Author: sgrcannon

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Week 5 – Things 12 and 13

12th Thing – Google Maps

Google Maps is an online mapping services that you use to pan (by dragging the mouse) and zoom (by using the mouse wheel) into a desired location.

Alternatively, you can enter an address, postal code, city, or landmark to quickly find it on the map.

SMU

Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS on Google Maps

Go to Google Maps and enter the postal code or address of a place known to you – the University (B3H 3C3), your house, a landmark…

Use the map, satellite, terrain and more buttons to look at the different views of this location. Zoom in using the mouse wheel to see how detailed a map you can get.

If you do look at the University, how old do you think the satellite view is and what day of the week do you think it was taken?

Task 1:

Copy the web address of your location and paste it into your blog. Write a few words about Google Maps and how you might use it.

You can also search for businesses and attractions in or near a given place. For example, when you get hungry, you could type in restaurants Halifax, NS to find something to eat.

Like many other map services, Google Maps can generate directions between any pair of locations.

Task 2:

In Google Maps, click the Get Directions link to find how to get from Halifax to Montreal.

In your blog put in the distance and how long Google thinks it will take you.

Google Maps has given rise to a number of interesting offshoot projects and fan sites:

Optional Extra

Using your Google login, you can create and share your own maps. This YouTube video will show you how…

Use the My Maps tab in Google Maps to create a map of your own and add some place marks. Make sure your map is public, then use the Link to the page link to copy and paste the web address of your map into your blog. Write a few words on why this map is important to you.

13th Thing – Google Earth

If your stroll around Google Maps has whetted your appetite for more map-based fun, the next level is Google Earth (you will need to download Google Earth if you haven’t already).

This is a virtual globe that maps the earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and other sources. With Google Earth, you get better resolution, 3-D views, the ability to swoop down a location and a wide range of overlays that show the locations of different things – including stars and planets in the sky.

Perhaps the best place for you to start, would be to take a tour.

Take a look at an example of the interesting and amusing videos that people have created using Google Earth…

Do you think there might be privacy issues relating to the ever higher and higher resolution digital mapping? Put your thoughts down in your blog.

You might want to read these BBC News stories for more background information:

 

Week 3: Things 7-8

7th Thing — Discover Flickr

Photo sharing websites have been around since the 1990s, but it took a small startup site called Flickr to catapult the idea of “sharing” into a full blown online community. Flickr has become the fastest growing photo sharing site on the web and it was one of the first websites to use keyword “tags” to create associations and connections between photos and users of the site. To date, over 3 billion images have been uploaded to the Flickr site!

For this Thing, you’ll take a good look at Flickr and discover what this site has to offer. Find out how tags work, what groups are, and all the cool things that people are using Flickr for.

Resources for Week 3

Using Flickr

Take a good look around Flickr and look for an interesting image that you want to blog about.

It might be a picture of somewhere you’ve gone on holiday or maybe a photograph taken near where you live. Be sure to include a link to the image on your blog post.

When looking at images on Flickr, check to see if the image has a list of tags — these are keywords or labels which help you find images. For example, here are all the images that have been tagged with the words Halifax, Nova Scotia.

2580908052_95b5ba1cf8_z
Theodore Tug Boat by Dennis Jarvis

So go ahead, explore the site and have some Flickr photo fun and if you’re interested in looking at some other photo hosting sites, then why not check out:

 8th Thing — Upload a photograph to Flickr

Flickr currently has over 3 billion images, so I’m sure they won’t mind if you add a few more!

Create a Free account in Flickr (you will be able to use your Yahoo account, created in Week 1) and use a digital camera or mobile phone to capture a few pictures of something interesting. Upload these to your Flickr account and tag at least one of the images 23Things@PPL2015 and mark it public.

Next, create a post in your blog about your photo and experience. Be sure to include the image in your post.

If you would prefer not to upload your own photographs, then browse through some of the pictures from The Commons, download one of them, and then upload the picture to Flickr. The Commons is a collection of copyright free images from museum and library image archives.

Photo Etiquette

A quick word about photo posting etiquette! When posting identifiable photos of other people (especially children) is it advisable to get the person’s permission before posting their photo in a publicly accessible place like Flickr. Never upload pictures that weren’t taken by you (unless you have the photographer’s consent or the image is in the Public Domain) and always give credit when you include photos taken by someone else in your blog.

Please refer to Week 2, Thing 6 [http://wp.me/p5Cg5y-28]