Explore PA - The Google Earth Way!!

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An open letter to teachers in the Commonwealth of PA. I am a multimedia artist who works with my partner, Graham Martin, a 4th Grade teacher at Germantown Academy. I explore new technologies and try to develop activities that supplement Graham's classroom curriculum supporting his multidisciplinary multiple intelligences approach. You can read an article about our work with electronic portfolios. You may be aware that one of First Lady Judge Midge Rendell's initiatives is the Explore PA project supporting the PA Historical Markers. I have started a Google Earth tour called Explore PA located at: EXPLORE PA Google Earth Post I have been photographing markers and adding links to the information listed on the markers. If your school is located near, or you are planning a field trip, would you please consider "adopting a marker". To adopt the marker, I will need one of your designees to shoot a photograph of the marker. My experience has shown me that the photographs themselves can be intimate portraits of the subjects of the markers. The best example of this is for the location of Philo T. Farnsworth, an inventor and pioneer in TV. Along with the photograph I will need some links about the information presented in the marker. The links will be comprised of both the URL and descriptive text. Perhaps your students would want to find an article that references the data mentioned. Maybe one of your students would like to write an article or draw a picture to supplement the content that is already on the internet. An added treat, could be a paragraph about why a student thinks this marker is important to their current lives today. You'll notice that on the tour I have supplied, I utilize a variety of formats to display the information. The exercise is designed to fuel creativity. If it is too difficult for your students to enter the data into Google Earth, simply have the teacher e-mail me the photographs, drawings, text and/or link information. I will be more than happy to facilitate getting your data into the system in a style that reflects the authors. Living with a teacher I understand that time constraints are a big issue. There is no deadline to this project and it is ongoing. Graham's class reported on Whitemarsh and wrote an Ode to Emlen House as a supplement to an already planned field trip. I have also asked the principals of schools that are locations of PA Historical Markers to participate. It is hoped that the final product will be an artistic way for young Pennsylvanians to explore the culture that is located right in their own backyards. Regards,