Assignment Author
Jim BrownAttribution
Greg UlmerSoftware / Hardware
Access to the Internet and a Google Account: https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount
No programming or coding experience is necessary to use the tool discussed in this assignment - Google's "My Maps" function. Students can point and click their way to creating their own map.
Context of Assignment
This is adapted from an assignment in Greg Ulmer's Internet Invention, a book that has students develop a "mystory." A Mystory is a way of understanding the way you think and act in the world through a study of the discourses that shaped you. Ulmer offers a number of different ways for students to create their Mystory, and one of his exercises involves mapping "the local embodiments of...institutions" (114). That is, students can provide a map of their hometown that points to the various institutions that shaped them: school, home, church, entertainment, etc. Such an assignment does not have to be in the context of creating a Mystory, and it doesn't have to involve mapping "home." I could envision this assignment being adapted in any number of ways, including: mapping the university to understand how it's geography sets it apart from the surrounding community, mapping one's walking routes through campus or neighborhoods to raise questions about the "uncharted territory" of their daily lives, or creating maps for controversies in Palestine/Israel or U.S./Mexico.
Pedagogical Goals of the Assignment
-To connect arguments to their geographical place
-To get students to recognize cartography as a type of writing
-To understand maps as arguments
Assignment Description
In my variation of this assignment, students map a border in their lives. They choose a geographical border that has somehow shaped them and then create a map of the institutions and events that help shape that border (or call it into question.) They use the Google "My Maps" function to do this, a tool that allows them to add the following things to a map:
-Markers: Markers allow them to create landmarks on the map. The description of these landmarks can include text, image, video, and audio. They can link to other sources and they can even embed YouTube video in these descriptions.
-Shapes: Students can create regions on their maps by drawing shapes and controlling the color of those shapes. They can also include descriptions of these shapes
-Lines: Students can draw lines on their map to represent borders or certain routes (walking, driving, etc.). They can control thickness, opacity, and color of the line.
Assignment Directions
Instruction for the assignment will depend on the instructor's expectations. The example that I've included is a "mapping borders" assignment that asks students to study a border in their own lives. This is only one variation of the assignment (I've mentioned some other possibilities above). Instructors might choose to have students present their maps or write papers about them, but it should be emphasized that creating the map is WRITING. Carving up geographical space is not only a "cool exercise" nor is it merely a description of an area - it is an act of writing that creates something new.
Using Google's "My Maps":
1)Sign up for a Google account if you don't already have one: https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount
2)Go to http://maps.google.com and log in
3)Click the "My Maps" Tab on the left side of the screen
4)Click "Create new map"
5)Give your map a title and description by filling in the fields on the left side of the screen
6)Begin adding Markers, lines, and shapes to your map by clicking the icons in the upper left hand corner of the map. Objects added to the map can have descriptions that include images, video (embedded youtube videos), and text. In addition to adding your own content, you can search Google Maps for certain landmarks that. For instance, a search of "metro cafe austin, tx" turns up Metro Espresso Bar on Guadalupe St. This built-in landmark has a picture of Metro and reviews of the coffee shop.
Here is the map I created using Google's "My Maps":
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=1147873061711883...