As you may already know, the European Atlas of the Seas is available in the 24 official languages of the European Union. During the past Atlas Ambassadors Campaign, 24 Ambassadors across Europe highlighted, in their own language, what the ocean means to them and why we should all explore the ocean. As the 2022-2023 academic year begins, the European Atlas of the Seas’ team has further facilitated access to the content of the Atlas for users across Europe. You can now access the interactive help tool in 24 languages to quickly discover the best ways to explore the Atlas to find the information you are looking for!
Thanks to its multilingual features, the European Atlas of the Seas makes it possible for citizens, teachers and students from all around Europe, to explore a wide range of popular marine topics, such as: environment; marine life; nature conservation; sea surface temperature trends; sea level rise; marine litter; fisheries; aquaculture; tourism; energy; transport; and much more! With a catalogue of more than 275 interactive map layers, which is constantly updated and enriched, the European Atlas of the Seas is the easy and attractive way to connect to our blue planet and to better understand how the ocean influences us and how we influence the ocean. It is possible to create custom maps that can be printed, shared and embedded in articles, presentations, websites and blogs.
A Teachers Corner is associated with the European Atlas of the Seas. There, teachers can find ready to use map-based exercises in English, French and Portuguese for students of different age groups as well as fun activities such as a virtual boat race! Students can develop a multitude of competences by using the Atlas such as
- reading, understanding and interacting with a map;
- reading and understanding graphic information;
- creating a map using different map layers;
- measuring distances on map;
- learning to search for information online and summarizing findings into a presentation;
- working in different languages.
The Atlas can thus be used in the classroom to expand knowledge in geography, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), nature conservation, environmental issues, economy and sustainable development. In addition to being used in the students’ mother language, the Atlas can also support the students’ learning of other languages.
Thanks to the release of the interactive help in 24 languages, teachers will gain a rapid understanding of the Atlas and the available features. Moreover, students can also become quickly autonomous in their use of the Atlas to carry out their own search for information.
Dive into the interactive help today and start exploring the wide diversity of ocean maps! Have you found a new way to use the Atlas? Do you have questions or suggestions? Tell us in the online feedback form!
Wish to know more about how the Atlas is developed, who its partners are and the multiple ways users benefit from the Atlas? Stay tuned for the upcoming new series of Atlas interviews!