Google Lit Trip

I just explored Google Lit Trip and found it a pretty exciting new avenue to take literature. It works in hand with Google Earth which must be downloaded and you can do that at the lit trip site. Through this media teachers can actually bring students into the story....not just to the story. Mapping the story through Google Earth enables students to see what the land was like at that time and now through a map, view a podcast, view art from that time period, etc. As mentioned on the site, it completely surrounds the student with the story. Teachers can include pop up descriptions of the places that have been mapped along with photos. Additionally, links to external resources can be added.

Having a student build a lit trip was an idea that was shared on the site. Students/others can comment on each lit trip, as well.

I spent awhile going through many different novels and I can see how it would easily grasp a student's level of engagement to further explore and create dialogue. I couldn't find where teachers register on the site to start working on it though, which was odd to me. I'll be back to try and figure that out unless someone knows how, then feel free to share :)