When I was a kid, my father successfully drove us up and down the Eastern Sea Board to family vacation destinations with nothing more than a
TripTik from AAA and the frequent prodding of my mother, "Bob, pull over!" I have to confess...I live and die by the
Waze and
Google Maps apps on my phone, even for driving around Camillus. Maps are great for helping us get from here to there. In the classroom, however, maps can be a powerful tool for telling stories as they provide context for historical events, literary narratives, environmental phenomena, and cultural exhibits. Fortunately, there are several easy-to-use instructional technology tools to support student mapping activities. Some of my favorites are listed below.
Google MyMaps
Google MyMaps are part of the G Suite platform and can be created directly within Google Drive. Students can search for specific locations and add them to their map. Location descriptions can be edited with custom text, images, and links for students to demonstrate learning. Further, MyMaps, like other Google tools, are collaborative and can be shared just like any other Google file. But wait, there's more...Google MyMaps can be exported to a .KML format, which means that they can be imported into
Google Earth for a custom tour.
Learn More:
Google Tour Builder
Google Tour Builder allows users to build a location-based tour much the same way they would build a slideshow. It lets you search and select locations, add in photos, text, and video, share the creation and view it in
Google Earth. Google Tour Builder provides users with an easy-to-use template for searching for a location, dropping a placemark, and telling a story with text and images.
Learn More:
StoryMap JS
StoryMap JS is another free tool from the developers at
Northwestern University's Knight Lab to help you tell stories on the web that highlight the locations of a series of events. Users can place markers on a map and add text or media on a series of slides to tell their stories.
Learn More:
Check out a StoryMap I created of my recent trip to San Francisco
