Mashups

I chose to review the following mashups:

1. http://www.daylightmap.com/
2. http://keirclarke.googlepages.com/sky.htm
3. http://wiki.worldflicks.org/mexico.html

According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_(web_application_hybrid) a mashup “is a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool.” I interpret this to mean that a mashup is able to take data from multiple third party web sites and integrate it together in ways that allow users to analyze the data in new and meaningful ways. This is unique because the mashup creates a way to interpret and interact with data that was never intended by the original data collectors with their independent web sites.

This is different from a web application in that a mashup is taking data from other independent web sites and a web application is simply a web based program that uses information given to it by the user or within it’s own data banks to achieve to produce its desired function.

All three mashups I chose use Google maps information to create three distinct mashups.

The purpose of http://www.daylightmap.com/ is to graphically show the pattern of daylight around the globe at any given moment. One can select to see the daylight pattern on a globe using Google map’s choices of “map, Terrain, Satelitte, or Hybrid.” I believe this mashup could easily be used with Elementary students as they learn about many aspects related to Earth science and geography. Concepts of time zones, geography, astronomy and continents are just some of the many aspects that could be enriched using this site. This site very simply and effectively shows a graphic representation of how the sun’s light falls across the earth at any given moment and season. It would be interesting to use this site with a class throughout the year from Fall to Spring and watch and notice the daylight pattern subtly shifting with the seasons. Advanced math students may also be intrigued by the parabolic nature of the sunlight pattern as it falls around the globe.

I anticipate using and recommending this mashup because of how it simply and effectively illustrates how the sun’s light falls around the world and how easily this concept touches so many other related concepts that Elementary students learn about.

The mashup found at: http://keirclarke.googlepages.com/sky.htm is star viewer designed to simulate the images you might see from many different high tech space telescopes when looking at various subjects in the universe. I can easily envision using this resource with upper elementary students as apart of an astronomy unit. This site seems easy to navigate by selecting different subjects in the universe to navigate from the menu on the left side of the screen. One can also notice square boxes highlighting that more embedded information or video is available within the actual map view. With this site one can almost sense the feeling of being behind the controls of a state-of-the-art telescope at some renounced space observatory or research center. A teacher could easily set up such a simulation like experience or assignment in which students need to view and report on various objects.

I envision using and recommending this site because of how easily and effectively it shows many objects in the universe and can easily relate to an Elementary astronomy curriculum.

The mashup found at: http://wiki.worldflicks.org/mexico.html is designed to show photos from different geographic locations all around the world. This site could easily be used with Elementary students for a variety of reasons. Students could locate pictures from pen-pals they may have around the nation or world. It could also be used to enhance student reports on various states or countries. This site also helps give students a geographic sense of how the world is made up of states, countries, continents, and oceans. The interactivity of this site could help to motivate students who might not be motivated to learn about geography otherwise.

I found it particularly interesting that when one views “Mexico”, for example, the site gives a short encyclopedia like description of Mexico complete with descriptions of it’s economy, visual points of interest, nearest places of interest, and the most popular places.

I anticipate using and recommending this site in the future because it is simple to navigate and easily shows many photographs from points of interest from all around the world. For example, I could envision using this site when studying Mayan culture or native Americans as a nice photo of a Mayan structure near Merida can easily be located on the Mexican Yucatan peninsula.