My Maps Editor

This summer, a kind stranger shared this document:  26 Interesting Ways to use Google Earth in the Classroom. I was getting ready to pilot a 1:1 iPad program, and here were 26 cool things that I could do...just not on iPads!

And then I discovered My Maps Editor, the only free app that syncs with Google  Maps, which then syncs to Google Earth. That means if I am teaching about continents, my students can circle, color code, or label the continents, save their work to their Google accounts, then open then open the map in Google Earth to see it all on a movable, interactive globe. When learning about New York, we can trace the outline of the state so it stands out in relation to the rest of the world. We can zoom in and out of our current location to talk about the different sized communities in which we live. We can create a virtual tour of New York State by creating bookmarks on each city and hyperlinking them to pictures or websites. When learning about explorers, we might draw color-coded lines to track each explorer's journey,  calculate the distances, then attach videos or text notes about each one.  The number of possibilities is extensive, but not endless.  It would be nice if one could undo drawings, access old versions more easily, and select a map more smoothly. It would be even nicer if all of the computer options (KML files, etc.) were available on the iPad.  For now, My Maps Editor is all I have.

I'm hoping that by the time my students are ready for more advanced  functions,  My Maps Editor will put out an upgrade, there will be a newer, better iPad app, or they will each have a laptop that is as fast and light as the iPad. My eyes are on the Microsoft Surface Pro...

Please note: Mapedit (1.99) and Map Editor (1.99) are also worth exploring.  MyMap could do more than all of them, but it has ads and more than 30 dollars of in-app purchases.