A New Find

As a fairly avid user and consumer of the web, I have come across many tools and sites. But I think many would agree that are just too many to try them all. Instead, we just know of them, and that is about it. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a new function within an old tool.

I'm am not sure how many have tried Google Street View (I can only assume many), but I have never thought of the educational prospects of using it besides for locating specific addresses, and for commute. However, I discovered a new function within that "Explore with Street View".

Besides the obvious ability to explore new places you have never been without leaving your home, or classroom, further exploration showed how some educators have used it to better engage their students.

Firstly, geography teachers now have an amazing interactive tool to not only describe the locations of which they are teaching about, but to explore the actual area through Street View. This could possibly making more engaging as there is a new form of medium. This grabs the attention of students who may otherwise drone out with a continuous single-medium lecture.

However, I was more impressed by this class that took it to another level. Having the tool at hand, a teacher found a problem that has long plagued the Stonehenge, and that is the terribly public facilities there. So, to engage his/her students, the teacher simply provided the problem and some of these tools. Students are then encouraged to explore the layout of the area, decide where to build new facilities, manage visitors paths as construction is going on, and to develop a plan for all these.

This combines constructivist approach of an ill-structured problem, peer-to-peer learning/groupwork, and provides opportunities to develop unexpected interests in civil design, or project management. 

This is the site of that the teacher used:
http://www.juicygeography.co.uk/stonehenge.htm#issue

Really interesting!

Josh, out!