• Using a floor robot in Geography

Data handling tools

Data handling tools may help children analyse information from geographical enquiries. The use of graphs and charts to summarise information helps children understand what they have observed.

Databases may be used to support investigation, for example:

Survey children in the school, asking how far they travel to school each day, and what type of transport they use. Enter this data into a simple database and search for any connections between the use of types of transport used and the distances travelled.

Research the same set of information for each town along the course of a river. Enter the findings into a database. Ask the children to answer questions on how the river is used.

• Using a database to investigate a contrasting locality in the UK

CD ROMs and simulation software can help children explore physical processes such as river flow or coastal erosion. Children can often change variables in a situation (for example the width of the river) and observe the effect it has on the environment.

Simulations can also help children appreciate the factors that influence economic decisions.

• On-line simulation of creating a water network for a small town