Playing with Google Earth (NETS-T I, II, V)

In trying to learn how Google Earth works I created a tour of My Peace Corps Service. I am still learning the technology and this is a first draft. After I went through it a couple of times I learned that I can add text, audio and pictures to each place that I went. This would be a powerful tool to bring real world issues into the classroom and into context. I look forward to exploring further the opportunities for learning that Google Earth can provide.

Click here to view a draft of my tour of service or copy and past the link below:
   ***For best results in viewing the presentation  un-select all layers except for Borders and Terrain before starting the tour. 
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=901637&filename=20100502225324-4bde64d479ad71.62750704.kmz

*** Follow along with the tour and read more about the different places that I visited. 

This is my Peace Corps Service Tour of Morocco

SAN DIEGO, CA
I started my journey in San Diego.

PHILIDELPHIA, PA
I flew to Philadelphia for Staging. I met my fellow volunteers in training for the first time. In Philadelphia we covered the many rules of Peace Corps and the hard ships we may endure. We were given one last chance to jump ship if we felt this was not for us.

ENTER MOROCCO:

CASABLANCA

From Philadelphia we flew to Casablanca the economic capital of Morocco.

RABAT
From the airport we took a bus immediately to Rabat the political capital of Morocco. In Rabat we started reviewing the in country rules of our service and protocols for safety. We were also given with what seemed like every vaccination under the sun. We stayed in Rabat for 3 days before getting in a bus and traveling 12 hours south to the desert oasis city of Ouarzazate.

OUARZAZATE
In Ouarzazate we set up camp at a hotel. This would be one of our temporary homes for the next 3 months of training. In Ouarzazate we met each week for a couple of days to cover more Peace Corps Rules,  community development and participation philosophies and of course to get more vaccinations.

KELATA M’GOUNA
During the rest of the week we would stay in a small village called a douar out side of the small city of Kelata M’gouna. There we would live with a host family and practice the native language of Tamazight. We would study daily with our teacher and put to practice many of the need assessment activities we had learned with our host village.

OUARZAZATE
Back to Ouarzazate we graduated from Peace Corps Training and then it was off to our new homes for the next two years. 

ERACHIDIA
On the way to my new home of we stopped in Errachidia to meet with my counterparts of the ministry of water and forest.

RISSANI
From Errachidia we traveled to Rissani which would be my souk or market town and internet site

M’CISSI
M’cissi is located half way between the two market towns of Rissani and Alnif along a long desert road. There I studied Tamazight and worked primarily with the community association in gathering ideas for community development. I also worked with the ministry of water and forest putting together protocols for monitoring the vegetation on the new gazelle reserve.

My service in M’cissi came to an end after 8months of service because of unsafe transportation issues.

AZROU
I was moved to a new site in the Middle Atlas Mountains outside of the small city of Azrou. 

BEN SMIM
The small village of Ben Smim was my new home. It is located 10 minutes away by grand taxi ride outside of Azrou. There I worked with a Women’s Medicinal and Aromatic Plant cooperative and with youth on capacity building activities.

MOROCCO
I finished my Peace Corps service in June of 2007 after spending two years in the country off Morocco it feels like a second home.

Qimas G Alman (Stay in Peace, Tamazight)