Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Mapping Jewish History in Hamburg


The Google Maps API can be a wonderful resource to help students learn about the world. It can also be used as a tool to help present school projects in a visually appealing and engaging manner. The best example I've seen of a Google Maps aided school project is Geschichtomat.

In Geschichtomat - Explore Hamburg’s Jewish History! Hamburg school students were set the task of exploring the history of Jewish life in Hamburg and exploring the traces of the city's Jewish past in their own districts. The students achieved this by researching Jewish life in their neighborhoods, questioning witnesses and studying historical documents.

The students were then asked to present what they had learned about Hamburg's Jewish history through video, photographs and text. These presentations were then added to the amazing Geschichtomat Google Map. The map not only provides a great mapped record of the students' work but is in itself a great multi-media guide to Hamburg's Jewish past.

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