The Magic of Maps

No matter the curriculum area, Google geo tools offer amazing opportunities to enhance and extend the options for student learning. Google MyMaps can be used to create your own customised geodatasets. Students can create maps for a huge range of learning purposes by adding markers and pins to maps. They can also start with data and import it onto a map for deeper analysis and to more easily see patterns in the data. Hands on session: bring a computer or Chromebook

Google Maps, Earth and Streetview

About Streetview (16:9)

Go Exploring with Google Maps

maps.google.com

One obvious way to explore the world from the comfort of your classroom is with Google Maps. Because Maps cover the majority of the planet with Streetview they are excellent resources to use for exploring the world. Google Maps can be used in ANY classroom, for ANY subject area.

Google Maps runs in your browser and needs no additional software to be installed. It borrows a lot of technology from Google Earth, with photorealistic views of different places in the world when in "Earth mode". Check out somewhere like London, or Perth, or Tokyo, or Madrid, or San Francisco. Amazing right? Now drag with your mouse or trackpad. Now hold down the Shift key as you drag.... what?? Amazing! Not every city in the world has this 3D imagery, but many do. What are you waiting for? Go explore!

What places could you explore using Maps in your classroom?

Meet the New Google Earth

earth.google.com

Google Earth has always been an amazing way to explore the planet, but the new version now runs completely in a web browser. This means that it works on all platforms, including Chromebooks, with no need to install a thing.

Type a place in the search box and Earth flies you to that location, shows you information, and suggests other places to explore. Drag your mouse to move. Shift-drag to rotate. Go explore!

The New Google Earth also features a brand new exploration tool called Voyages. Voyages are curated collections of virtual trips taking students to places all over the world. Think of it as telling stories with maps. Each Voyage has text, photos and Streetview images to support the map, and they are pretty amazing. Check a few of them out.

What kinds of lessons could you design using the New Google Earth as the stimulus?

Streetview and Expeditions

Visit the Streetview site at www.google.com.au/maps/streetview

The Streetview site contains 360 panoramas (photospheres) of millions of locations around the world. You can explore almost anywhere on earth by finding it in Streetview. Some photospheres are made by the Google Maps team and some are contributed by people like you and me. You can learn about how Streetview works, and where the Streetview cars are driving right now, by visiting the site.

Want to contribute to the Streetview collection? Get the Streetview App for Android or iOS. You can not only explore the Streetview collections, but you can also make your own! Or use a 360 camera.

Got access to part of the world that hasn't been "streetviewed" yet? Why not ask to borrow the Trekker?

Are YOU using Streetview to explore the world regularly in your classroom? If not, why not?

Google Earth Activity 1: Go on a Mystery Earth Tour

This activity will develop your students thinking skills. They will pick four random locations somewhere in the world, and then use their research skills to plan a trip to all four locations.

Instructions

Open the Google Earth app on your computer, tablet or phone.
Tap the I'm Feeling Lucky button and take a screen shot of the destination you randomly get
Repeat this four times to get four different destinations
Read the information cards to learn more about these places, then working in small groups, use the internet to plan a trip to these four locations.

Extension activities

Use Google Flight search to find the quickest route between these locations.
Use Google Docs to write a collaborative story about your travel adventures to these places
Make a Google Sheet to calculate the cost of your trip. Set a budget limit!
Present your travel plans to the class using a Google Slides presentation
Use Google Tour Builder to create a tour of your four locations

What other ideas can you come up with to modify this activity to suit your teaching needs?

Google My Maps

Make your own Maps with Google MyMaps

mymaps.google.com

MyMaps is a free data mapping tool that anyone can use to create personalised maps and data mashups.

Next time your students are learning about a topic that involves any sort of geographical information, get them to work together to produce a collaborative map of key locations.

This idea can be used in ALL subject areas, not just obvious ones like geography!

Science - show where and how data was collected, etc
English - show the places mentioned in a novel, etc
Art - show where different art movements started, locations of galleries, etc
History - show locations of famous battles, explorers, etc
Use your imagination!

Here is the list

Tell a story with a map

Check out this map which shows the story of Pannikin and Pinta, an award winning children's story by Colin Theile about two pelicans migrating across Central Australia. Or class mapped each location mentioned in the story with a pin and added notes, photos and videos of the place. This really helped students relate to the story more and understand the harsh Australian landscape.

Back it up with a worksheet that needs to be completed by using mapping data like this.

How could maps be used to support a story or some other big idea in your classroom?

Pannikin and Pinta

MyMaps Activity 1 - Learn the basics of MyMaps

Open a new MyMap and add the following items...

Add a marker by using the Search feature
Add a marker by manually dropping it in position
Add the following data to a marker - Custom Icon, Text, Photo, Video
Add a polygon to mark an area
Measure the distance between your two markers using the Ruler

MyMaps Activity 2 - Group Sharing your favourite Perth places

On the map that is shared with you, add one place in WA that you would like to share with a visitor. Add a marker to the map, then customise with the skills you learned in Activity 1. Add a...

Custom icon
Text description of why this place is special to you
Photos and videos

Note that while MyMaps is also collaborate, it does not refresh in real time. You need to refresh the page to see the changes added by others.

Importing data from a Sheet

As you've seen, adding markers to a map automatically generates a data table, which is a kind of spreadsheet. Extra fields can be added to that data table, and these appear as extra fields back in the marker balloon.

It can work in reverse too. Instead of adding markers to generate a table, a table can be used to generate markers. A spreadsheet with fields that describe location data can be imported into a MyMap and the markers will appear based on that data. This makes MyMaps a simple and excellent way to visualise geodata.

Somewhere in Australia you would love to visit (Responses)

MyMaps Activity 3: Mapping Datasets

Here are some sample datasets for you. Just click on one that sounds interesting, and it will automatically make a copy in your own Google Drive. Choose a sample file from the list below and open a new MyMaps page to import the data in. Then go play with it!

Even more maps

Google Earth Engine

earthengine.google.com

Google Earth Engine combines a multi-petabyte catalog of satellite imagery and geospatial datasets with planetary-scale analysis capabilities and makes it available for scientists, researchers, and developers to detect changes, map trends, and quantify differences on the Earth's surface.

Check out their Timelapse page where you can view 20 years worth of satellite imagery to see how the world has changed.

A few more fun mapping ideas to try with your students

thetruesize.com - Compare the real size of countries around the world without the misleading distortion of the Mercator Projection.
geoguessr.com - Get a random Streetview location somewhere in the world and see if your students can figure out where they are.
smartypins.withgoogle.com - Trivia game based on maps and locations.

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