Sketchmap: a system for supporting outdoor collaborative learning by enhancing and sharing learners' experiences (original) (raw)

A system called SketchMap for supporting children's outdoor learning is described. Children use a tablet PC augmented with a GPS receiver and a USB camera, and are asked to draw a map in an outdoor environment. During the map creation tasks, they can easily record what they have found by drawing it or by capturing it in an image, sound, or video. The map created by children is used for enhancing their further learning. By allowing individual children to share their own outdoor experiences through the maps, SketchMap supports children's collaborative knowledge sharing and construction processes. The development of SketchMap is in progress. The current version of SketchMap has been used in educational practices in collaboration with a Japanese elementary school. In this paper, preliminary evaluation results of SketchMap and future works are discussed.