Google Maps

Key Gaming Idea: Drive learning with emotionally compelling challenges.

How will you build narratives that connect with student emotions? Begin with where you live. Where did your parents grow up? Where did your family come from? Create a family history game. Or, what do you love.. football, natural sites..? How can you bring those alive through virtual visits to football stadiums or the Grand Canyon?

Google Maps. Search for maps.

• Google Lat Long Blog. Reports on lots of ideas and projects.
• Google Map Maker. Helps you create your own maps.
  • Where in the world is... games. Births, deaths, trips, tours, historical trails, nature trails... everyone finds one and puts it on the map. Then, create game cards.
  • Percy Jackson's Quest Map. Using Percy's adventure as an example. Create your own map quests.
• Google Map Maker University Mapping Contest. Check out the projects for this contest. Could you do the same thing at your school?
• Google Map Maker Pulse. See what people have been mapping recently.
• Google Street View. Explore selected street views from around the world. Go to the gallery and see World Landmarks, US Highlights, World Heritage Sites, Historic Italy, and University Campuses.
  • The Tour Guide game involves creating a script to go with a tour for one of the places above. Do you want to tour historic sites or college campuses? Learn about the site and create a script for your tour. Go on a campus tour. Take the class with you. Why would this be a great school to explore?
• Map Makerpedia. This website provide resources, lessons, tutorials, and examples from around the world.
• Pompeii. Focus on a particular place and hold a contest or game.
• Use Google for Educators: Google Maps for classroom ideas.

Related Sites

• Google Mars. Explore Mars. Enhanced version in Google Earth.
• Google Moon. Explore the moon. Enhanced version in Google Earth.
• Google Sky. Explore the night sky. Enhanced version in Google Earth.
  • Use Sky Features for classroom ideas.

Google Downloads

• Google Earth. This is a 3D view of the world.
  • Top 10 Literary Links. Visit the Top 10 Literary Links. For instance, try the Seeing Beneath Stonehenge Google Earth project. Pick one to mark on the class Google Map. Then, select your own literary location. What makes it interesting and unique?
  • Use the Google Lat Long Blog to see what's happening with Google Maps and Earth.
  • Use Google Earth for Educators for classroom ideas.
  • Check out the Student Work Showcase to see student-produced materials.
• Google Sketchup. This is a 3D modeling tool.
  • Try Google Building Maker.
  • Use the Google Sketchup Blog to see what's happening with the great tool.
  • Use Sketchup for Educators for classroom ideas.
  • Check out the Student Work Showcase to see student-produced materials.

Google Games Ideas

Explore the MiniWorlds example.

City Tour. Take a tour of a city. Map out the locations where you will stop. Create a custom maps describing the key locations.

EcoTourism. Taking a vacation to a cool environment location is increasingly popular. Create your own ecotour to a particular place in the world that is environmentally sensitive or unique.

Map Biographies. Use a Google Map to locate where a person was born, lived, died, worked, and traveled.

Map Mystery. Start with marks on a map, what do these marks have in common. What's the mystery to solve? Use descriptions to solve mystery, answer questions, follow clues

Math Mania. Use Google maps for judging scale and distance.

Movie Set. Pick a movie set for a book. What locations will you use with each capter?

Plan a Trip. Take a trip to four related locations such as four volcanoes, four football stadiums, or four caves. Make the locations. Provide descriptions. Determine the distances and costs to drive. Combine Google Maps with Google Hotel Finder and Google Flights.

Think about a game that combines photographs with maps.

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