MapZone is quite unlike any other website from the Ordnance Survey; it is child-centred and offers an online accompaniment to map skills in key stage 3. There are five main categories, and it is very easy to become immersed in quirky, interactive, arcade-style games sections that help students learn more about maps and mapping.
There are monthly competitions in which students can test their mapping knowledge and win a prize; and the Did You Know? section offers record-breaking facts and trivia related to maps and mapping. However, perhaps the most useful section of MapZone is the Homework Help.
Students navigate an interactive teenage bedroom to investigate tutorials that use a combination of text, graphics, sound and animation to explore maps and mapping in key geographical themes such as glaciation and urban development.
MapZone offers a wealth of information and resources and is a highly absorbing website, adding fun and stimulation to mapping activities.
www.mapzone.co.uk
Gavin Richards is a freelance authortrainer, and part-time teacher of geography and ICT at Court Fields Community School, Wellington, Somerset
