Musings in Search of a Muse

One of the reasons I decided to become a teacher is a National Geographic study in the 80s reported that Americans knew less about geographic concepts, individual nations, and specifics about the world around them than citizens in nearly every other nation on the planet. Another reason was that maps are cool. After all, I was raised traveling as a Navy brat, reading maps (and folding them), and learning about the world, so how could I not love geography.

Thank goodness for technology. With the Internet I've had more access to maps and geographic information than I could ever imagine having with my atlases and collected map from a huge diversity of sources. And then comes Google Home, one of the best mapping tools a geographer could have. This program is going to be an essential tool as I teach the Five Themes of Geography:

1. Location
2. Place
3. Human-Environment Interaction
4. Movement
5. Region

Example: Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Makkah, Al-Mamlaka al-'Arabiya as-Sa'udiya)

1. LOCATION: 29° 29' N 39° 45' W (or) Near the West Coast of the Arabian peninsula with mountains to the east and a coastal plain and the Red Sea to the west.

2. PLACE: A desert biome predominates between it's windward location near mountains and the Red Sea.

3. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: Desalinization plants have been built on the coasts to provide fresh water to the interior. Comprehensive irrigation programs have made the city very "green," like an oasis.

4. MOVEMENT: Mecca is the center of worship for the world's followers of Islam. As part of their religion, Muslims are required to make a trip (a Haj) to Mecca at least once in their lives (if able). This makes the city quite busy and prosperous. Its location along the coast means that land travellers wishing to avoid the eastern desert will likely pass through.

5. REGION: As the "home" of Islam the area around Mecca has been a dominant influence in forming the Muslim traditions, religious writings, and language.

Some data & statistics from: Johnson, Otto (ed.). Information Please Almanac. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997).

Oh! And the program is free for consumer use, though if you use GPS devices or you are a professional that depends on precision mapping, you'll want to opt for the non-free editions for access to more tools. All the editions are tougher to fold than a good ol' map, but I can't imagine using a map without Google Home.