BRITANNICA GLOBAL GEOGRAPHY SYSTEM BGGS Overview BGGSis the Britannica They use an inquiry approach and are organized Gl obal Ge o gr aphy Syst em, around ten world regions: a modular electronic SouthAsia learning system which SoutheastAsia combinesthe latest peda- gogicalapproach to geogra- ]apan phy leaming with interactive multi-media FormerSoviet Union materials enabling students and teachersto EastAsia immerse themselvesin exciting geographic Australia/ New Zealand/ Pacific investigations. BGGSis made up of the following North Africa / SouthwestAsia components: . Geographiclnquiry into GIobaIlssues Africa-South of the Sahara (GIGI) StudentDataBooks Latin America Teacher'sGuides with OverheadTrans- Europe parenciesin a three-ring binder Laminated Mini-Atlases to accompany EachGIGI module is centeredaround a particular eachmodule question,such as "Why are people in the world a BGGSCD-ROM with User'sManual hungry?" and "Is freedomof movementa basic a 3 BGGSVideodiscs with BarcodeGuides human right?" The lead question is explored in a 3 thematicposters one region of the world, then, in most modules,in a secondregion, before being investigatedin This section of your Teacher'sGuide will exam- North America. ine each component and demonstratehow the components work together to facilitate some very The modulescan be usedin geographyclasses, or exciting geography leaming for you and your selectedmodules can be used in other courses, students! suchas Earth Science,Global Studies,or Econom- ics.Twelve modulesconstitute ample materialfor I. GIGI a full year'sgeography course. Each module is GeographicInquiry into Global Issues(GIGI) accompaniedby setsof laminatedmini-atlases is the foundation of the BGGS.GIGI is a seriesof which students can write on with dry-erase modules developed at the Center for Geographic markers (provided by the teacher),then wipe Education at the University of Colorado at cleanto be re-usedby the next class. This activity Boulder. The modules are independent of one works well with cooperativegrouPs of students' another and can be presentedin dny order. Each module comprises a Teacher's Guide in a goals and principles behind the inquiry approach three-ring binder which includes Handouts and to geography learning. Activity masters for duplication and Overhead Transparencies; twenty-five Student DataBooks (additional Student DataBooks available) and the The electronic components of the Brttannica Mini-Atlases all packaged in a sturdy box Global Geography System further empower suitable for storage when the class moves on to students and teachers alike to engage in mean- the next module. Since the Student DataBooks ingful investigations. They are explained in detail are soft-covered three-hole punched, non- in the following section. consumable books, we recommend that each student have a binder to protect them. BGGS II. BGGS CD-ROM binders are available from Britannica, or you The BGGS CD-ROM is a resource manager and might ask each student to obtain one at the reference tool designed to help both teachers and beginning of the course to keep the books in students get maximum impact from the good condition for the next group of students Britannica Global Geography System. This CD- that will use them. As the class completes a ROM contains the text of the GIGI Student module, you can collect the Student DataBooks, DataBooks in both Spanish and English, as well place them in their storage box, and distribute as Britannica's innovative geography reference the next module's DataBook to be placed in the program GeopediarM all on a single disk. Here student's binder. are some of the ways you and your class can use this software: GIGI print materials are organized in a unique fashion. The Teacher's Guide explains proce- . Vvhen preparing to teach a module, you dures to use in presenting the material found in can accessthe GIGI Student DataBook on the GIGI Student DataBook. Miniature layouts of the CD to find which other elements of student pages show the teacher how many pages the BGGS are keyed to that lesson. For of student material correspond with a given example, if you are teaching Lesson 3 Teacher's Guide page. The Teacher's Guide in the Population and Resourcesmodule includes Activities and Handouts to be copied (What is overpopulation and how is it and passed out to the class and Overhead distributed?), accessingthat lesson on the Transparencies to enhance each lesson. AII of a CD-ROM will reveal that there is one clip module's Activities, Handouts, and Overheads on the EconomicDeuelopment videodisc are located behind the third tab divider in each called "Population/Wealth Correlation. " Teacher's Guide. With this information/ you can plan when to reserve your department's videodisc The teacher needs to become familiar in advance player to preview the clip and show it to with both Teacher and Student material in order your class. to effectively engage the class in meaningful geographic inquiries. There is a comprehensive Furthermore, you will discover that there is one "Memo to the Teacher from the GIGI Staff" in GIGI mini-atlas activity related to this lesson, five each Teacher's Guide which explains in detail the articles in the Geopedia database,ten entries in Geopedia'sWorld Data, five maps in the . If Spanishis the primary language of your Geopedia Atlas, and five leaming activities in the students,GIGI lessonscan be accessed Geopedia BrainTeasers.You may want to assign and printed out in Spanishfrom the each student or small group of students a re- BGGSCD-ROM. The BGGSVideodiscs searchproject using theseextra resourcesto be have a Spanishsoundtrack as well. done over the course of the module, or you can createa set of questionswhich the studentsmust III. BGGS Videodiscs complete using the information found in More than ever before, today's students are Geopedia. visual leamers.The GIGI modules explore issues and regions of the world with which many Theseactivities can serve as a performance-based students are unfamiliar. With this in mind, we assessmentof what students have learned in have produced three videodiscs,one to corre- studying eachmodule. spond to eachof three major strands we have identified in GIGI: Earth'sEnoironment and Sincemany schoolshave a limited number of Society;Economic Deaelopment; and GlobalPolitical computers with CD-ROM drives available,you andCultural Change. may wish to devise a rotating scheduleor sign- up system to ensure that eachstudent has a Thesevideodiscs, with English and Spanish chanceto get at the BGGSCD-ROM. If it takes 15 soundtracks,can take you and your classto the classperiods for a classof twenty-five students to parts of the world you are investigating with the do one module, students working in pairs can wave of a barcodewand. Your classwill hear eachhave one turn at the computer if they how Amazon native peoples feel about the schedule their time at the outset of the module. exploitation of the tropical rain forests where Using the CD-ROM's resourcemanaging capabil- they live, witness the eruption of a volcano, and ity, you will have a very good senseof what seefirst-hand the environmental disastershuman resourcesyou have at your disposal and how to beings have brought about. make the most of them. The BarcodeGuide which accompanieseach disc . AII GIGI lessonsare indexed by word and enablesyou to accesswith a light pen or barcode by key topic. If your classis studying food reader,segments which pertain to the lesson shortagesin the Hunger module, you can being investigated.The Guide includes barcodes key in the word hunger, and immediately in both English and Spanish.Teachers can use leam where elsein the GIGI modules this the segmentsto enrich lessons,and students can word or key topic appears. You can go make use of segmentsto enhancea report or directly to those occurrencesin the text. You group presentation. will also be directed to appropriate Geopedia referencesand Brain Teaseractivities. There is a full-color poster to accompanyeach Figures, Maps and Tablesfrom GIGI print videodisc cluster which engagesthe students by modules do not appear in the CD-ROM. asking "How do theseimages connectto you?" However, the caption describing eachof The posterscan provide a colorful springboard them is part of the online text. for classroomdiscussion. Britannica Global GeographySystem Developers GIGI Staff and Associates EBEC Staff and Associates ProfessorA. David Hill, Director and Developer Emily Clott, Project Manager Dr. JamesM. Dunn, Developer Martha Hopkins, Director, Educational Dr. Phil Klein, Developer Program Development ProfessorRobert W. Richburg,Consultant and Proof Positive,/Farrowlyne Assoc., Editorial, Evaluator Design, and Production Dr. Alan L. Backler,Consultant Hazel ]anke, Manufacturing Manager ProfessorJoseph P. Stoltman,Consultant Carol Smith, Senior Buyer Dr. H. Michael Hartoonian,Consultant Richard Laurent, Logo and Package Design Lynn M. ]ackson,Secretary Alison Witt-Janssen,Electronic Production SheilaB. Tyrrell, Secretary Manager JeffreyJon Miller, Assistant Jeffrey Osier, Videodisc Editor Aaron Howell, Assistant Dynacom, Inc. Software Development Mathilde Snel,Assistant Sharon Johnson, Videodisc Development and Bryan Dorsey,Assistant Photo Research Laurie Kennard, Videodisc Development and Seeindividual modules for additional Photo Research contributors. Jean Araujo, Editorial Coordinator Patrick Hogan, CD-ROM User's Manual Editor Kim Bradshaw, Data Preparation Carmen Schwarting, Data Preparation Yolanda Vargas, Data Preparation Alejandra