Mapping Our World, a free website from Oxfam, aims to help 8–14-year-olds understand the difference between maps and globes, and the significance of different map projections.

The judges were unanimous in awarding this resource a Gold Award for the following reasons:

• it presents key geographical concepts in a well-structured and clear way so that every pupil will be able to understand it;
• its superb use of ICT. For example, using a slider to stretch a globe onto a flat sheet of paper and progressively overlaying different map projections to compare the shape and size of continents will provide a ‘eureka’ moment for pupils. There is no other way of doing this as effectively;
• it develops an understanding of why map projections matter through a range of stimulating and appealing activities.

Other positive aspects include the way it is designed for use with an interactive whiteboard, the use of sub-titles to make the materials accessible to pupils with hearing impairments, and the way in which each activity is accompanied by succinct and useful teachers’ notes with a clear progression through the nine lessons.

As a Gold Award winner, this resource has the ‘X’ factor and we are confident that all geography teachers will respond immediately to this site. A comment from one of our judges sums it up: ‘A brilliant way of enthusing pupils to work with maps and globes’. Congratulations to Oxfam on this superb resource – we recommend that every geography teacher uses and enjoys this site today!

Geographical Association, 2007