The Google Educators site has gone live and the article I wrote has astonishingly been included 🙂 They even pushed the boat out and put a picture of me on! Here is the article…
Teachers speak out
Online mapping technologies now play an integral part in my teaching toolkit. Google Maps has allowed many developers the access to a high quality mapping resource that has then spurned mashups or other applications. Quikmaps is a great tool taking advantage of Google Maps at its core – notes and placemarks can easily be dragged onto the map and even images and video footage can be inserted using simple html. These maps can then be saved and even embedded into a class wikispace. We have been exploring our local history and a key activity for my Year 6 children (10-11 year olds) will be to place historic photographs of our town on a modern map. This can be easily achieved through the use of Google Maps and Quikmaps.
The other key mapping tool is Google Earth – which I have used in a range of subjects. From writing diary entries for Dracula to calculating the area of a car park in Las Vegas it engages the children with the quality of the imagery and offers such a wealth of information. We even have been plotting the location of comments on our class blog ( http://priestsic6.learnerblogs.org)
Both Google Maps and Google Earth play important roles in helping me deliver high quality and engaging educational activities with my children.
Tom Barrett, Assistant Headteacher, ICT Subject Leader Priestsic Primary and Nursery School, Nottinghamshire, England