Faculty Learning Community: Maps, Mash-ups and Interactive Learning - Proposal

Description

The 2009 Horizon Report highlighted that “Geo-everything” is an emerging trend in technology over the next two years. This trend allows for new and exciting opportunities to utilize maps, geographic concepts and data in the classroom to enrich course content. Map mash-ups have multiple applications for anthropology, economics, environmental science, health, history, and other interdisciplinary concepts. Participants in this FLC will explore mash-ups, create customized mash-ups based on your course content, and explore ways to foster collaborative learning utilizing maps. Creating mash-ups are fun, collaborative, require minimal technology skills and are great ways to help students in your courses visualize course content.

Meeting Schedule

This Faculty Learning Community will meet on the 2^nd Friday each month during the Fall semester. Spring semester meeting schedule will be announced in November 2009. Included below are the tentative meeting dates for Fall Semester:

September 11, 2009 10:00-11:30am (kick-off meeting)
October 9, 2009 10:00-11:30am
November 13, 2009 10:00-11:30am
December 11, 2009 10:00-11:30am

Objectives

By the end of the academic year participants will be able to:

A. Incorporate map mash-ups within their own course content

B. Utilize map mash-ups for student assignments

C. Identify resources and data available to assist with the creation of mash-ups

Topics

This community will explore the following topics:

· What is a mash-up

· How to create a maps mash-up

· Geo-tagging and mobile data collection

· Collaborating with maps using mash-ups

· Maps become mobile: iPhone, iPod Touch, and mobile web devices

· Integrating map mash-ups into the classroom and assignments

· Information and Geographic Literacy

· Blending content from multiple sources on one map mash-up

· Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Docs, Flickr, Twitter, and Web 2.0

Mash-up Examples

Google Maps Mania – A continuously updated blog of Google Maps Mash-ups, covers a broad range of topics, locations and provides inspiration for future mash-ups . http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/

University of Connecticut Libraries’ Map and Geographic Information Center (MAGIC) Historical Maps Mash-ups – Provides access to historic Connecticut maps via a Google Maps Mash-up. http://magic.lib.uconn.edu/mash_up/

Activities

Fall Semester

· A FLC kick-off meeting will be held in September 2009 which will enable participants to share their ideas on how they wish to utilize mash-ups within their courses. FLC participants will explore examples of mash-ups which have been developed and how they can be utilized within the classroom.

· Monthly meetings will be held to explore various aspects of mash-ups, geographic data, and related concepts which can be applied across multiple disciplines.

· Participants will plan and explore how they would incorporate a mash-up within their course to elaborate on a lecture topic and/or be incorporated within a class assignment/project.

Spring Semester

· During spring semester, participants will incorporate a mash-up within their course.

· Participants will develop and lead a hands-on workshop for faculty on how to create mash-ups for their class based upon their experience within the learning community.

Spring Semester Meetings TBA

References

Johnson, L., Levine, A., & Smith, R. 2009 Horizon Report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ELI/2009HorizonReport/48003?time=1238419086

Lucking, R., Christmann, E., & Whiting, M. (2008, April 1). Make Your Own Mashup Maps. Science Scope, 31(8), 58-61.

Boss, S., Krauss, J., & International Society for Technology in Education, E. (2007, August 1). Power of the Mashup: Combining Essential Learning with New Technology Tools. Learning & Leading with Technology, 35(1), 12-17.

Updated: 4/2/2009