Tag Archives: tools

Explore Something Old – Google My Maps

Curiosity is one of the significant elements of learning. Learners should be curious about not only exploring something new but also re-exploring something you have known already. In this blog post, I am sharing my experiences of using Google Maps.

A picture of Google Maps icon, which is a Google feature I have known for a long time. In this blog post, I am going to re-explore different uses of this feature.
An icon of Google Maps.

Google Maps is one of the Google features that users can search for all locations around the world. Google Maps also support 3D satellite data and street views. Users can freely upload photos, leave comments, and search for point-to-point navigation. After logging in to your Google account, you can create your Map with different location tags. It is useful when you are planning to travel, and you want to mark down all “must-visit places.”

A tutorial video on Google My Maps. The video demonstrates how to create a specific map with all the features provided.

In my Web Tools class, I use Google My Maps to create my graduation travel plan to Japan. I visited Osaka during the past summer. I found it ineffective to write all the places and restaurants I wanted to visit on a piece of paper. It was inconvenient to write all YouTube links and websites on the paper. Therefore, I told myself to look for a useful tool next time planning my trip. Luckily, I got one now!

I only stayed in Osaka for a week last time, which I think is not enough to explore everything there. Therefore, I am planning to go again after graduation. I want to go to Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. In my map, I pinned my “must-visit” list, and also included two transportation routes: from Tokyo to Kyoto, and from Kyoto to Osaka. I embedded pictures of some museums to my map and used different colored pins to indicate different locations from different regions. It is also useful to change to pin icons to differentiate eating places from visiting sites.

Below is the link to my map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1oo0jjgW493QUhtiejGlIMoNw-EQLiIQ2&ll=35.16283236931343%2C137.59890229999996&z=8

Why I love using Google My Maps?

It is convenient, useful, and user-friendly. I can search for all locations around the world, pin locations, and edit anytime. Different layers allow me to organize my trip by locations, dates, or categories. Choosing to show or to hide different layers, I can easily manage my plan when traveling. It is clear in displaying. I also admire the function of sharing my map with others. People with the link, or being invited, can either view or edit my map. By saving my map in Google Drive, I can access my map with any devices, such as mobile, laptop, or tablet. Can you imagine how beneficial is it to, at the same time, check your plan, search for navigation, and visit websites at your fingertips?

Do you have any experiences using Google My Maps, and would like to share with me?

Finally, thank you for visiting my blog and please do not forget to follow me on Twitter for more related information and discussions.
Twitter: @PoYeeWong4

What Do You Think Of Twitter?

The Twitter logo
The Twitter logo.

Twitter is one of the main social media tools I am using for these few months. It is a pleasant experience that I have never thought of how beneficial it is before I try it out. I think more specialists are using Twitter than other social media tools, such as Facebook. Therefore, I am easier to find for professional sources by searching hashtags #edtech#psychology, and #edchat. As a Psychology major, I am surprised that many tweets are sharing various experiences and techniques in learning. Some learning methods and skills are typical and ordinarily used, but I learned how to apply them to different scenarios for tremendous and unexpected results. Therefore, using Twitter in learning to be a global educator and learner widens my horizon in how much I can learn from others. Twitter is a worldwide using tool that all people around the world can share, explain, and debate topics. Here is an excellent example that a sixth-grader expressed his purpose of school, which reminds me to reflect on my purpose of school. 

“The purpose of school is not just to learn, but become a better human being. Sure, you also need to know your math and history facts. But the point of school is to gain skills like, compassion, self-awareness, organization, and kindness. That is a teachers ultimate goal.”

A sixth-grader

It lighted up my mind that I also wanted to ask myself: what is my purpose going to school? What is education? What should I be ultimately learning from others? Now, my answers are critical thinking and perspective-taking. Can you imagine this is inspired by a six-grade student?

To be more specific, I usually search using #edtech and #edchat for more inspirations. As a Psychology major, I learned to apply learning methods shared by educators in the psychology field. I understood that learning and teaching methods are not limited to the education field but in any other acknowledged situation. 

During the past few weeks, I joined different Twitter chats that are related to psychology. There are more live conversations that people answer three to six questions and respond to others’ replies for educational chats. However, there are more weekly questions than live discussions for psychological chats. I am glad that I can share my relevant experiences with moderators and learn from people’s suggestions. I appreciate that Human Resources (HR) professionals share scientific articles and working skills on Twitter, which are useful for me to develop my Personal Learning Network and career plan being an Organizational Psychologist. However, there is one thing that I can do better in the future. Since I have not started my internship yet, I have no working practice as an HR staff. I am now mainly relying upon others’ sharing, imaginations, and case studies in class. I hope I can share more working experiences with different HR professionals so that they can give me more advice on how the HR office looks like.  

A YouTube video telling people why you should use Twitter.

Overall, I enjoy exploring on Twitter and be active in keeping conversations with learners, educators, and professionals. I think I will keep using Twitter as my primary learning tools to build my network. 

Thank you, everyone, for visiting my blog and please feel free to share your ideas and experiences with me.

Please do not forget to follow me on Twitter for more related information and discussions.
Twitter: @PoYeeWong4