Globetrotting and Trendspotting: Research Mapping with Google Maps Engine
Encouraging Innovation and Technology: HHLib 9 Online ConferenceFeb 27, 2014
Margot Hanson & Michele Van HoeckCalifornia State University Maritime
Incident Map Assignment
Poll: Your perspective on annotated bibliographies as a learning tool?
• They’re useful for teaching information literacy concepts
• They have some value for certain students
• I find them tedious and ineffective
Freshman view...
Pointless
Enter the Annotated Map
Inspiration from...
Inspiration from...
Poll: Have you used mapping apps in class?
• I haven’t used mapping tools at all
• I plan to in the future
• I’ve tried a tool such as Google Maps or ZeeMaps
• I’ve incorporated mapping into my teaching repertoire
• I am ArcGIS certified
Learning Outcomes
1. News Research:Students will locate relevant news stories on a current issue in their major in order to select the most significant and reliable sources of information.
2. Synthesis and Mapping:Students will create an annotated map in order to synthesize and organize information spatially.
News Research Competencies
• Identify types of news articles: daily news, investigative news, opinion pieces, press releases
• Evaluate search results for significance & relevance
• Use filter tools of LexisNexis and CountryWatch
Incident Map Assignment
• Identify a topic you would like to illustrate with a map.
• Identify four significant events related to your topic. These events should have occurred in different places within one country or region of the world. For many topics, Lexis/Nexis or CountryWatch will help with this.
• Create a map using Google Maps and mark the location of your four events using pushpins. Annotate each pushpin with date and brief summary (2 sentences) of each event in the description.
• Create APA citations for your sources and add them to their relevant descriptions.
• Change the settings in your map to share with anyone who has the link (otherwise I won’t be able to see it), and email a link to your Google map.
Grading Checklist
___ Are incidents significant and all related to topic?
___ Are incidents located accurately on map?___ Are incidents described clearly and concisely?
___ Are sources reliable and cited correctly?
Examples of Student Work
Let’s go for a test drivehttps://mapsengine.google.com/map
Poll: If you’ve used mapping in a class, what have you tried? Please share...
Free text response
Assessing this assignment
• Students had trouble limiting topic to one region of world
• Annotations too brief
• Selected articles not always well-focused
• Google maps platform not intuitive, always changing
Assignment revisions to try:
• Teach “who what when where how why” checklist for annotations
• Introduce hypothetical audience for map
• Check-in and vet topics earlier or more explicitly in class
• Emphasize value of regional focus
