Here's to Dan Raven Ellison....

These words have been repeated many times over the last few days since the sad death of Steve Jobs.

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." 
They're taken from the Apple 'Think Different' ad of 1997.

We've just created something new over at Mission:Explore Net


It's not an iPhone or an iPad, it's just a website, but it's a pretty cool one, and it helps young people to explore their surroundings and develop an appreciation of a whole range of geographical skills. It's free to use and has been going down really well with everyone in the UK who's tried it out.

My friend and fellow collective member Dan thought that it might be something that geography colleagues in Australia would like, so he sent an e-mail to some people over there who'd put their e-mail addresses up on a website for their association, letting them know that the website was now live.

Australian colleagues are going through the same curriculum changes as in the UK, and have been looking to the UK for some advice. I've blogged about these changes several times over the last few years.
The ACARA consultation is ongoing and has referenced the work of the GA and 'a different view' as a major influence. Curriculum change is ongoing in New Zealand too.

Dan got this e-mail reply from an Australian colleague:

 I believe this to be an unsolicited email with no indication as to how or why it has been sent to my email address and there is no option to unsubscribe. I wish to bring to your attention the following:

An anti-spam bill was introduced to Australian Federal parliament in September 2003 that makes it a civil offence to use address harvesting software to construct distribution lists of recipients or a list built in this way. Any unsolicited commercial emails must contain accurate information about the origin of the mail and provide a means for recipient to opt out. The regulation applies to email, SMS, MMS, and instant messaging. The regulation applies regardless of where (which country) the email originated from or in which country the eMarketing company resides.

I will be referring your email to the relevant Australian authorities and advising all other Australian geography organisations to stay well clear of the website you are promoting
??

This is a FREE website which offers the chance to add a bit of creativity to the geography curriculum mix. There are links to FREE materials for Geography Awareness Week. The e-mails were sent to professional colleagues. This person is apparently now going to advise "all other Australian geography organisations to stay well clear of the website".... - a bit of an over-reaction possibly.
If I had a similar response to all the unsolicited e-mails I received I'd be much the poorer - both financially and professionally.

Here's to the crazy ones...
The ones who just click delete when an e-mail that's not relevant drops in their in-box.
Here's to all the MISSION EXPLORERS....
Here's to Dan Raven Ellison.

Wonderful inking by Tom Morgan Jones

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