Teaching Notes

Example Output

MODIS satellite image of the United States. This image was produced with Jules Verne Voyager. Click the image for a larger view.

Jules Verne online image and map tools allow users to access, edit, download and save images for use in presentations or documents.

Grade Level

This chapter is most appropriate for students in grades 10-14.

Learning Goals

After completing this chapter, students will be able to:

create custom maps of Earth;
create custom maps of other planets and moons;
specify the center coordinates, geographical extent, and width of maps; and
save custom maps and insert them into other documents.

Rationale

Students who are familiar with this powerful mapping tool and its extensive datasets will be able to produce map images for a wide variety of presentations, reports, and other documents. Educators will also find it valuable for producing student handouts. Users can create a range of map images from simple line drawings to data images with overlays.

Instructional Strategies

This chapter is best completed by students working alone or in pairs. Teachers may want to organize a culminating slide show or bulletin board display of maps produced by their students. Each student or group would prepare a description of what their map image shows and how it was produced. Note: As of January 2008, Jules Verne Voyager is running on only one server at UNAVCO. As a result, map generation times may be very slow if several people are accessing the server at the same time.

Learning Contexts

This activity would be especially valuable in the context of studying planets and moons in our solar system. Creating images of planets at the correct scale relative to another planet also offers a way to embed quantitative skills in student tasks.

The techniques to generate maps might be introduced as a complement to any topic that requires the use of global-scale maps. If introduced early in the school year, students could use the tool and their skills to produce maps that illustrate their assignments. This activity could also be assigned as a homework or extra credit assignment: students could turn in a document with several map images that include descriptions of what the data represent as evidence of their learning.

Science Standards

The following National Science Education Standards are supported by this chapter:

12EST2.2 Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.

Geography Standards

The following U.S. National Geography Standards are supported by this chapter:

The World in Spatial Terms
1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.