Where’s my phone? Where’s the nearest toilet?

All important questions when you’ve just had a baby, I’ll spare you the details. This is where location enable services/ geo-tagging can help!

Personally, I use location enabled technology on my iPhone now more than I actually talk to people. I use it to help me find my friends, my phone (my toddler keeps hiding it), my way around, facilities and services nearby (like bars, banks, hospitals, etc) and even the nearest toilet!

I’m also excited about the educational opportunities that this technology may lead to. Nearly everyone has access to this kind of technology now, mostly in the form of a smartphone or tablet device.

So what is Geo-tagging?

Geotagging is the term given to the adding of geographical metadata to photos, videos, tweets, websites and other media. This ‘metadata’ can include longitude and latitude, and other attributes such as altitude.

Why would you use it in education?

Because a high percentage of people have the access to that kind of technology (smartphones have become essential items for many students, sometimes they even use them for talking with people), so why not provide educational opportunities for them.

Examples & ideas for educational use

bring presentations & research tasks to life by placing geo-taggedphotos on an interactive map (here’s how – http://youtu.be/QxvGvsij8Sg). Check out these examples
a treasure hunt that makes use of GPS-enabled devices to find hidden objects
geo-tagged equipment in a workplace to present information/manuals on the equipment as people approach/ use it
exploration of different habitats, species (exact locations are recorded for ease of finding again & to place them on a map)
measuring distances
exploring IT in society discussion (e.g. in England during WW2 rural place names and signposts were taken down so that the Germans would get lost if they managed to land on our shores – how different it would be now)
Google Earth Student Showcase

Here’s a sample Lesson: Which Tree is which?
Objectives: the student will study trees on their campus, document findings and collect samples, images (smartpohone records GPS coordinates) then analyze the data upon returning to their classroom in order to identify the trees.

Tools you can use

Flickr - Many contempoary smartphones such as the iphone are gps enabled and will store the location the photo was taken and when uploaded to flickr will enable a link to a map showing the location the shot was taken.
My Maps - Google’s ‘My Maps’ is a service which allows google users the ability to create a custom map with numerous markers which can contain any embedded content such as flickr images/video. Geotagged images can be located on a My Map and displayed where they were taken. My Maps can be embedded in any application which allows third party embeds such as wikis, blogs, Moodle etc