Fresh Look Fridays - Panoramas

Today's Fresh Look Fridays website is one of my all time favourites!  I've know about this one for quite awhile now, I've just felt that I couldn't feature it until I could take the time to write a proper review and do this website justice.

Panoramas.dk is a website that does exactly as it sounds -- provides a wide array of 360 degree panoramic images.  These panoramas are fantastic -- they're all interactive in some way.  When used on a SMART Board, students can spin the image to explore previously unknown areas of the world.  Some panoramas also allow for varying degrees of zoom or an audio component.

The links to curriculum are as endless as the amount of panoramas.  I've included links to specific panoramas with a brief description of how they could be used in a variety of subject areas and grade levels:

 1. This specific panorama was taken during a peace demonstration in Trafalgar Square in 2004, shortly after Britain announced that they were joining the war in Iraq.  What an excellent example of using this site to promote discussions surrounding current events -- whether 'current' (see the panorama of Poland after the death of their president) or historical.  Use the SMART Board to have students explore, zoom in to see details and hear the message being delivered over the loudspeaker.  See if you can find the protester carrying the placard that relates then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to a well-known cartoon fibber.

2. One of the themes in many Science classes is the study of structures (obviously with varying degrees of depth and understanding depending on grade level).  Instead of looking at flat, grainy pictures or hand drawn replications in a textbook, why not have students search out panoramic images of structures around the world?  The Golden Gate Bridge and the Eiffel Tower are just a small sample of what's available for your kids to explore.

3. Obviously, the most powerful component of this website is its ability to give students the opportunity to actually see, in nearly-3D glory, any area of the world.  For example, Grade 2 students in Alberta explore Peru in their Social Studies class.  How exciting for little 7-year-olds to be able to experience an area such as Machu Picchu! What better way to get students to visualize a foreign location and make connections between this visual and the concepts they're learning in class?

4. While the panoramas available on this website are taken within the last decade or so, don't discount the impact they can have when exploring historical concepts.  Studying WWII? Why not take a virtual fieldtrip to the beaches of Normandy (pulling up a panorama of one of the D-Day landing sites on your SMART Board is cheaper than 28 plane tickets to Europe).







I've really only scratched the surface of the wide variety of ways panoramas.dk could be used in the classroom.  I strongly encourage teachers of all grades and subject areas to take time getting familiar with the website.  I guarantee that you won't be disappointed!

Have a great weekend everyone! =)

Vanessa