I have just been sent some amazing photos: IPY has certainly begun!
Baldvin Kristjánsson has just returned from the first of three expeditions in Greenland occurring 1 March - 10 May in 2006, 2007, 2008.
The Polar Bear project is an education project, where schools interact with a remote field team, through live broadcasts, interaction via website and internet meetings, using satellite and other field reporting technology. The students tell the field team what materials they need. The field team finds it with the hunters, reindeer herders and their communities, using dog sleds, boats and snow scooters. The raw material from the field, the interaction between students and field and the students final results are all stored on a central website. This builds an open learning resource, directed by the needs of the students, with real, up-to-date material.
Even if you can't read Icelandic, the photos are fantastic!
Projects like this are being developed throughout IPY and we are working hard to develop our Educators resource section so that such sites can be found quickly and easily. With so much great material out there, it's not easy!
The first thing we have done is to categorize resources according to the amount of time a teacher might need to invest to use the resource in class.
Secondly, we ask that every resource comes with some text describing what you will find on that page, and how you can use it in the classroom.
Thirdly, we are developing a search option so that you can search amongst educational resources for specific topics.
This all takes time, and we welcome feedback from our friends and colleagues (you).
We have also started up a new discussion group especially for people interested in developing ideas and activities to support for teachers, worldwide, throughout IPY. If you would like to contribute to this debate please join the IPY Teachers Google Group.
Photos from a remote sea kayak and dog sled expeditions in South and East Greenland, courtesy of Arctic Sherpas
