A Virtual Tour of the Tour de France and an Animated Explanation

The eighth stage of the Tour de France is happening today. We may never ride in the race, but we can virtually tour this year's race route through Google Maps. Just as they did last year, Cycling the Alps has published a Google Maps tour of the race. You can zoom in on the course, see the elevation profiles of the stages, and navigate through the stages.

Check out this animated video to learn all about the tactics of the race, the logistics of the race, the physiology of riding in the race, and many other interesting facts about the world's most famous bicycle race.


H/T to The Adventure Blog and Google Maps Mania.

Video - This Is Africa

This Is Africa is a beautiful short video produced by Benjamin Bowie. The five minute video captures some of the essence of Uganda and Tanzania. The video could definitely spark some questions and conversations at the beginning of lesson.



THIS IS AFRICA from Benjamin Dowie on Vimeo.

H/T to The Adventure Blog. 

What It Is Really Like to Climb Mount Everest

Image Credit: Carsten.Nebel

As many long time readers of this blog know, I am fascinated by Mount Everest and the Himalayas in general. This afternoon I stumbled upon a couple of videos of fellow Mainer Ed Webster talking about his experiences on Mount Everest in the 1980's. The videos were shot as part of a Maine NBC affiliate's program that features remarkable Mainers. In the videos below you will learn a bit about what it takes to climb Mount Everest. I have intentionally embedded part two before part one because I think that the part two has more appeal to teachers and students.





Applications for Education
I have always been a fan of introducing students to life-long sports like hiking and skiing (I used to co-teach an outdoor adventure course) because they are healthy activities that students can do on their own long after they leave school. My hope is that videos like these spark a student's curiosity about hiking, climbing, and outdoor adventure in general. 

Old Man River Project - A Web Series

The Old Man River Project is a new video series on Vimeo. The series chronicles the journey of Brett Rogers and his team as they attempt to row and sail the length of the Mississippi River. They're doing this to raise awareness of human impact on waterways and on drinking water supplies. The crew is making the journey in a handmade 32 foot, wood, York Boat. New episodes are released every Tuesday. You can see the whole line-up of episodes here.

Applications for Education
You'll notice in the video above that there are a couple of times when language is bleeped. That aside, this series could be a good way for middle school and high school students to see how humans have impacted the Mississippi River. In the first episode you'll hear commentary about how dams are slowing the journey, the "engineering" of the river altering currents, and the cloudiness of the water.

H/T to The Adventure Blog.

Live Mount Everest Webcam

Long-time readers of Free Technology for Teachers might know that one of my pet topics and lifetime goals is to visit the Himalayas. Therefore, I tend to jump on any opportunity to share resources for teaching and learning about Mount Everest.

A team of scientists studying climate change in Nepal have established a live webcam feed featuring Mount Everest. The camera is only operational during daylight hours in Nepal (roughly 6am to 6pm local time) but if you can grab the feed at the right time you can get some great looks at the mountain. The same researchers are also posting real-time climate data about Mount Everest and other mountains in the region.

H/T to Kraig Becker at The Adventure Blog.