Humanity, History, And The Human Era

Source: In A Nutshell

It seems a fitting close to the year to think about humanity. As a nation about to embark on a new era in governmental politics, the likes of which we have not seen, it is important to take a moment and reflect on change and how it affects all of us. We’ve used the video called the History Of The World In Seven Minutes for years with our students to demonstrate not only how improvements in technology changed the course of civilizations but also how progress moved at an exponential speed as it advanced.

Source: In A Nutshell

Every December 31, we celebrate the start of a new year, and we generally think in terms of the last 2016 years. But what if we rethink when the human era began? The video animation from In a Nutshell, entitled A New History For Humanity - The Human Era, does just that by marking the history of the human era according to the Holocene calendar. It could change the way we think about history; we would not be forgetting 10,000 years of human progress. A year zero could apply to all humanity and all cultures.




So as we approach the year 12, 017 HE, let us kick off a new year by building peacemakers and peacekeepers for all of humanity.

Maps Vs. Mapping: Visualizing History & Geography

Source: ASIDE 2016

Interactive mapping techniques invite students to connect with content to visualize information beyond mere location. Mapping challenges learners to think, develop literacy skills, and understand the complexity of global issues. It enables learners to seek new ways to look at information through a lens of inquiry-based analysis.

Fresh perspectives on traditional maps can help students classify the images they encounter and can assist them in developing their own visualizations of places and events. This finely-tuned practice reinforces the notion of relational meaning. It taps the core skills of graphicacy through the synchronicity of visual literacy and visual thinking.

As a result, our students become better geographers and designers by interpreting existing maps, by drawing their own maps with a cartographer’s eye, or by creating visualizations with a keen sense of space. Students must decode the augmented reality (AR) by "reading" images and internalizing pictorial stimuli. These precise, learned techniques foster confidence both in deciphering and in creating pictorial representations, as well as developing critical thinking skills to better understand the world.

Maps Vs. Mapping: Visualizing History & Geography from The ASIDE Blog

Lessons And Resources

Mapping Activities For The Classroom

• 10 Ways Pokemon Go Augments Real-World Education & Student Learning
• Sketchnoting, Mapping, And Making Enhance The Visual Thinking Process
• Rethinking Global Education - Maps As Social Media
• Geography: An Impromptu Kid Visualization
• Geography On A Different Scale
• Maps In The Wild

Current Events & Map Engagement

• Visualizing The Summer Olympics - Mapping The 2016 Torch Relay
• The Geography Of The Cold - Interactive Mapping Of Flu Season
• Making It Personal - Maps & Visualizations To Teach Disasters
• Visualizing The Winter Olympics - Mapping The 2014 Torch Relay

Modern Maps & Contemporary Theory

• Can Maps Save The Planet? The Interactive Geography Of Crisis
• Digital Empathy: How Modern Maps Are Charting A Personal Cartography
• Geography Is Having A Moment - Why Maps Are The New Meme
• The Visual Politics Of Cartography
• Mapping The Visual Beyond The Visible