Objectives:
Apply a geographic perspective to their everyday lives and to current events,
Interpret a map and be able to describe how a map is an important tool for visually describing spatial processes of human activity,
Think critically about how to clearly present course material in an online format, and
Clearly express their questions and opinions about course material in written form.

General Requirements:

Journal entries should be 300 to 500 words, typed, double-spaced.
Entries should clearly answer the assigned questions.
Entries must be submitted to the Reflection Journal Discussion Forum (Content menu > Reflection Journal Assignment module > submit to the appropriate Forum Topic #) by 11:59pm on the date they are due. Enter the correct Forum Topic (for the Entry # you are submitting), create a new thread-post, paste your journal entry into the body of the thread, and submit. We HIGHLY recommend creating your entry in a Word doc/x, so that you have a copy of the assignment AND can easily run a spell-/grammar-check on it before submitting it for grading.

Entry 4 – Maps Explain the World
It should be very clear to you at this point in the course that maps are valuable tools for visually displaying information. They are the primary way that geographers tell a story about some geographic phenomenon, whether it is cultural patterns, population changes, environmental processes, settlement patterns, ex cetera. It is now your turn to show off your map interpretation skills! In this journal entry, you will explore the wealth of information available to you online from credible news organizations and other sources of visual information, and locate a map that you think is particularly interesting and relevant to human geography. Include the following content in your journal entry:

A link to the map, and a 1-2 sentence description of the map’s source (1 point)
A short (1-2 paragraph) description of the map’s topic. (1 point)
Your critique of the map’s design – Is it easy to read, and why or why not? Is it visually interesting, and why or why not? Is there something about the map’s design that you think should be improved? (3 points)
A discussion of how this map is useful for representing and explaining the geographic phenomena that is its topic. What do we see on the map that might be more difficult to represent in writing or in some other visual form (for example, a chart)? (3 points)