Google Earth - Maps connecting people in the Community
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Cigagna Wiefels, M.; 2Mendes, R.
1UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL FLUMINENSE Email: cigagna@vm.uff.br
2UNVERSIDADE FEDERAL FLUMINENSE Email: rafael_mendes@id.uff.br
Abstract
The Google Earth programme is a tool which allows the introduction of modern technology in the classes of geography, favouring the study and improving of the cartographic language. The function of this programme is to present the terrestrial globe in a 3-D model, built from a mosaic of satellite images from different sources. Aiming its easy utilization and also an easy and good work in the classes of geography, as well as in daily life of the students and of their family, the authors prepared this tutorial to guide the activities. The National Programme Parameters (PCN) for the basic school grades recommend “the lecture of images, data and documents of different sources, in order to interpret, analyse and relate information on geographic space and different landscapes”. The image interpretation criteria were observed, oriented and systemized in order to facilitate the utilization of the programme in the study of the geographical space phenomena. The tutorial Google Earth orients its reader to have autonomy in order to build cartographic practices and school geography registries, in the study of environmental science, of local history and of socio-environmental problems. The experimental laboratory of this tutorial was based in the district of Jurujuba, in the city of Niterói RJ, where the Fluminense Federal University develops an extension project aiming to strengthen the links among the inhabitants and their district (local identity), to encourage the local youth to develop a new vision of the district as well as a feeling of membership, to stimulate seamanship skills for activities like marine biology, oceanography, national Navy, geography or tourism, considering its characteristics of fishermen district with a strong appeal to this activity. The cartographic language was introduced in the basic school classes for this purpose and to motivate the students to have a more critical and analytical vision of their surroundings. The tutorial Google Earth is an additional tool, freely available online, with which any child or student can navigate, creating small maps, measuring distances, making routes, etc. This tool has allowed the preparation of some practices to be implemented with students of public school network, introducing them to the world of digital geo-technology, mapping their district easily and with pleasure. The themes treated in this tutorial also stimulate citizenship and the feeling of membership. With this tutorial, the students will recognize streets and paths, measure distances, draw topographic profiles, analyze images of different dates and identify the urban development and the degradation of environment. ¨The document of geography proposes a pedagogic work that aims to increase the capacities of the school children to observe, to know, to explain, to compare and to represent the characteristics of the place where they live and different landscapes and geographical spaces” (PCN). The proposal of this work contributes to a better understanding and the interpretation of neighbourhoods by school children, and to the introduction of new teaching technologies.
Keywords
Cartographic language; Technology; Education