Just like in the cartoons if you dug down from where you are now, through the centre of the earth, where would you reappear? So how many of you know the answer?

The smart answer is that you would appear at the antipode of where you started!  Before a recent trip to South Africa I was explaining to my son where I was going and the concept of seasons being different between the hemispheres and timezones as you go around the world.  In the past we’d have probably used an atlas or a globe to show it, however, I had the advantage of an iPad.  On the basis that he had done space last term at school, he understood the concept of planets and orbiting, and taught me a fact or two!

When it comes to geography, the internet has opened up a great number of rich media sources that can be used in various guises to make teaching more dynamic and interactive.  Whilst there are many great pictures showing the concept of antipodes, one that I came across recently is on the website of a data visualisation professional, Jason Davies and which allows users to move the map and see the effect on the antipode.  It’s a great example of the use of technology to bring to life a simple concept and which can enrich the learning experience through its dynamic and interactive nature and which can be combined with other techniques such as a quiz.