Using Google Maps

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The above map would be used for high school students in an Earth Science class that are learning about plate tectonics.

While covering plate tectonics in my college geology course my professor would rattle off locations of plate boundaries and would stress that we needed to know what physical features formed at each boundary with examples of each. As my prof talked about the Himalayan Mountain range I would just sit in class wondering where exactly those were at (especially since my geography skills are not at all what I wish there were). My mind would be distracted wondering where exactly the Himalayas were, instead of being able to keep on following my prof and the lesson. If my prof had used a mashup, like the one above that I put together, I would have been able to put pictures to words in my heads. Of course the Himalayan Mountains are at a continent-continent boundary, you can see that from the map, there are no oceans present. Understanding the concept and seeing the picture makes it easier to relate the two facts and translate them into one.

Specifically in biology, I could use mashups to show different biomes and biospheres, such as the tundra and rainforests. I could include important facts on the map that I want my students to relate to the physical location. While it is a little tedious at times, I do think that students would also enjoy this technology. I would love to assign my students a project in which they create a mashup as the assesment for a unit (say on Biospheres) where they include important facts and information about each biome.

These are just some simple ideas I have to use map mashups in my classroom.