Geography in the News Website User guide
www.geographyinthenews.rgs.org
Welcome to Geography in the News! This user guide is to help you get the most out of the website and is designed to allow you to see all the material there is available for you and your students to use. With a growing bank of over 125 topical case study articles, Geography in the News can provide direct support for your students, yet these are not the only resources available. Read the guide to find out more.
Index 1. Accessing the website
1.1 How to log on
2. Page layout 2.1 The homepage
3. The sections
2.2
4. The Content of the main sections
3.1 News Case Studies 3.2 Monthly News Round‐Up 3.3 Lectures Online 3.4 Research Articles 3.5 21st Century Challenges 3.6 Ask the Experts 3.7 Useful links 3.8 Glossary
4.1 News Case Studies 4.2 Monthly News Round‐Up 4.3 Lectures Online 4.4 Research Articles 4.5 21st Century Challenges 4.6 Ask the Experts
1. Accessing the website As a Schools Member of the Royal Geographical Society with IBG, your school has whole school access to the website. This means you can give the login details to colleagues in your department and across the school, as well as your students, meaning they can also access it from their homes if necessary. Your login details will have been sent directly to you, if you are unsure of what they are or have not received them, please contact us on
[email protected] 1.1 How to log on On the left hand side of the homepage is the Login area. Enter your Username, usually a word, here Enter your Password, usually a combination of letters and numbers starting with SM, SG, ECT or YG, here. Once you are logged in the navigation buttons will change to blue to indicate you can now access areas that contain members only material.
2. Page layout 2.1 The homepage
The left hand side remains the same Navigation thumbnails – click on these to take you to the named sections. The thumbnails are green when you’re not logged in and blue when you are. Login – enter the username and password you have been given here to access the website. Tip: make sure you enter them the right way round.
News ticker – updated daily, the ticker brings you the latest geographical news headlines. Click on the link to take you to the news article.
The right hand side remains the same Search for keywords and terminology
Look out for events and activities being run by the RGS‐IBG that may be of interest to you. Click on the links to take you to more information.
Free case study sample – accessible to all as a taster for those interested in joining the RGS‐IBG.
Thumbnails and short descriptions for the six latest additions to the website are found on the homepage. Clicking on these will take you straight to that article.
The next sections are written as if you are logged into the website. 3. The sections 3.1 News Case Studies
By clicking on the blue News Case Studies navigation button on the left hand side, you will be taken to the list of all the news case studies that are on GiN. The list shows the most current articles at the top. NB. This list does not include material that is contained within any other section, it is only for the news case studies. An indicates that the content is for members only. No indicates it is free access to all. By clicking on the hyperlink you will be taken directly to that article.
3.2 Monthly News Round‐Up
By clicking on the blue Monthly News Round‐Up navigation button on the left hand side, you will be taken to the list of all the Monthly News Round‐Ups that are on GiN.
3.3 Lectures Online By clicking on the blue Lectures Online navigation button on the left hand side, you will be taken to the list of all the lectures that are available to view on GIN. NB the latest lectures are all available in the top hyperlink. All other links are for the individual lecture described. 3.4 Research Articles By clicking on the blue Research Articles navigation button on the left hand side, you will be taken to the list of all research papers, journal articles and policy documents that are available on, or accessible via, GIN.
3.5 21st Century Challenges By clicking on the blue 21st Century Challenges navigation button on the left hand side, you will be taken to the list of all the teaching resources that are available to accompany the RGS‐IBG’s public engagement series 21st Century Challenges which explores some of the greatest challenges we face. www.21stcenturychallenges.org 3.6 Ask the Experts By clicking on the green Ask the Experts navigation button on the left hand side, you will be taken to the Ask the Expert section. At the top of the list is the next person to be interviewed. The main section in the middle of the page contains the latest Q&A with an expert on the topic. The right hand side contains a list of all previous expert interviews.
3.7 Useful links By clicking on the green Useful Links navigation button on the left hand side, you will be taken to a list of useful websites which are hyperlinked to take you straight to the website. 3.8 Glossary By clicking on the green Glossary navigation button on the left hand side, you will be taken to the glossary keyword search which you can use to find an array of geographical words and terms.
4. The Content of the main sections 4.1 News Case Studies
To access a News Case Study article, click on the hyperlinked title. By clicking on the hyperlink you will be taken directly to the first page of that article. On the right hand side are listed all the separate pages available in the case study (these are also shown in the box on the front page). A download of the entire article, minus images, is available to download on the first page as a Word document or as a PDF.
This page gives you a summary of the article and shows you the different sections in the article. These sections are shown in the box. Each section of the case study article is on a different web page. Any resources associated with that page will be listed on the right hand side along with the other sections. Within the text there will be images, graphs and table etc. Some of the images are available to view in a larger format if they have a magnifying glass on them.
4.2 Monthly News Round‐Up The Monthly News Round Up section provides a round up of news stories on a monthly basis. The content of these round‐ups are highly relevant to the 11‐18 geography school curriculum and include curriculum relevant teachers' notes to indicate why the news article is useful. To access the Monthly News Round‐Up you would like to view, click on the hyperlink. This will then take you to the round up which is in a table format on the page.
A download of the round up (including hyperlinks) is available on the right hand side of the screen as either a Word or PDF document.
4.3 Lectures Online The online lectures are taken from the RGS‐IBG Monday night lecture series. New lectures are in video format, whilst older ones are in audio format with a slideshow of any accompanying photos & images that were presented on the evening. The lectures are an excellent resource for A‐level students, providing topical and relevant case study material as well as a broader reading around many of the core A‐level topics. The lectures can be used as an effective CPD tool by teachers to enhance subject knowledge and allow them to keep up to date with new material and ideas in the geographical world. The latest lectures are all available in the top hyperlink. All other links are for the individual lecture described. NB Lectures are available in two different formats.
Older lectures To view the older lectures, Internet Explorer 5 or later is required. Windows Media Player 6.4 or later is also required. Please note: lectures will not run in Firefox, Netscape, Opera or the Macintosh operating system. To view older lectures you need to tick the box reading: I have read and fully understand and accept the terms and conditions. Then click: view lecture A pop‐up window will then appear for you to watch the lecture in. Newer Lectures The latest lectures available open in the following screen Choose the lecture you wish to view from the scrolling bar at the bottom of the screen Click on the one you want to watch, and it will appear in the larger viewer, now click on this to view.
4.4 Research Articles Articles published in Geographical Journals are an excellent resource for both students and teachers. The articles provide access to new research ideas and debates emerging from academic geography. Teachers can use the papers to further geographical knowledge as well as use them as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Students may use them to gain understanding of contemporary debates & theories which will enhance both core case study material & a wider geographical knowledge. If you are a Chartered Geographer, reading these articles regularly can contribute up to 2 hours towards your annual CPD requirement of 35 hours. Articles are taken from The Geographical Journal, Area & Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. As well as journal articles, there are statement documents and policy briefing documents along with NOW our our online publication which explores how geographers are addressing the big issues we face in the UK today and how a geographical perspective improves our understanding of the world, developing policy solutions, and improving lives. Viewing the journal articles When you click on the hyperlinked title from the list on the Research Articles landing page, a page similar to this one will appear. This is the abstract of the article and the full article can then be accessed by clicking on the link below. NB you will be taken to the actual article within the journals website, for example
4.5 21st Century Challenges To access the resources for a particular challenge, click on the hyperlinked title. You will then be taken to the first/landing page of those resources, for example
On the right hand side are a list of the lessons available, whilst the body of the text gives an overview of the resources and the challenge covered and indicate the resources available. By clicking on the right hand side links, you will be taken to those pages i.e. the lesson plans, fact sheets, overview sheets, teaching notes and any activities. An example can be seen below Lesson plans Any other pages to go to Available downloads
4.6 Ask the Experts ‐ use this section to post questions you or your students would like to ask!! The main section in the middle of the page contains the latest Q&A with an expert on the topic. The right hand side contains a list of all previous expert interviews. At the top of the list is the next person to be interviewed. By clicking on this you will be taken to the following page format This page gives a summary of the next expert who is going to be interviewed and it has a section where you can post a question Using this function your students can send in any questions they have on the topic and these will be answered at a later date when the full questions and answers are published.