Page 259 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Canadian and World Studies

D2. International and Social Implications
FOCUS ON: Interrelationships; Geographic Perspective
By the end of this course, students will:
D2.1 analyse the ways in which spatial technolo- gies are used in relation to national and global security and safety and international cooperation, and explain some ethical issues that arise from such uses (e.g., national security versus individual privacy rights)
Sample questions: “How has the change in U.S. government regulations around the accuracy
of GPS systems affected the use of navigational systems?” “Why might military and/or govern- ment satellite information be shared with or withheld from certain countries or military alliances? What are the implications of doing so?” “How might disclosures of secret documents and spying influence future development and/or regulation of spatial technologies?”
D2.2 analyse the importance and implications of international cooperation in the sharing and maintenance of global communications and navigation networks (e.g., issues of control versus openness, protection from terrorism or criminal activity versus individual privacy rights and freedoms)
Sample questions: “In what ways do countries need to cooperate when it comes to navigation and flight paths? What might happen if these countries did not cooperate and maintain these networks?”
D2.3 describe and assess the positive and negative effects of the use of spatial technologies in international affairs (e.g., in monitoring and addressing environmental and human issues such as climate change, acid rain, population movements, politics, trade, consumerism, hunger and poverty, disease)
Sample questions: “How can spatial technologies be used to develop and analyse hypothetical disaster scenarios?” “How can spatial technolo- gies be used to develop disaster response and evacuation plans? What are the limitations of using spatial technologies to support disaster relief, recovery, and relocation operations?” “What are the implications of using GPS to locate and target military objectives?” “How might spatial technologies be used for political ends?”
D2.4 analyse the use of maps and spatial images to advance public- and private-sector interests around the world (e.g., government propaganda, advertising), and explain the ways in which bias
is shown in these maps and images (e.g., choice of map projection or scale to advance a point of view)
Sample question: “How do the media show bias through their choice of map projections?”
D3. Global System Interactions
FOCUS ON: Patterns and Trends; Interrelationships
By the end of this course, students will:
D3.1 describe how spatial technologies are used to identify system connections on a global scale (e.g., the role of spatial technologies in mapping migration routes, identifying areas of high urban density, and defining areas where military conflict is occurring), and apply these technologies to identify such connections
Sample question: “How do spatial technologies help to analyse global climate change indicators and outline the areas affected by climate change?”
Using spatial skills: Students can experiment with various population statistical intervals to determine which interval best illustrates urban density on a global scale. Other data layers can be added to investigate possible correlations between urban density and various quality of life indicators.
D3.2 describe ways in which raster data from sat- ellites (e.g., radar and Landsat images) are used to provide worldwide information about the earth’s surface (e.g., tracking of disasters such as oil spills, forest fires, floods, ship collisions; Arctic monitoring activities such as daily ice charts, tracking of iceberg movements; coastal surveillance and tracking information such as shipping routes, offshore oil exploration, coastal erosion, productive fishing zones, illegal fishing activities)
Sample questions: “How does radar imagery help to monitor disaster zones, assist in emergency response activities, and provide early warning of potential disasters? How does radar imagery help recovery efforts in a disaster zone, such as efforts related to damage assessment, analysis of environmental impacts, reconstruction, and/or rehabilitation?” “What are the benefits of radar compared to other satellite applications and capabilities?”
Using spatial skills: Students can use a selected radar image and add symbols in order to analyse large-scale changes over time, such as differences in the extent of ice cover in Greenland, the area permanently flooded by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, or areas experiencing impacts from volcanic activity in Iceland.
SPATIAL SYSTEMS, INTERCONNECTIONS, AND INTERDEPENDENCE
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Spatial Technologies in Action
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