Course Overview

World Geography Connects: Contemporary Regions is a self-paced course for Virginia teachers taught by Dr. Don Zeigler, professor of geography at Old Dominion University. The course can be taken to earn recertification points or it may be taken for graduate credit. The course is taught online over the Internet.
The Spring 2008 course will run March 24 to May 2.

World Geography Connects: Contemporary Regions is open to all Virginia teachers free as a recertification course. The course supports the Virginia Standards of Learning for teaching World History and Geography. The purpose of the course is to help teachers incorporate more geography into the World History and Geography curriculum. It has not been designed to serve the needs of elementary teachers; a solid background in world history is necessary for doing well in the course.

Teachers may earn 45 recommended recertification points for Virginia teacher certificate renewal by taking World Geography Connects: 1500 AD to the Present. Please consult the individual responsible for awarding recertification points in your school division to determine if the recommended points will be accepted. (If that person has questions about the course, he or she may call Mollie Rosenburg at (800) 609-2680 or send an e-mail to info@pwnet.org.)

Teachers may also take the course for three graduate credits through Old Dominion University. (Participant is responsible for the tuition cost.). For more information about earning credit, please review the instructions on the Graduate Credit Information Page of this website or contact the professor, Dr. Don Zeigler, at dzeigler@odu.edu or at (757) 368-4113. The course is the same, except teachers enrolled for credit will additionally be required to complete a lesson or unit plan and complete some written work. Please consult the individual responsible for awarding recertification points in your school division to determine your individual requirements for recertification. Only the Graduate Credit option of this course qualifies as College Credit; you must consult with your school division to determine which option you should pursue if you are planning to count this course toward recertification.

All teachers taking World Geography Connects: Contemporary Regions must register on this web site, and you will be sent an e-mail confirmation with your login name and password.

The core material for World Geography Connects: Contemporary Regions is presented online at this web site. To access the material, you will log on using the username and password you create when you register. A discussion board and quizzes will be available at this Web site as well.- http://geoconnectscontemporaryregions.pwnet.org. You may work through the material and post messages on the discussion board at your convenience, but you must complete all work by May 2, 2008. There are five parts to the course, and each part will take approximately five hours to complete, including study time, and not including the discussion and quiz. Each week, the discussion board and quiz for a new part will be posted. The schedule for the class is as follows:

  • Week of March 24 - Part I: Globalization and World Regions
  • Week of March 31 - Part II: Environmental Problems and World Regions
  • Week of April 7 - Part III: Cultural Changes and World Regions
  • Week of April 14 - Part IV: Urbanization and World Regions
  • Week of April 21 - Part V: Africa as a World Region
  • Week of April 28 - Catch-up time
  • FRIDAY, May 2 - Class ends
The five parts of World Geography Connects: Contemporary Regions are summarized as follows:

Part I: Globalization and World Regions
Objective: To understand and apply the regional concept to a world in which the forces of globalization are breaking down regional divides.

Part II: Environmental Problems and World Regions
Objective: To understand relationships between human beings and their environment in different regions of the world.

Part III: Cultural Changes and World Regions
Objective: To understand the cultural forces, including language and religion, which unite and divide the world’s people.

Part IV: Urbanization and World Regions
Objective: To understand the role of cities in shaping the modern world and the role of urbanization in the development process.

Part V: Africa as a World Region
Objective: To understand the human and physical geography of contemporary Africa and its connections to African history.

Each part includes letters from Don, learning and practice activities, resource links, quizzes, and assignments. The quizzes, discussion board, and announcements about the class are available at this web site.

Requirements and Expectations for the Course:

You will be expected to read each section and complete the assigned activities all contained at this web site http://geoconnectscontemporaryregions.pwnet.org. Part I opens Monday, March 24 and each Monday of the following four weeks, the next part of the course will be activated. The quiz for each part will be posted on Friday of the week the corresponding part opens. In addition, at this http://geoconnectscontemporaryregions.pwnet.org, teachers will need to participate on the discussion board and take the quiz at the end of each of the five parts. Each part will take approximately five hours, not including the discussion forum and quizzes, so that the total time expected for completion is about 30 hours.

By participating in this course, you will learn about World History and Geography Contemporary Regions and find many ideas, resources, and links that will assist you in the classroom. It is hoped that you will take this knowledge and develop lesson plans that support the Standards of Learning for Virginia.

Important! System Requirements

You will want to use either Internet Explorer 6 or greater OR Netscape Navigator 6.2 or greater as your internet browser for this course. The course is not designed to work with AOL's browser. And because there are many videos throughout the course content, you will need broadband, high speed internet connection.

PC System
Minimum System Requirements