Module III Response

Essential Question: How are landscapes formed and how, in turn, are cultures shaped by their landscapes?

Google Earth - Explore, Explain, Extend

I was born in Anchorage, Alaska; however, the area that I decided to focus on because it was of special interest to me is Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan. A prefecture is similar to a state, and Kagoshima is the southern most prefecture on the tip of the southern island of Kyushu. It was a particularly interesting place to live, especially because the landscape and climate were so very different from that of my birthplace. The landscape of the islands of Japan and specifically the area where I was living are along the edge of major tectonic lines and the Ring of Fire, considered mountainous, sub-tropical, and are surrounded by ocean. The Japanese islands are known as a stratovolcanic archipelago, and were formed much like the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Kirishima, the area in which I lived, is on the edge of Kinko Bay which is well known for it’s active volcano, Sakurajima. Fukuyama, the small town of 2,000 people that I lived in was situated at the top of a small mountain encompassed by small rice paddy fields on nearly all sides. The small mountain that I lived atop was small among the series of mountain ranges that occur longitudinally across the country. Often times we would drive from prefecture to prefecture exploring, which often took us up and down various mountain valleys. It was very humid and we experienced typhoons in the late spring and early summer months. I looked at the Wikipedia biome link from the Explore Alaska! class website but I was still confused about what exactly a biome is... So, with some further exploration on Wikipedia, I found a map with a key of terrestrial, aquatic, and other biomes. Still a bit confusing, but it helped me to better understand the biomes of the landscapes that I looked at on Google Earth. The biome for the southern part of Japan that I discussed earlier is a subtropical coniferous forest, yet in the north it is very similar to parts of Alaska with similar longitude. Using Google Earth for this part of the course was very interesting, but also a bit confusing. After exploring for a few hours I am sure that there is much more to be learned, but not enough time. It was interesting to try the 3D tours - I even found myself exploring parts of China and even the Eiffel Tower. Ultimately exploring Google Earth is one more way to help me (as well as my students) understand how amazing the geographical systems of the Earth are.

Landform Forces - Explain, Extend, Evaluate

The animations, images, and various graphics in the Teacher's Domain Rock Cycle Animation were fabulous! I was highly amused and clicked on certain animations multiple times, and found myself wondering - where were these kinds of resources when I was taking geology in Middle School?!?! I watched all of the short videos in this section, the Rock Cycle Animation explained very well the geological processes that act on rocks both physically and chemically to create different parts of the Earth in a continuous cycle. Some of the parts of the cycle I had not learned much about before, so it was interesting for me to see a process that takes place over thousands of years explained in such an easy to understand format. While geology is more of part of the fourth grade science curriculum in my district, I think that even my third graders would be able to benefit and learn from this animation.

Cultural Connections - Explain, Extend, Evaluate

Through Google Earth I "visited" many of the different landscapes where Alaska Native cultures have traditionally lived for thousands of years. Specifically of interest to me was Hoonah, where the Tlingit live. I grew up in Anchorage but have yet to have the opportunity to visit Southeast Alaska. Hoonah is surrounded by glaciers on practically all sides, lots of mountains covered with forests as well as ocean. The four Teacher Domain videos from this week discussed how the people are part of the land, as well as the stewards of the land and water - such as the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska. One of the main connections between the land and its indigenous people was the food, or more specifically the harvesting of food. Over the years the Tlingit people have worked hard to maintain the sustainability of their main food sources, such as salmon among other things. Food is an important cultural connection to physical landscape. There are many factors other than food that determine the patterns of Alaska Native life, such as seasons and other natural cycles, hunting, fishing, gathering plants and food for medicine, teaching and learning, respect and honor for the land, the sea, and the animals. Subsistence communities abide by certain principles in order to preserve the abundance of natural resources, such as never wasting any of the resources they use.

Lastly, Google Earth has been helpful in understanding some connections between places and people, but I also found it a bit limiting. It lacked the background information that very clearly sets up and supports the Teacher's Domain videos. One can easily find other resources to help support Google Earth, but this can often be a time consuming process and teachers often do not have this kind of time. In response to some of the questions regarding rural or urban Alaska students, they both face unique challenges. Students in rural Alaska may feel isolated from the rest of the world and not as connected to what happens in the world around them, while urban students may feel isolated due to the lack of cultural influences around them. They way I see it both groups of students face are disconnected from the world they live in - just in different ways.

Awhile back I heard about a the Rose Urban Rural Exchange, a program through the Alaska Humanities Forum in which rural and urban students are given the opportunity to do a sort of cultural exchange. It seems like a wonderful almost life-changing opportunity from the testimonials of students who have participated in it. For Alaska Native students, I think it is important for them to be aware of adults who have successfully merged cultures and who are contributing members to their culture and community, such as Inupiaq geologist Steve Glenn and Dolly Garza, an Tlingit/Haida scientist. A sense of place is such an important part of growing up and entering adulthood, and in order for students to succeed they need to be firmly rooted in their culture as well as the on goings of what they will need to survive in modern society.