Teachers today have many ICT tools which are available freely. Many of these tools are found on the internet.  One of the most interesting and potentially educationally rewarding is the use of Google Maps.

Google Maps if used in conjunction with a simple Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver can give good spatial data that can then be interpreted by the viewer. This ability is due to the ability of Google Maps to be tagged. The advent of relatively cheap digital cameras also mean that photos can be added at various points of the map with appropriate tags. Fairly detailed description can be made together with the photos.

If the tags are done properly, one can locate for example all the restaurants in an area. If a search is done with the appropriate tags, all the markers pointing to the location of restaurants in the area will appear. This will make for interesting interpretation. From the location and number of restaurants, we can infer whether that area is an area with a retail space which is mainly allocated for the food and beverage industry. To look for changes in land use, a similar project undertaken some time later can indicate whether the retail space used in that area has changed for other purposes. Here patterns of distribution can be studied for a particular point in time or even over a period of time. Students can be asked to interprete the data and infer as to the causes of any change or stability in data.

Another interesting project that can be done is to disperse teams of students to various parts of an area to photograph human activities at various times of the day. Digital photos of human activities can be taken at various locations at agreed upon time intervals within the day. The photos and the GPS data can be uploaded to Google Maps. Students can then study the photos for the different time intervals and “watch” the rise and ebb of human activities in a given area over the time period that was covered. Again students can using the photos and knowledge of the kinds of buildings shown on Google Maps, draw their own conclusion about the changes in human activity over time for a given area. Here GPS data and Google Maps help to tell the story of a day in a life of a community.

These are just some ways to use GPS data and Google Maps for educational purposes. GPS data does not have to belong as the preserve of experts or used only for vehicle navigation. If used properly and with a  lot of thought, it can become a fun way of using ICT to learn about the real world for  students. Learning becomes not only fun but also relevant and menaingful to students.

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