Maps have long been used to visually represent our interpretation of place and history and in so doing, reveal the cultural lens through which we see our world. With the advent of web-based mapping environments like Worldmapper, Google Earth and Google Maps, we can more easily conceptualize relationships between objects and data sets and more readily understand how geography influences culture. We can also tap into as well as contribute to the ever expanding repository of user-generated, geotagged media frequently associated with online map environments.
So what are the possibilities in using online mapping tools like Google Maps and Google Earth in language, culture and civilization courses? And what role might these tools play in developing our students’ intercultural competencies, global awareness, communication, collaboration and literacy skills? We’ll use our face-to-face session this week to explore some classroom examples. We’ll also spend time working in our course wiki.
In lieu of our Thursday LearnCentral session we will attend or view Jess McCulloch’s October 12, technoLanguages Live session. I’d like all of you to post a reflection here on your experience in Jess McCullloch’s session. How have these global interactions changed how you view communities of practice?
Beyond WebCT: Integrating Social Networking Tools Into Language & Culture Courses 
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