Using the website polestarglobal.com in Geography lessons
Introduction
Pole Star Space Applications Limited is a privately owned company which operates globally with
headquarters in London. The company is the proprietary owner of Purplefinder (TM) technology which
amongst other things is used to track and communicate with commercial marine vessels. Pole Star
enables over 500 customers to track, manage and communicate with over 9,000 vessels worldwide. The
service provides:
• Reliable vessel tracking
• Voyage history
• Weather forecasts
• Storm, cyclone and hurricane information
• Nearest port information
The online mapping technology is available to non-registered users as a demo:
http://www.polestarglobal.com/sectors/marine/commercialmarine/fm/index.html
The demo provides live, up-to-date information on four ships which between them sail around most
areas of the world. The aim of these notes is to show teachers how they might use the online mapping
technology as a classroom resource.
Getting started
Once you have logged on to the Pole Star website, you will find a small ’console map’. You can use this
fully-functioning map or you can follow these instructions to access a full-screen version. Right-click on
the interactive map and choose the option ‘Communication Window’. A new window will open (you
may need to allow ‘pop-ups’ on your computer if these are blocked) and you can now click on the
‘Message’ tab at the top of the screen. Choose the option ‘Received text messages’ and a new mapping
window will open.
The new window will look like this, with a menu bar and the details of the four ships listed.
Click on the ‘Maps’ tab on the menu bar and then either press F11 or click on ‘View’, ‘Full Screen’ to
allow you to see the whole map more easily.
You can alter the ‘Map Options’ but you are better off sticking to the default options. On the menu bar,
there are now four options:
 Fleet Map – this is the default map which shows all four ships and their current location.
 Asset Map – this allows you to choose and focus on one particular ship from a drop-down menu.
 Console Map – this shows a small world map in a new window.
 Quick Map – this map allows you maximum flexibility to set map options.
Options 1 and 2 – Fleet Map and Asset Map
Essentially, you can do the same activities with these two versions of the world map. The best way to
develop an understanding of the potential uses in the classroom is to play around with the various
options that can be accessed by right-clicking on the world map. A drop-down list of options allows you
to alter the map parameters (see below). As you move the mouse across the world map, you will notice
that by default, the location (latitude and longitude) and the date/time are given in a small status bar at
the bottom of the window. This useful attribute allows the online map to be used to demonstrate latitude,
longitude and time zones.
‘Show information’ shows an
information box relating to the nearest
ship.
‘Hyperlink’ takes you to the Pole Star
website index page.
‘Show names’ toggles the names of
the ships on/off.
‘Show history’ shows the route of a
particular ship. You can connect or
disconnect trails. The ‘Show history’
option is only available on the Fleet
Map. ‘Show history’ is added by
default to the Asset map.
‘Communication window’ – use this
initially to access the larger maps
(other facilities are disabled on the
demo version).
‘On mouse click’ has three options. These allow you to show information of various kinds when you
click on the map, to calculate distances on a map or to show location when you click on the map.
‘World map’ allows you to jump back to the default world map.
‘Pan here’ allows you to centre the map on the point that you click on.
‘Home in’ allows you to zoom in on a particular ships current location.
‘Show zones’ and ‘Show points of interest’ only function on certain maps.
‘Map style’ allows you to choose between a ‘sea map’ and a ‘land map’.
‘Meteorological parameter’ allows you to choose from a variety of weather data – the pressure and
wind speed/direction are the most useful options.
‘Forecast hour’ allows registered users to set how far in advance they want forecast data.
‘Cyclone graphics’ pops up cyclone/hurricane locations, tracks and active data.
Once you have got to grips with the various options, you can use
the mouse to draw out a rectangle and zoom in on any area of the
map. There are varying amounts of useful information as you
zoom into different areas. It is a case of ‘try it out and see’.
Remember to switch between ‘land map’ and ‘sea map’ to access
different types of information along the coast.
Option 4 – Quick Map
When you click on Quick Map’, you get a blank screen Choose a ship from the drop down menu and a
set of options are displayed. You can use these to customise the map that is created. You can choose the
dates between which you want to show a ships journey. You can use the latitude and longitude option to
choose the location of the centre of the map. The map scale can vary from 1 (zoomed in close) to 90
(whole world view). You can choose the size of the map in pixels. You can choose between ‘land map’
and ‘sea map’. You can overlay weather data. When you are happy with your choices, click ‘RENDER’
and the map will be created.
Once created, you have some
additional buttons below the map to
zoom and pan or jump back to the
world map view.
The map options remain displayed
below the map and can be altered at
any stage. Click on ‘RENDER’ each
time to redraw the map.
Curriculum Links
The online mapping technology provides an excellent example for students of a real-world case study
where satellite tracking technology and Geographical Information Systems are brought together to allow
companies to keep in contact with their shipping fleets.
The online software is relatively straightforward to use after a little practice and should be accessible to
both KS3 and KS4 students. It would also be a useful website to refer sixth form students to since they
may find some useful data about trade routes, ocean topography and global pressure patterns.
Younger students will gain from demonstrations of latitude, longitude and time zones on an IWB but
will also benefit from trying out this function on stand-alone machines in a computer suite. KS3 students
will, in this way, develop a better appreciation of distance (scale) and the relative location of countries
and cities from using this software.
Teachers can use the tracks of the ships to develop an understanding of trade routes and the benefits of
the Suez Canal and Panama Canal in saving time and money.
The meteorological data is probably best suited to GCSE groups who will be encouraged to develop a
better understanding of global pressure patterns and associated wind patterns. At certain times of the
year, the facility to show and track cyclones/hurricanes can be linked to work on natural disasters and
how these affect shipping as well as the coasts where they strike.
One of the key reasons for commercial companies using systems like these is to counter piracy which
remains a problem in certain areas of the world. The threats from terrorist groups must also be a
consideration for some organisations. These ideas could be used to develop some interesting storyboard
work or links to drama. Similarly, students could replicate the drama that unfolds when a ship enters an
area where a cyclone develops or where a ship has an accident with another vessel. Understanding how
the staff in the headquarters country keep track of their ships and their valuable cargoes and then deal
with difficult situations as they arise, means that students can see the practical value of geography and
the modern technology that supports it.
“Pirates hijacked a cargo ship delivering U.N. food aid to north-eastern Somalia on Sunday — at least
the third time since 2005 that a vessel contracted to the United Nations has been hijacked off the
country's dangerous coast.” March 2007
“Movies and books have romanticized the idea of classic pirates, but modern pirates are anything but
romantic. In 2005, nearly 300 ships were the victims of pirate attacks, down from a peak of nearly 450
in 2003. Most of these attacks take place off the coast of Indonesia, Somalia and Bangladesh.
Authorities also report that Iraq is becoming a new piracy hotspot. The most common targets for
modern pirates are cargo ships, tankers and container ships. The ships are most vulnerable when
they're berthed or anchored.” URL: http://people.howstuffworks.com/pirate2.htm
An article about a pirate attack and some definitions of piracy according to the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS):
http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id%3D7985/Piracy.2000.pdf