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Abstract
Game-based Web sites and applications are changing the ways in which students learn the world map. In this study, a Web map-based digital learning tool was used as a study aid for a university-level geography course in order to examine the way in which global scale cognitive maps are constructed. A network analysis revealed that clicks were negatively correlated with familiarity, but were positively correlated with area. More significantly, well-known countries did not act as central nodes within network-based mental models, but served a more complex mediating role in structuring the space between subregions.
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Acknowledgments
The author wishes to express his gratitude to Dr. Philippe Giabbanelli, Dr. Jerry Mitchell, and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions for improvement of the manuscript. This work was supported by the National Council for Geographic Education and the E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Geography Education Research Grant.
Notes
1 Lizard Point (www.lizardpoint.com/geography), Seterra (www.seterra.com), and Sheppard Software (sheppardsoftware.com) are three examples of Web map-based, place-learning tools available online and in applications that can be installed to tablets and smart devices. While Seterra focuses exclusively on geography, both Lizard Point and Sheppard Software have similar quiz-based tools for math, biology, art, and many other subjects. They feature personalized logins to so students and teachers can track progress, and are free to use.
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Funding
Notes on contributors
Thomas J. Pingel
Thomas J. Pingel is an assistant professor in the Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA. His research focuses on lidar processing, geovisualization, and spatial cognition.