Soomo Publishing

Comparative Government

Survey Time!

Checklist Next week we’ll begin surveying students about their experiences using Soomo’s webtexs. And as a bonus, students who complete the survey are automatically entered in a drawing for an iPad! Last semester’s winner was a student at Monroe County Community College, so let your students know that we really do give away an iPad.

Fall 2012 Survey Responses

Student and professor feedback is very important to us because it helps us prioritize new content and feature development. Below are a few highlights [click to continue…]

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Posted April 9, 2013 by Maureen Yann in American Government, Comparative Government, International Relations

UN Human Development Report for 2013

waterdrinker The 2013 United Nations Human Development Report is out! This year’s highlights include China’s growing middle class, Brazil’s rise in overall living standards, and a special feature on “The Rise of the South,” which spotlights the remarkable development taking place in countries such as Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa.

On April 8 there is a live webcast of the Columbia University Conference on the 2013 Human Development Report. The Plenary, “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a [click to continue…]

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Posted April 8, 2013 by Zara Elizabeth Crockett in Comparative Government, Global Studies, International Relations

StatPlanet: Very Cool Data Tool

We recently discovered this very cool data tool for visualizing World Bank data. StatPlanet World Bank won first prize in the World Bank’s Apps for Development competition back in 2011. The app enables you to explore and analyze the 5000+ indicators available from the World Bank database using interactive maps and graphs. It sort of reminds me of Gapminder but in more of a map format. There’s also StatPlanet EdStats that focuses on visualizing global education statistics (also from the World Bank). Now to create a new assignment!

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Posted February 22, 2013 by Zara Elizabeth Crockett in Comparative Government, Global Studies, Teaching and Technology

Where’s the Data?

Spreadsheet At the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference last week, I attended a workshop called Navigating Data Resources: How to Teach Students to Find Data Sets. Presenters Mara Rojeski (Georgetown) and Annelise Sklar (UC-San Diego), both data librarians, are experts in helping students and instructors find data sets for their particular research interests. Here is the fantastically helpful list of data they put together (along with a few of my comments).

Web Resources

FRED (St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank) – economic and related data
Zanran - a search engine for data and statistics

Political Science Datasets [click to continue…]

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Posted February 16, 2013 by Mary Jane Lindrum in American Government, Comparative Government, Conferences, International Relations, Teaching and Technology

The Global Governance Monitor

While researching new artifacts for assignments, I found this incredible interactive tool for monitoring international politics. My new favorite tool from The Council on Foreign Relations (which publishes Foreign Affairs) covers issues such as nuclear proliferation, climate change, public health, human rights, terrorism, and armed conflict. For each of these topics, users can view issue briefings, maps, timelines, overviews, relevant treaties, and even updates on current events. It seems like this site could be a fantastic resource for many topics in introductory IR and comparative politics classes.

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Posted December 11, 2012 by Zara Elizabeth Crockett in Comparative Government, Global Studies, Infographics, International Relations, Teaching and Technology

Where in the World?

I’m always on the search for great ways to teach geography and today I found a cool mapping tool from National Geographic Education. Called MapMaker Interactive, it allows the user to create customized maps by selecting a map type (topo, satellite, street, etc.) and then layering on themes, markers, and even custom drawings. Themes are transparent layers that add information such as population density, religion, climate, language, etc. There’s also a measuring tool so you can find distances between places. The best part is that when you are finished, you can share your finished map (URL, email, or print). This tool would be a GREAT way to teach basic geography or create map assignments for case studies. Check it out and please leave a comment below to let other instructors know your ideas for teaching with maps.

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Posted December 6, 2012 by Zara Elizabeth Crockett in Comparative Government, Global Studies, International Relations

Cool Infographics: GDP Two Ways

I was catching up on some reading over the weekend, and I came across these great infographics from NPR’s Planet Money Blog. The two graphics present nice visualizations of GDP by country which are colored to indicate region. The first one sizes country bubbles according to their total GDP and the second one provides a dramatically different visualization by comparing per capita GDP. What do you think about pairing these infographics with the GINI index to make an IPE assignment?

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Posted June 6, 2012 by Mary Jane Lindrum in Comparative Government, Global Studies, Infographics, International Relations

Teaching Parliament

Thanks to Professor Centellas for sharing this video series from BBC titled “Five Days That Changed Britain,” which is shown in four parts on YouTube. According to Professor Centellas’ blog, Teaching Comparative Politics, “This week we’re covering democracies, and I wanted to introduce them to the parliamentary system. I decided Britain was the best example for them, in part because it’s not further complicated by a different electoral system: the British use the same first-past-the-post (FPTP) or single-member district plurality (SMDP) system we do.”

Check out Professor Centellas’ blog here and let us know what resources you use to teach about Parliament.

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Posted May 24, 2012 by Zara Elizabeth Crockett in Comparative Government, Video

Data Can Be Cool

Call me crazy, but I love data. And so does this guy, Jer Thorp, currently Data Artist in Residence at The New York Times. During a recent TEDxVancouver talk, Thorp’s captivating and funny lecture showed how awesome data can be and how he uses it to bring meaning to seemingly random information.

One cool project he developed, Just Landed, pulls data from Twitter to organize who is “landing” where in the world. Thorp sees this information as a possible starting point for tracking the modern-day migratory patterns of people.

Another totally awesome site Thorp discusses is OpenPaths.cc. In conjunction with The New York Times, Thorp and his colleagues created a way for individuals with smartphones to upload their location data. The site then allows you to see your own travel patterns in a neat visual experience.

Looking at an enormous spreadsheet of numbers may not seem at all exciting to your students. But pair it with a visual way to track patterns within those numbers and voila! Data becomes cool.

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Posted May 22, 2012 by Zara Elizabeth Crockett in Comparative Government, Conferences, Infographics, Teaching and Technology

Add New Assignments to Your Course

Soomo has so many sweet assignments that we can’t fit them all into our standard collections. So, for your perusing pleasure, we’ve added a Quick Start Guide for Adding Assignments to our handy library of Quick Start Guides. The new guide will walk you through the process of using our easy-to-edit platform to add assignments from our catalog to your Americans Governing, Between Nations, or Comparing Governments course. You can even create your own custom assignments. Now if only there were a quick start guide for Christmas shopping and family reunions!