Drumbeat/StoneSoup/Write with a satellite

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: geolocation | environment | automation
Drumbeat tool: https://www.drumbeat.org/en-US/projects/maquina-descriure-de-googlemaps/description/
FireFox addon: https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/pixlr-grabber/
Image for eliciting:

Goals

Open sensibility to visual coincidences (in this case shapes of places that look like letters)
Motivate kids to learn about world regions and/or urban contexts
Activate skills for navigating geolocated information and 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

Web browsing
Copy and paste images
Web searching

Steps

Brief presentation about Google maps (eliciting about the tool, satellite capabilities)
Show one sticker already done (eliciting about the places on it)
Brief technical presentation of https://www.drumbeat.org/project/m%C3%A0quina-descriure-de-google-maps (answering about places in the previous example and showing how it works)
Generate middle names (in pairs)
Find information about 2 of the letters minimum (see questions section)
Present your names and findings in order to be allowed to produce your stickers
Cut them and past them in any of your personal belongings
Final reflexions about the activity

Resources needed

One laptop for every pair of learners
Sticker papers
One color printer
Internet connection
Bew browser
Scissors

Questions to ask

Where in the world or cities are these places you just found?
What's the closest and 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 uses can be done by whom with all this detailed satellite information?

Examples for the session

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

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: http://www2.ub.edu/cursusductus/femfum/maps.google.cat/afegiunousGEOglifs.php
Create a t-shirt with your name using the world? (a different process)