Drumbeat/StoneSoup/Write with a satellite

	StoneSoup > Activity: Write with a satellite
	Owner: Enric	Updated: 2011-03-1
	Combine geoglyphs for printing your name on a cool sticker

View the video demo here

Summary

Use buildings or rivers like letters to write your name (or any other word) and get the coolest sticker ever :) But you should prove first you know something about the places the satellite has found for you! Just grab the browser -and look for more information if needed.

Skills to develop: geolocation | shape recognition | presentation

Goals

// The activity tries to stimulate this kind of knowledge and skills:

• Open sensibility to visual coincidences (in this case shapes of places that look like letters)

• Motivate participants to learn about world regions and/or urban contexts

• Activate skills for navigating geolocated information

• Activate skills for producing ready-to print images

• Think about the potential (good and bad) uses of satellite information

• Do a double cut & paste activity (first digital, then with paper :)

Previous skills needed

// Participants just need to have minimum notions about:

• Web browsing

• Copying and pasting

• Web searching

Steps

// Recommended sequence for replicating the activity:

1. Brief presentation about Google Maps (eliciting about the tool, and about satellites)

2. Show one sticker already done (eliciting about the places on it)

3. Brief technical presentation of the cartographic typewriter) (answering about places in the previous example and showing how it works)

4. Generate middle names captures (in pairs) with the help of Pixlr grabber

5. Find information about 2/3 of the letters minimum (see questions section)

6. Present your names and findings in order to be allowed to produce your stickers

7. Print the stickers, cut and past them in any of your personal belongings

8. Final reflections about the activity

Stuff needed

// Make sure you have all this installed/near/working prior to the session:

• Internet connection

• One laptop for every pair of learners

• Drumbeat project (Cartographic typewriter)

• Firefox browser

• FireFox addon (Pixlr grabber)

• Blank sticker paper

• Colour printer

• A couple of scissors

Questions to ask

// Try to open these questions at the beginning of the session, or when the participants are doing mechanic tasks like pasting or cutting:

• In which countries or cities are these places you just found?

• What's the closest or more far away from you (by distance or people)?

• How different do you think is life there to yours here?

• How do you think did that place look like 50 years ago?

• Which good or bad things can be done with all this detailed satellite information? By whom?

Samples you can use

// You can use these images and links as examples for your explanations:

• Zoom example

• Addon output example #1: http://imm.io/3DyH
• Addon output example #2: http://imm.io/3Dz4

• Outputs at: http://drumbeatstonesoup.wikispaces.com/

• Extra activity (add a letter): http://www2.ub.edu/cursusductus/femfum/maps.google.cat/afegiunousGEOglifs.php

Further steps

// Ideas and possibilities for continuing the activity, or homework for passionate participants :)

• In a second session learners could go and create captions themselves, by detecting places that look like letters (close to their homes or hometowns) and following the easy technical process for contributing to the project as described here
• Create a t-shirt with your name using the world. A different process that involves using a machine for printing clothes or a fine and fair online t-shirt shop, so participants can create some fashion with geoglyphs

Output

• Stickers looking like this (ideally mixing nature and buildings shapes): https://www.drumbeat.org/project/m%C3%A0quina-descriure-de-google-maps

Output from session #1

Video (still in postproduction): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sks2xb4cWW8

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