New York City could see 20 inches of snow when all is said and done. Snow totals in Boston could rival the snowiest storm the city has ever seen: 27.6 inches on Feb. 17-18, 2003.

The Weather Service in New York City has dubbed it a “potentially historic nor’easter.” Forecasters in Boston are calling it a “text book case” for a New England blizzard. And residents from Philadelphia to New York are being advised to change their travel plans for the blockbuster winter storm that will impact the Northeast on Monday and Tuesday.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The next three Saturdays (1/24, 1/31 and 2/7), our alliance coordinator will be hosting a series of workshops at Salve Regina from 9am to 1pm in the McKillop Library (Room 006). This partnership with their history department is designed to help prepare pre-service teachers to become certified and pass the geography portion of the Praxis Exam.  If you are interested in attending for credit you can register through Salve Regina; if you would like to simply attend one or all of the workshops, drop a line to see what can be arranged (rigea@ric.edu).  I envision this as a way to help some aspiring teachers and the intellecutally curious to strengthen their intellectual geographic foundation.

Source: geographyeducation.org

The Choices Leadership Institute is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the Choices Program’s award-winning curriculum materials and approach, and to plan strategies for introducing the Choices Program to your colleagues.  Participants will examine strategies for engaging secondary students in the study of contested international issues, share best practices with other dedicated teachers, and explore methods for conducting effective professional development.  The Institute will be held July 13-17, 2015 in Providence RI and the deadline to apply will be March 16, 2015.  Click here to apply.

Source: www.choices.edu

The state Board of Education’s plan to upgrade the teaching of social studies in the lower grades is a welcome move. It is bound to produce students who are more involved in society.

Source: www.courant.com

This is great to see in Connecticut–I’d love to see more of this in Rhode Island. 

Rhode Islanders might be used to places with names like “Chepiwanoxet” and “Scituate” but these eight West Coasters are DEFINITELY not. Their first attempt to pronounce these words is one hilarious trainwreck that you just can’t take your eyes off of.

Source: www.youtube.com

“The best 30 resources and posts on Geography Education from 2014.” http://www.scoop.it/t/geography-education

Source: www.scoop.it

‘Tis the season to look back on the year that was.  There are some ‘Best of’ lists with great teaching applications produced this week such as the best satellite images of 2014, the worst natural disasters of 2014, and 50 states in 50 pictures.  Our Alliance Coordinator has analyzed all the Geography Education resources he shared this year and selected these 30 as the best, most important, or most useful resources from 2014.