10 January 2007

Ordnance Survey supports geography learning through MapZone website

Visitors to the Ordnance Survey stand at the BETT education technology show at London’s Olympia this week will be given a preview of additional resources for geography learning that the map maker has provided on its youth website MapZone.

The award-winning site, www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone, teaches mapping skills by using a stimulating combination of interactive play, questions and answers, animations and games. It includes a section called GIS Zone – aimed at older children – that explains the role of geographical information systems (GIS).

The new content includes a link to the Geograph website, which Ordnance Survey is sponsoring to improve its use in the teaching of geography. The Geograph British Isles project aims to collect geographically representative photographs and information for every square kilometre of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Geograph website developer Barry Hunter says, "Using Ordnance Survey grid square coordinates, over 3,000 users have already contributed to the website with close to 300,000 images. Ordnance Survey sponsorship is enabling the website to make greater use of the agency’s mapping and further improve its geography teaching content with teacher notes and resources."

Ordnance Survey’s Education Manager Roger Jeans says, "We are pleased to be able to support the Geograph website project. It complements our own online resources, such as our MapZone and GIS Zone websites, which receive thousands of visits every month.

"Recent surveys and research may have cast doubt on the map-reading abilities of Britain’s youth, but Ordnance Survey’s website, resources, and free maps initiative – which is now in its fifth year – have been proven to have an extremely positive effect on geography teaching and learning in schools.

"We also work with a number of business partners who produce a range of educational products and resources based on or enabled by our digital mapping data."

Ordnance Survey’s education team has also strengthened links with an association of teacher trainers and geography teacher educators by providing GIS education resources on its website.

Teachers and visitors to Ordnance Survey’s stand at BETT can enter a competition to win an electronic PDA with Ordnance Survey map data of Britain’s National Parks, an embedded GPS receiver and either Anquet or Memory-Map software.

Further details on Ordnance Survey’s educational initiatives can be found online at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education

The BETT education technology show is at London’s Olympia, 10–13 January 2007. The Ordnance Survey stand number is E56.

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Editor's notes:

• Ordnance Survey, the OS Symbol and MapZone are registered trademarks of Ordnance Survey, the national mapping agency of Great Britain.
• Memory-Map is a trademark of Evo Distribution Ltd.

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Head of Corporate Communications - Rob Andrews

Email: rob.andrews@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2265

Senior Communications & PR Officer - Paul Beauchamp

Email: paul.beauchamp@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2568

Press Office fax: (+44) 023 8030 5295