Anyone have any views on or experiences of the age verification process on here? I guess it's inevitable now, but should I be concerned about the storage of my personal data?

GCSE Fieldwork day! It may have been a bit rainy, but the spirits of my Y11s were anything but dampened! Great to get out exploring geography in the real world!

#HowIUsedGISToday Prep for GCSE fieldwork on Monday meant using the Chromebooks to allow the pupils to explore the area we'll be visiting to familiarise themselves with the geology. Embedding GIS as the norm involves little moments like this when I choose GIS over paper.

Seagull Island at the Giant's Causeway, with some gorgeous painterly light.

The glorious Lacada Point at the Giant's Causeway. It's quite the scramble to get here, but the views are always worth it!

This is the aurora you've been looking for. Star Wars Day aurora around 23.35 on May 4 2025, beating both the twilight and the bright moonlight.

🌳 Explore meaningful local climate action through the #Geography curriculum, like mapping trees in Lurgan, championed by @ahamill.bsky.social, in our special #CoffeeGeogPod episode from #GAConf25. WATCH: youtu.be/PMwo_b3E8nU#Geography#CoffeeGeogPod#GAConf25.#ClimateAmbassadors #GeographyTeacher

Excellent day yesterday on 6th form fieldwork around Belfast. We started collecting river data along the Colin River. It was great to see the pupils enjoying geography in the real world on the warmest day of the year so far!

As I continue to write my book, Teacher Hacks: Geography, I'm drafting something on the role of Big Ideas in creating geographical meaning, exploring the metaphor that knowledge had a topography. Thoughts and feedback welcome!

Check out my video showing how Tectoglob3D can help you take fieldtrips to the mantle. This is the presentation I made as part of the @gasigict.bsky.social session at the GA Conference this week. docs.google.com/videos/d/1kL...

I was delighted to be able to share the story of my Climate Change Citizen Science project as part of @geogramblings.com's #GAConf25 session. It's a powerful story of agency in action, inspiring hope. Here's the video youtu.be/tTWvYb4tJlA?...

A whole new volcanic hazard map for the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland has been published by the Icelandic Met Office (Veðurstofa Íslands). Find out more about the redesign at en.vedur.is/about-imo/ne...

And...geology matters to public health. Support science. It helps us all🧪 Volcanic ash is a silent killer, more so than lava: What Alaska needs to know with Mount Spurr likely to erupt theconversation.com/volcanic-ash...

Thrilled to have been awarded the GA Teaching Geography Journal Award for the second year running! This is for my second article on plate tectonics, Taking Fieldtrips to the Mantle. This award is voted for by my geography colleagues, so I'm happy the articles are proving helpful.

'GIS: the key to understanding our interconnected world – seven ideas' (at least seven!) 15.30-16.20 Wed 16 April Chakrabarti room #GAConf25 @geographicalassoc.bsky.social #GIS #geospatial sched.co/1snE4

Not long now to @doctorpreece.bsky.social & my presentation at the @geographicalassoc.bsky.social Conference where we'll discuss how to support ECTs & non-specialist teachers of geography in developing geographical meaning through the content they are teaching.

Moonlit aurora at the Giant's Causeway last weekend. I love the detail in the stones picked out by the moonlight.

A delightful moonlit aurora display from last weekend, at the glorious Wishing Arch near Portrush.

I loved meeting up with the folks from the Google Educators Group NI last week to hatch future plans for GEG NI. They are such an inspiring group of educators to chat with. I always leave fired up and enthused.

I enjoyed recording a bespoke CPD video for the Two Counties Trust, East Midlands of a knowledge update on Tectonics. I tailored the content to their specific training needs. If any other school/MAT in England would like to explore such training from me, please get in touch.

Excellent day at the launch of the Ulster University report into the c2k Microsoft Copilot Proof of Concept presented by Sammy Taggart. 86 teachers & school leaders from every school sector in NI spent last term trialling out Copilot GenAI in our schools, logging 629 use cases to inform this report.

Powerful outcomes from my 6th Form AI Pupil Pilot, exploring together how AI can be used to help them revise more effectively. More details here: www.linkedin.com/posts/alista...

It was excellent to be in Dublin last Thursday for the Esri Ireland Customer Success Awards. Ive loved partnering with the Esri Ireland guys in our various Shared Ed GIS adventures. And it was great to hatch plans for some future adventures!

Looking forward to presenting with David Preece at the @geographicalassoc.bsky.social Conference next week about our books for geography teachers on how we can support ECTs & non-specialists in teaching geographical meaning not just content. More details here: gaconf25.sched.com/event/1snGX/...

An excellent update on today's eruption at the Reykjanes Peninsula from lavashowiceland.

This is cool. The Guardian recreated a searchable climate future risk tool (wildfire, extreme heat, drought, hurricane, and coastal flood) for the US that was developed by FEMA but deleted by the Trump administration’s ‘climate’ purge.

Good notes are notes that are: -Formatted for spaced retrieval practice -Condensing large amounts of information -Building understanding -Recording and monitoring understanding #EduSky www.learningscientists.org/blog/2025/3/28

A question for #geographyteacher to ponder. Given how many folks from the UK travel to places where earthquakes may strike, should we teach "drop, cover, hold on" when teaching earthquakes? The tourist videos from Bangkok show lots of Brits uncertain as to what to do. youtu.be/6ufYXJBIhuY?...

ArcGIS map for teaching about the Myanmar Earthquake with your classes this week. #Geographyteacher @stevebracegeog.bsky.social lurgancollege.maps.arcgis.com/apps/mapview...

As always a very helpful thread from @ahamill.bsky.social on responses and causes of the earthquake in Myanmar.

Great analysis as ever from Alistair #geographyteacher 🌍

1/ An ongoing thread on the devastating M7.7 Mandalay (Myanmar) earthquake, 28 March 2025. This GIS map is from USGS Pager. #geographyteacher

Google's AI tool, NotebookLM, has a new mind map feature. I decided to explore its potential. Here are a few initial reactions. Spoilers - I'm impressed!

All set up and ready to go for my presentation for the RGS Teachmeet where I'll be sharing about how we can boost pupils' awareness of geospatial careers through working towards embedding GIS in our school curriculum

I'm looking forward to presenting at the @rgsibg.bsky.social Teachmeet next Wednesday on how embedding GIS into your curriculum opens pupils' eyes to potential geospatial careers. Free tickets available here: www.rgs.org/events/upcom...

I was thrilled to be able to share about our Shared Ed Climate Change programme with Kit for the Coffee and Geography podcast. Check out the story here!

Great to catch up with my very good friend @geogramblings.com last week to record a podcast for Coffee & Geography about my Climate Change Citizen Science project. Releases next Saturday.

A few moments of dramatic light at Dunluce Castle last night.

A quiet moment of contemplation at Causeway's end.

Moments of spontaneous joy at the Giant's Causeway

Because we all need spaces where we can find perspective, peace and hope, especially in these days. I grew up in the Troubles in NI, in the midst of the Cold War. Now I meet people from all over the world at the Causeway, sharing moments of peace amidst the rugged beauty around.

There really is no place on this planet that is as magical as here, as far as I'm concerned!

Two days left to vote for @The_GA Journal Awards! I'm delighted that my tectonics article (using seismic tomography to take fieldtrips to the mantle) is in the final three. I would appreciate a vote from any GA member who found it helpful. Vote here: geography.org.uk/journals-res...

Pupils from the Shared Ed class met with Grace from Google as part of their involvement in the Black Leadership Group project. They'll be exploring anti-racism & inclusion from a 21st Century NI context, using AI enabled Google Vids to help tell their stories.

For me, it's all about pattern spotting. Amidst the chaos of the columns at the Giant's Causeway, there are shapes waiting to be aligned in a photograph. Combine that with glorious, dramatic light, and you get magic moments like this.

One of my favourite photos I've taken of the Giant's Causeway, taken one year ago. This visitor came to the top of the stones and threw his arms spontaneously up into the air in sheer glee. I was glad I was there to capture the moment!

#HowIUsedGISToday I used a simple choropleth map of GNI pc on a GIS map to allow pupils to explore how changing the class intervals changes the story. Maps are inherently value-laden. The cartographic choices we make influence the stories we tell. Let's tell worthy stories.

Looking forward to presenting with the Google for Education team & c2k/Edis on the use of Gemini for assessment. This is part of the c2k Gemini Champions programme with 100 teachers from NI testing out the use of GenAI in real world settings in education.

A few photos from my @niscifest.bsky.social presentation about the aurora last night. We had such a fabulous time delving into the science behind this beautiful phenomena.

I absolutely loved sharing about the science of aurora forecasting last night at the @niscifest.bsky.social event. The Crescent Arts Centre was a superb venue & the crowd were so well engaged. Thanks to the NI Sci Fest folks for the chance to be part of the event.