
Redditch PSW Paper and Print Ltd 01527 526186
Renfrew Loy Surveys 0800 833 312
Ryde Paperlines 01983 611815
Sale Centremaps @ Malcolm Hughes 0800 0831338
Sheffield Blackwell’s 0114 268 7658
Slough Thames Print Room 01753 516161
Southampton Gormans 023 8022 1488
Southampton Repropoint 023 8063 7311
St. Albans National Map Centre 0845 606 1060
Swindon Kall Kwik 01793 485248
Swindon JJT Digital Ltd 01793 845885
Taunton Brendon Books and Maps 01823 337742
Tenterden Estate Publications 01580 764 225
Uckfield CENTREMAPS @ Aworth 01825 768379
Upton upon Severn The Map Shop 01684 593146
Uxbridge A Boville Wright Ltd 01895 450321
Warrington Entwistle Thorpe – Warrington 01925 824 500
Warrington Kall Kwik 01925 632221
Watford Cosmographics 01923 239743
Woking Repropoint 01483 596280
Worcester Centremaps 01886 832972
York Nevisport 01904 639 567
38 mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education mapping news Issue 30 Summer 006 39

Where could
we take your
school?
Put your school at the
heart of things with a
personalised OS Select
map, perfect for gifts or a
unique way to raise funds.
Available at 1: 5 000 and 1:50 000 scales from all leading
Ordnance Survey Options ® outlets.
New
– add an image of
your school to the
front cover.
To find out more visit our website – www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/school
– or telephone 08456 05 05 05