GA Conference Report 20 - until next year....

The GA Conference in 2013 will take place at the University of Derby once again, with its large glass atrium...
I first visited the Derby Conference in 2007, when I presented on GIS (as it happens) using AEGIS, along with colleagues from the Secondary Committee of the GA.
This time round, I have been asked by Bob Digby, who will be President for the next conference, to put together ideas for some events which may form a 'strand' that runs through the conference.

We are planning to look at the technology, skills and connections that are likely to be needed by students and teachers in the future.

The call for sessions is now out on the GA website. If you have an idea for a session, contact Lucy Oxley.

Here's the details on 2013 from the GA website:

In 2013 the GA's Annual Conference will return to the University of Derby. The theme for this year's event will be 'Looking to the future'. I'd like to explain a little about how and why I chose this theme, and what conference delegates will be able to explore.
Geography teachers face challenging futures. Most teachers are secure about the part that geography can play in learning about the world, but what kind of world will our students live in? We make educated guesses about climate change and the world that our students could inhabit, but what about the kinds of work that they will do, or the environments in which that work will take place?
  • By 2014, it is likely that every child will study geography to age 16. How shall we excite students and give them a framework for looking at the world, in ways that will offer a legacy beyond their years at school?
  • Most of today's students are very skilled in handling 24-hour media and news, access to the internet and social networking sites. How should our work in the classroom respond to the challenges of fast-moving technologies?
  • Curriculum reviews by central government will result in changes to what is taught to children in schools. How should teachers respond to such changes?
I hope that the 2013 Annual Conference will help us look to the future in three key ways:
  • By providing a range of examples about ways in which geographers see the future using different perspectives drawn from the natural and human world.
  • By exploring ways in which classrooms of the future might approach ways of learning, whatever the content of the curriculum, and provide some concrete, positive and inspiring ideas that can be put into practice back in our places of work.
  • By evaluating ideas about how to exploit some of the new technologies for learning, for both teachers and students.
I'll look forward to seeing you in Derby and enjoying a conference which works towards these goals.
Bob Digby
GA Senior Vice President 2011–12

This marks the end of my round-up of posts from the GA Conference 2012 - I hope you enjoyed reading them - see you next year.

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