Today, we thought about maps as texts that organize information spatially from a particular vantage point. Each part of this definition seemed important as we worked through what it is we might do with the maps we share with students: focus on the data and information that is presented, look at it in its spatial distribution, and think about the vantage point of the map projection.
In NatGeo Mapmaker, we got to play around with the spatial distribution of different variables. Of particular interest is when we could create a map that yielded information on the spatial relationships between two or more variables. This allows us to raise questions about geographic determinism (see this article by Jared Diamond). What does it mean if social violence or poverty is especially concentrated in the tropical areas of the world? Are there any geographic features that explain this? How do geographic features such as climate and landforms influence societies? How important are such geographic factors as we try to make things of why things are where and why they are?
In Worldmapper, we looked at cartograms as tools that allow us to look at the distribution and location of different variables as they interact with territorial size. This was an excellent tool for teaching kids to generate hypotheses, bring to bear background knowledge that would inform the hypotheses, confirm or disconfirm our hypotheses through the cartogram, and then to ask what other information would be necessary to further understand what it is we are seeing.
In Google Earth, we saw how we can create spatial tours that integrate picture, text, and satellite imagery. As a spatial alternative to PowerPoint, such tours allow us to share and present information through spatial frameworks. (Here is a cheat sheet for some of the things we did in class today.)
