Journal Eight- "Google Spy"

By: Michael Agger

Google has launched a new program called Google Street View, which allows people to access 360-degree images of the streets in popular U.S. cities including: San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, Denver, and Miami. Images are captured by a van equipped with a camera. Numerous people feel Google Street View infringes on people's right to privacy. Although images are not displayed in real time, people are still being caught by the cameras in inappropriate place or doing embarrassing things. Google does allow people to report images they want removed and feel people should not be concerned about privacy issues because the camera captures the same public images a person would see when walking down the street.

Questions

1. How can teachers use Google Street View as part of a lesson plan?
2. Since the article states that Google Street View has displayed embarrassing or inappropriate images, do you feel it is suitable for a teacher to have her class view?

Answers

1. Teachers can use Google Street View to show students how various major cities in the United States look. The teacher can have their students compare the certain aspects of different cities. For example, can the student tell a population difference between New York and San Francisco by the amount of people walking down the street. The program can also teach students about the different architecture in popular cities. The teacher might have students compared the building in New York to those is Miami, to see that buildings are much taller in New York because space is limited. Finally, Google Street View will also allow student to see the difference in weather among the cities. For example, a teacher can have a student view three cities in different parts of the United States, Miami, Denver, and San Francisco, and have student come the weather.
2. I feel it is suitable to a teacher to have her class view Google Street View as long as they preview the material before displaying it for their students. If a teacher has not seen the images they are presenting to the students, they might show something that the parents feel is inappropriate. I would also recommend the teacher has the parents sign a permission slip stating the information about the program and any possible warnings. This will allow parents to decide whether their child should participate and possibly encourage the parents to access it, alone or with their child, before it is presented to the class.