PolicyMap: easy GIS data maps

It seems like I've either seen or written about PolicyMap before, but I was reminded of it by the always outstanding Librarians Internet Index blog.

PolicyMap is produced by The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), a national leader in the financing of neighborhood revitalization.

A free (registration required) account allows the user access to most of the 4000 datasets, and the ability to save maps.

Here's a screenshot of a very basic map showing the amount of electricity consumed by residential users in 2004 (the last year data is available). You can zoom in for more detailed views, but in this instance the data is compiled at the state level.

A map legend is included, and the user can even determine the number of ranges to color the data in.

Also see the National Atlas, another site that allows the user to generate custom maps with a number of "layers" of data.

More on digital forensics

If you read the Scientific American article I cited in an earlier post, be sure to see the doctored Lance Armstrong photo with an explanation of how the original photo was altered.

Digital Forensics: Altered Lance Armstrong Photo Explained: Scientific American via kwout

World Wide Words

Have you ever used the expression "I have to see a man about a horse" and wondered where it came from? Well, I did, and I found a rather lengthy and interesting explanation on Wikipedia. One of the sources cited in the article was Michael Quinion's World Wide Words which attempts to explain a lot of English words and expressions in use around the world.

This isn't a place to let your students explore, as you can imagine there are some rather "colorful" and risque words and/or explanations, but it is a valuable resource for teachers.

Here is an explanation of the word "meme":

The idea, and the word, go back to Richard Dawkins’ book The Selfish Gene, published in 1976. He argued that ideas are capable of being transmitted through a population, to the extent that they must be thought of as somehow independent of the human brains that host and spawn them. He coined the word meme for such concepts as skills, habits, stories, songs, inventions or ideas that are passed from person to person by imitation. Dr Blackmore enlarges on this: “Everything you have learned from somebody else is a meme”.

You'll also find explanations for "throw in the towel", "cock and bull story", "crocodile tears", "acid test" and a whole lot more!

When seeing is NOT believing: How to spot a fake photo

From Photojojo I learned about this article in the June Scientific American. Some pretty high-end stuff, but this is a very important skill for us and our students to learn.

It used to be that only professional photographers had the ability to "doctor" photos. But now, thanks to Photoshop and all the other image-editing software, ANYONE can fake a photo AND put that photo on a webpage, or attach it to an email.

Wouldn't this be a great way to talk about propaganda? Or political campaigns?

Our students, and, unfortunately, many adults, assume that everything they see on the internet is true, especially if it's a photograph. This article will be a real eye-opener for many!

Mr. Winkle Wakes

I think I'll use this little video when I teach some teachers about Web 2.0 this summer.

CleanMPG- an energy conservation community

I read an article on the CNN.com technology blog about Wayne Gerdes, a "hypermiler" who tries to squeeze every mile he can from every drop of gasoline. The article linked to the CleanMPG website which looks very interesting.

I see some possibilities for math problems involving what Gerdes calls "MPGPP" or miles per gallon per person, not to mention some very real discussions about conserving energy when we drive, and around the house.

The price of gas is only going to go up. We can have some very important lessons in the classroom about personal finance, and, on a larger scale, the effect the price of gas is having on the world's economy.

Cool tool for Google Earth

Check out what I created using the Thematic Mapping Engine. Here's a description from the website:

"Thematic Mapping Engine (TME) enables you to visualise global statistics on Google Earth. The primary data source is UNdata.

The engine returns a KMZ file that you can open in Google Earth or download to your computer.

So far only prism maps are supported, but other thematic mapping techniques will be added in the upcoming weeks."

You can even create GE files that use the "time slider" so you can see the map change over time. This picture shows the number of Internet users from around the world.

Your students can easily create and then interpret maps that show AIDS estimated deaths, infant mortality rates, life expectancy, population, tuberculosis deaths, GDP per capita, and for you fans of "The world is flat," patent applications.

Fascinating "stuff" that's easy to do, and sure to start some great discussions on these important issues.