Fryer on Worldmapper. As a fan of maps I was happy to see that Wesley Fryer was writing the other day about Worldmapper. This typical map stretches and shrinks the shape of countries to show how many illiterate women they contain.


Fryer points out that the Worldmapper folks wrap other information around the maps, such as this quotation attached to a population map:

Out of every 100 persons added to the population in the coming decade, 97 will live in developing countries.

They also include technical notes about the data and even zip files of the data from which the maps are produced.

Fryer suggests that students take turns interpreting the maps to their classmates -- a good idea. It would be only a small step further to work with students to wrap other ideas and information around the maps, just as the web site does, but on a site of your own. How much information would it take to be well-informed about one of these maps? What kind of information? These would be good questions to answer together.

Publishing a web site that wraps more information around these striking maps is one thing, and reflecting on the kinds of information one needs to think well is another. The spirit of blogging is to publish both things -- to blog almost anything. If it's worth thinking about, reading about, talking about, type it up -- make this kind of exchange second nature.

And then a third question -- what kinds of action could make a difference? Active citizenship is made up of knowledge, attitudes, and skills. The first two questions are about knowledge, but nothing happens without intention carried out in practices of active citizenship that develop skills that make a difference. School, by its nature, tends to stop with knowledge. I know my classroom often does. [0 & P]