Data Driven Activities: Google Planimeter

Google Planimeter is a mashup, meaning it is a tool that repurposes one service (in this case, Google Maps), to accomplish a new goal (in this case, measuring area). Using Planimeter, students can zoom in on anything in a Google map, set waypoints around the item, and retrieve information on area on different scales (square meters, hectares, square kilometers, square feet, acres, and square miles). Since Google Maps allows you to switch between map view, satellite view (actual images of houses, buildings, etc.), and topographic view, it's easy for students to calculate the area of different items like the local mall, the school, a lake, or a mountain. This information can be used to answer teacher challenges, such as "find the mountain in North Carolina with the largest area."