India Literacy Project (ILP) created the Multi-Dimensional Learning Space (MDLS) initiative as a during-school and after-school program that provides opportunities for school children to explore, experiment, discover, and learn in multiple ways.
Social Sciences with Google Tools
As a part of its MDLS program, ILP has been working in partnership with Google to create interactive content for students to learn the Social Sciences (History & Geography). Using Google Earth, Google Maps, and Street View, the ILP team – created interactive content that is mapped to the school curriculum of 4 states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana) for Grades 5 through 10.
This powerful education package shows historical sites, flows of rivers, and kingdoms of various rulers. Teachers and students have eagerly embraced this new visual learning aid. Tailored content for each grade has enabled the teacher to navigate the curriculum in an easy manner. Even as they sit in their classrooms, students in rural India can now virtually visit the places they are learning about, and begin to understand and appreciate the cultural history and the wonders of our planet. The teachers observed that these tools created interesting conversations in the classroom as the students engaged with the content.
It is imperative for new generations to understand their legacy and seek new horizons. Students needs to see history as more than memorizing dates and geography as more than drawing maps. Through this partnership with Google Earth, ILP has made history and geography come alive with new tools and media content that capture the imagination of young minds as they seek to explore the world around them, both past and present.
You can view all the Google Earth Stories created that are mapped to the school social sciences curriculum.