GEG101 ONLINE!
Course Materials

At first, all of the course materials available to you may seem overwhelming and confusing. This happens all the time in my courses. In a short time you will become familiar with what is available and will be able to readily access what you need. This lecture will begin that familiarization process.

Course Materials - Online

Home Page/Site Map

The Site Map gives a short summary of the class web sites listed below. Go to the Home Page and the Site Map and briefly read and review each site. Most likely if you have a question about this course, the answer can be found on one of these pages. You can also ask me via e-mail at: mhealy@harper.cc.il.us or on the Discussion Forum.

Both the Home Page and the Site Map have links to the following pages:

• Syllabus
• Schedule
• Study Guide
• Assignments
• Online Lectures
• Discussion Forum
• News Forum
• On-Line Map Quiz Review
• Online Resources
• e-mail / Roster
• Announcements
• Outline Maps
• Course Evaluation Forum
• Style Sheet
• Glossary
• Review

Most of these pages are also linked from the menu bar found on most of the course web pages.

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REVIEW

Now that you are familiar with the website, take the following quiz - or maybe I should call it a "race".

Go to the course home page and see how quickly you can do the following:

1. Find the chapter OBJECTIVES for South Asia. [answer]
2. How many exams will there be in this course? [answer]
3. What are the course assignments for week 6? [answer]
4. Where would you find the lecture on the unique physical geography of sub-saharan Africa? [answer]

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Course Materials - Paper

The textbook is a very important part of this course. It, too, is a little confusing. You must become familiar with what it contains. You should have your textbook on your desk now as you go through this lecture.

Textbook

Introduction vs. Chapter 1

The textbook "Introduction" (pages 1-34) is really its first chapter and it is an important chapter. We will study it first.

Each of the following chapters (1-12) covers a specific GEOGRAPHIC REALM. Take a look at the table of contents of the textbook now (p. xix). A REALM is "the basic spatial unit in our world regionalization scheme" (deBlij p. G-5), or a large region of the world that has certain characteristics that distinguish it from other world realms.

In this lecture we'll focus on the realm of Sub-Saharan Africa (chapter 7, pp. 334-382). Each realm chapter has the following features. Find them in chapter 7.

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Chapter Features

• map - each chapter opens with map from the Goode's World Atlas (p. 334)
• vocabulary and regions
  The major "ideas and concepts" covered in each chapter are listed on the first page as are the REGIONS of the realm. A region is defined by deBlij as "an area of the earth's surface marked by certain properties"(p. G-10). According to this definition, a realm is also a region. We'll use the term region to describe the parts of a realm.
  • Your author divides Sub-Saharan Africa into how many regions?
  • What are they?
  • Where are they? (See figure 7-9, p. 357.)
• major geographic qualities of Subsharan Africa (p. 336)
  A useful summary of each realm is found here. When I took world regional geography we had to memorize these.
• defining the realm (pp. 334-356)
  This is the most important part of each chapter. You will want to read this section carefully and take notes. In the next lesson we will discuss the 4 class themes of (1) physical, (2) economic, (3) cultural, and (4) historical geography. You should organize your note taking according to these four themes. We will discuss each theme in detail in the lecture on the Introduction.
• regions of the realm (pp.357-381)
  We will not cover this section of each chapter as thoroughly as the "Defining the Realm" section, but we will cover some parts in detail. Use the Study Guide for each chapter to determine what to read from this section and how much emphasis to give it.

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Appendices/Other
The appendices of the textbook are quite useful. Some will be assigned readings and we'll refer to others for data, maps, etc. Unfortunately the weird numbering scheme makes the appendix a bit cumbersome.

• map reading
  We will be using lots of maps this semester. Be sure you know the basics of map reading found in this appendix.
• opportunities in geography
• pronunciation guide
  This appendix is more useful in on-campus classes. I guess in GEG 101 ONLINE! we will have to worry more about spelling than pronunciation.
• references and further reading
• glossary
  Very important. Use it often.
• list of maps and figures
• index
  
• Table I-1 Area and Demographic Data for the World's States
  Pages 35-39 are very IMPORTANT and we'll be referring to these often. Put a paperclip on page 36 so that you can access this table quickly.

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REVIEW

Now that you are familiar with the textbook, find the textbook page where you will find the answer to the following:

1. What is the GNP per capita for the country of Kenya. East Africa, and for the Sub-Saharan Africa realm?
2. The author divides the North American Realm into how many regions?
3. What is the definition of "balkanization"?
4. How do you pronounce "Huang He", a river in China?

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Goode's Atlas

The Goode's World Atlas is one of the most popular in college courses. This one adds only a little to the cost of the textbook and we all should have an atlas on our bookshelves. I have many.

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