Map Mashups as Games--Why Not??

Sorry for posting so late this week. Life's sombre antithesis preoccupied most of my time this week. Technology had to take a backseat for a while.

However. . .
Since we are discussing games and simulations on the WebCt discussion board, I found myself wondering how map mashups could be connected to this issue. I, at first, considered map mashups possible connections to simulations, but soon realized that since simulations are by definition "imitation of real thing, state of affairs, or process" (Wikipedia.org), then that was not the connection I was looking for. Then I considered the idea of map mashups as games and found that there were some good possibilties here.

Like many computer or video games, map mashups are interactive and likely to generate interest in students. They allow students a chance to better understand material because they can actually see places and events, or places where specific events took place. According to the article, "Games to Teach," by Mungai et al., games should be used because "they are excellent tools for connecting learners to knowledge, key concepts, facts, and processes in a way that is fun and purposeful. . . reinforce and review course information by allowing learners to apply what they have learned." Map mashups can also do these things.

As some of my previous articles have indicated, teachers can use map mashups to teach important skills and concepts. Now to make it more of a game, teachers can have students create map mashups of their neighborhoods, for example, as a competition, or they can create
map mashups of the towns/cities that their favorite artist plays in etc. The educational aspect will not be lost in these games. Students will learn about their neighborhoods and their countries, and about using the technology while still having fun.

Many people are already having fun with this technology!
In the article, "Map Mashups and The Rise of Amateur Cartographers and Map Makers," Pietroniro and Fichter explain how this tool has spawned a new breed of cartographer, the average man. Anyone can create a map mashup. In the article they say, "Though a few citizens have become amateur surveyors, many more are creating 'map mashups' . . . Geocoding, although it is not clear that users know this is what they are actually doing, has been discovered by the masses and maps are fun!" I think our students can discover this too! The article lists several sites where one can create a map mashup of one's own.

The complete Pietroniro and Fichter article can be found at http://library2.usask.ca/~fichter/articles/2007.acmla.mashups.pdf.