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Monday, April 6, 2015

Women on the Map: A Great Opportunity for a Crowdsourcing Project

As you may already know, I like women's history. And I like the idea of students conducting authentic work for a meaningful audience by participating in crowd-sourcing projects. So you better believe I love the idea of Women on the Map, a new project of SPARK Movement hosted on Field Trip, a mapping app by Google.

They explain the project--and how to participate--better than I can, so I'm just going to quote them:

"Looking around, you’d think that women rarely did things that made history. ... Think about the schools you’ve attended, the buildings you’ve worked in, the streets you’ve lived on and driven down. Who were they named after? Probably not women. ...

"That’s what we’re aiming to fix with Women on the Map, a new project of SPARK Movement hosted on Field Trip, a mapping app by Google.

"So far, we’ve researched and written about over 100 women around the world who have done something incredible. Then, using Field Trip, we linked those achievements with IRL places. When you download Field Trip and turn on SPARK’s Women on the Map, your phone will buzz when you approach a place where a woman made history. ...

"[The app is] available for free on Android and iOS. Once you’ve downloaded it, look for “SPARK: Women on the Map” in “Historic Places and Events.” Make sure the box is checked, and that’s it!

"This is only the beginning. There are so, so many more than 100 women who deserve to be honored, from all walks of life and all parts of the world. Here’s how you can help put their stories on the map:

1)   You can contribute to this database and write about a woman whose life inspires you. She could be someone from your hometown or someone from ancient history.  Write a 150-300 word bio about her life (she can’t still be living) and accomplishments–make sure you include a specific location for us to link her bio to! Find a photo or image to go along with it. Email to sparkteam@sparksummit.com and write “Women On The Map” in the subject line. ...

What do you think? Can your students use resources from Women's History Matters (including our Places page and the digitized Montana The Magazine of Western History articles) to add some Montana women to the map? I'm thinking about Margaret Daly (Hamilton), Alma Jacobs (Great Falls), Elouise Cobell (Browning), Jeannette Rankin (Helena or Missoula), Hazel Hunkins (Billings), Sacajawea (Pompey's Pillar), Sarah Bickford (Virginia City), Buffalo Calf Road Woman (Rosebud Battlefield), and Dorothy Johnson (Whitefish). How about you? Who are you thinking of?

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