What I Do On Fridays

For the past four years, I have worked with students and colleagues on a wonderful project known as Project EarthView. With the support of my university president and many other members of our administration, we have taken a 20-foot, inflatable globe to schools, civic clubs, churches, and conference centers.

We have set up the portable classroom and brought literally tens of thousands of people inside this model of the physical earth -- all in small groups. Most participants have been middle-school students, but people of all ages and abilities have enjoyed EarthView visits.

Because it is difficult to describe what this experience is like for those who have not seen it but are thinking about hosting us, I am very pleased to be able to share two short videos that give viewers a hint of what to expect from this marvelous and unusual learning tool.

Each video was prepared by a middle-school geography teacher, one in cooperation with fellow teachers, and the other with a former student. Have a look at the EarthView Preview Videos post on our EarthView blog. While you are there, feel free to browse the blog for stories about our work with middle school students and for concise geography lessons intended for middle schoolers but useful to all.