About Geographic Knowledge
One of the most striking differences I noted in the maps I collected were those that were related to gender. I had read about the spatial abilities of boys versus girls, and I've seen boys win every National Geographic Geography Bee ever. Of the maps I examined boys more frequently correctly located continents and countries compared to their female counterparts. There must be something to this gender/spatial difference, although more research is needed!
I had participants note their age, gender, year in school, etc. on their maps, but I realize now that I could have asked other questions that could help me explain why their maps appeared the way they did. If I were to do this project again, I would have asked participants to include answers to "where have you traveled, when and why?" questions. This would possibly give me insight into the level of detail on their maps. For example, my mom and dad went to the UK last year, and this geographic area was featured prominently on both their maps. (I didn't ask them this question, but I knew that information about them.) Additionally, my dad's maps showed a lot of detail when it came to Asia, where he did a lot of business travel. He also was stationed in Thailand during Vietnam, so that part of his map was also very complete.
About Online Collaboration
1. Start early!
I realize now that a successful online project needs to be posted early enough for people to incorporate it into their class schedules. That was one area where I fell short, although who can tell when the Mental Block Gods will strike! The month-long nature of our summer CTER course, too, doesn't give participants much time to get it together.
2. Make purpose of project catchy!
When I re-read my project summary in GSN, I thought it sounded sort of dry, and I wasn't sure if people could grasp the overall purpose of my activity through my project description. I suppose you have to have a bit of the carnival barker in you to get people to participate. The loud and the colorful projects attract participants, and mine could have used more of both of those qualities.
3. Do unto others...
I'm guilty, as are many others, I'm guessing, of saying that we'll participate in others' projects and not following through. I think we all got very busy with the final two projects for the course, but I can't help but feel like I've let others down. If I were to do it all over again, I'd make good on my promises.
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