| Norway is not a Place at the Mall |
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| Monday, 08 September 2008 05:26 | ||||
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I spent every other childhood summer visiting family in Norway. My parents were first-generation immigrants, so we traveled across the world more often than most families we knew. During one such summer trip, I purchased some new shoes. I wore them proudly to school and a schoolmate asked me, "Where did you get those great shoes?" I replied, "In Norway." Unfortunately, that question is indicative of many American students' geographic illiteracy. According to the National Council for Geographic Education, "US students' geography knowledge ranks far below students in such countries as Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada." For some reason, geography is often not emphasized as an important subject in school, even though it is the foundation of many other subjects, such as history, economics, and the earth sciences. One easy way to start encouraging students to learn more about their local, state, national, and international surroundings is to use Google Maps in the classroom. Students can create their own maps, add descriptive text, embed photos and videos in their maps, share maps, collaborate with other students, and even open these maps in Google Earth. Because Google Maps are editable, students can add or move their schools or favorite parks or recreation centers, too. A simple activity is to ask each student to create a map marking the route he or she takes to school every day. Students can share these maps to organize possible walking groups, carpools, or to find public transit alternatives. Students can also create maps to organize field trips or group activities. A great example of this is the "My Maps," created for the International Cleanup Weekend project. Here's how you can create your own map:
Congratulations! You've created your first map. Here's a map I created that marks the route I took to and from elementary school every day. Once students have investigated their local communities, encourage them to "zoom out" a little and explore the world around them. Or, to see more detailed view, turn on Street View or Google Maps - just the first of many tools you can use to start encouraging geographic awareness. By creating maps of their own, students take ownership in their "piece" of the world, and, by sharing, they help fellow students learn, too. Visit Google's Geo Education page for more classroom ideas about how to use Google Maps, and go to the Google Maps Help Center to find complete information about how to use and create personalize Google Maps. Tina Ornduff is a member of Google's Geo Education team,
working to help teachers utilize the power of Google Earth, Sky,
SketchUp, and Maps in classrooms. She writes developer documentation
for Google Earth, as well as other Google products.
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Comments (1)
... written by Andrew Pass, September 18, 2008
How do you think about the relationship between Google Maps and Google Earth. One idea that immediately comes to mind is that Google Maps would be much better for younger children. It is less complicated than Google Earth. What do you think?
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