INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE

Choose one Instructional Software title. Complete all fields in the following template
to describe the software and how you would use this product in your future classroom
to help students achieve required learning standards.
Note: This template uses the forms feature in MS Word. Select the highlighted text
boxes and type over the sample text. Simply click on the boxes to check them.
Name: Eric Britt
Software Title: National Geographic Maps for Education - website based
application
URL: http://mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org/
Function(s) of Instructional Software (check all that apply):
| Drill and Practice Tutorial X Simulation Instructional Game X e-books/ereferences
Features of the Software (check all that apply):
| Assessment Monitoring/Reporting (Keeps track of student data and/or generates
reports for the teacher) | Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students
X Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in class X Multi-user or
collaborative functions with others beyond local class X Accessible to students
beyond the school day | Accessible via mobile devices | Multiple languages |
Safety, security, and/or privacy features
Strengths of the Software: (Examples: Great graphics, fast paced, motivates
students with rewards, etc.) The interactive maps feature a wide array of layers that
allow the user to customize the maps to look at different geographical features with
conditions placed over them (areas with pollution, asylum seekers, or even energy
consumption by country and state). Runs on the National Geographic website so the
user has access to numerous links and content related to different subjects and
when using the maps the student has the ability to compare areas based on the
conditions they place.
Suggestions for Improvement: (Examples: Has some errors in content that need
to be corrected; Would be nice if there were reporting features; App is free but has
add-in costs that would be annoying to students) There is no feature to look at
county by county within the United States with some of the layers. Some of the
content only has data available for portions of the map so students might not get an
accurate comparison when looking at two different areas. They could provide the
option to look at different time periods instead of only modern day.

INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE
Standards Addressed: See https://www.georgiastandards.org/Pages/Default.aspx
(Be specific. See Common Core Standards or Georgia Performance Standards and
paste them in here. Example: MCCK.CC.1 Count to 100 by ones and by tens.)
SSWH: 13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21 - The listed World History standards are focusing
more on the modern impact and spread of people. One example could be the
mapping out of the migration of people around the world (ie. migration layer).
SSWG: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 - All of these focus on the Human interaction with the world
and how we as human have influenced geography, ecosystems, and how we
continue to interact with the world.
ISTE: 1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity (a, b, c).
Grade Level/Content Area(s): 6-12, World History/Geography
Blooms Level of Critical Thinking Required (check all that apply). See
http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy

| Remembering X Understanding X Applying X Analyzing X Evaluating X

Creating
Description of how to implement in the class: (Ex: equipment needed,
instructional model*, what students/teachers will do, how activity will be
introduced/concluded, how student learning will be assessed, how assessment data
will be used to inform/differentiate instruction. Minimum 2 paragraphs).
Students will have the opportunity to use the National Geographic Interactive Maps
in order to analyze and evaluate an array of conditions placed on different locations
throughout the world. This activity can be used by just the teacher to show
controlled environments and specific conditions that need to be placed on different
areas. Or students can work alone or with partners using class laptops and play
around with the available layers to answer a series of questions.
Students will work alone or with a partner and look at the interactive map in the
designed location that connects with the SSWH standard and SSWG standard. For
example, students might analyze parts of Europe through the Great Schism and
where populations are denser than others and find out why this may be the case.
Students will have received prior background information on the topics and will use
the laptops to research the changes in the environment influenced by people.
Student learning will be assessed by completion of series of guided questions, class
presentations of their findings and informal questioning by the teacher. From what
students gather from their research of the interactive map they will be able to make
informed decisions about the changes of the world. The goal of this instructional
software is to help students develop content knowledge and to infer why certain
changes happened and why people did the things they did around the world.
* Examples of common instructional models include whole group, teacher-led, student
self-paced, small group, or individual learning activities. Use as many of these
descriptors or other descriptors as apply.
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