I had previously created a travel log report for a family member, which allowed them to update a Google Sheet with different locations they had visited, and it marked them on a map in the report. (Yes, I sometimes create reports for fun. Don't judge.) The travel log allows filtering by year, trip name, or trip operator, and I updated it to include the Google Maps functionality when it became available. Now, the map narrows in on an area of the globe when a trip is selected AND allows the user to zoom to street view and look around. Not education data, I know, but a fun way to revisit past trips until we can travel again. Check out a sample copy here (including directions to make your own).
I started wondering if there were ways a report using this feature could become part of a student learning activity. I played around with exploring map data of Civil War battles using data I found online, but didn't get too far with it. I ended up creating a Massachusetts Cities and Towns report (based on Wikipedia entries) that allows the user to explore information like population, government type, county, and town seal.
While I did create the data source for this report myself, I realized that it could just have easily been created by students submitting data via a Google Form. Wouldn't that be fantastic? Say your third grade has 350-ish students, and you ask them each to research one of 351 Massachusetts cities or towns, gathering population, government type, county, and a link to the town seal. Students put their findings into a Google Form, which results in a Sheet that becomes the source for a report like this one!
I would LOVE to hear some other ideas for learning activities like this, where data is collected by students, submitted via a form and then displayed on a map. If you've got an idea, I'll help you pull it off!
Google Maps in GDS: Examples and Resources
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