Hi Everyone,
As a teacher of the social sciences, I am not sure there was a site that I explored that I could not identify as having direct application in my classroom. Many of the sites have a variety of correlations to my content. The tools used to develop geospatial literacy can form learning and demonstrate relevant connections to be used in this process.
Obviously for World Geography, Google Earth and its many uses can enhance the study of humans and societies around the world. Alison stated it well in one of her posts this week: "I think this shows the human condition, we are all similar, some differences, good to point out before the prejudices set in." The more I am able to connect young minds to the cause and effect relationships throughout history, the more we can as a learning community address the prejudices and intolerance of a global society.
Another way that I see some of these tools being used is in the teaching of American Government. Many times when students are asked to identify patterns of human voting behavior or react to data, they can have difficulty analyzing and retaining the information. The ability of sites like Strange Maps and the interactive maps of election results, past and present, to deliver information in more creative ways than out of a textbook are a resource for me as an educator. For my students, these sites offer the ability to engage them in the content and provide avenues for dialogue beyond the surface level.
The boundaries for developing geospatial literacy are endless. Finding ways to incorporate them into instruction across all disciplines is a necessity for reaching today's learner.
Thanks,
Shannon
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3 comments:
Shannon,
I agree that as social studies teacher, you must find all these sites applicable. Before this class, had you used any of this Web 2.0 resources?
Shannon it's great that you don't compartmentalize your subject area. You point out that there aren't really any boundaries to your subject and all content fits if you don't put up restrictors.
Your ideas coupled with Alison's about using Google Earth to help point out our similarities in the human condition as way of helping to eliminate prejudices is something I hadn't considered.
Powerful stuff.
On your second point: we just finished an election in which maps with blue and red states predominated the presentation of our election. How interesting a look at other voting coverage would be for students.
Shannon,
I love Google Earth in my world geography class. This is something that is awesome for social studies teachers. I also loved the interactive voting maps during the election. I really like your idea of incorporating human geography into Google Earth anaysis.
Kate
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