This is the slide deck that supported the original Global World History ATlas (www.gwhat.org) concept in 2004. Stored here for archive purposes. And laughs.

1. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT Project Proposal – March, 2004
GWHAT – Graphical World History ATlas
Provides map content and map browser at no cost
• GWHAT content: high quality, comprehensive, & interoperable
• GWHAT browser: for easily finding and displaying maps
To help teachers teach better
• By providing materials that: are easy to find, customizable, work
together, and can be tied directly to curriculum requirements
And to help students learn in new ways
• By providing a means to explore the world throughout history
1

2. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
The GWHAT need: current history and
geography achievement are unsatisfactory
Millions of students and teachers use maps each year
• 32 million students, 4 million new each year (grades 5-12)
• 1 million teachers teach history and geography
But students are not meeting US standards
12th graders below basic achievement (2001)
• History – 57%
• Geography - 29%
And not doing well relative to non-US students
• American students – scored 41% on National
Geographic Geography Literacy Survey
• Others scored >67% - Sweden, Germany, Italy
2

3. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
The GWHAT need: current map-based
resources are inadequate
Textbook maps, wall maps Online maps – clumsy,
– limited in scope, variety, and incomplete, and hard to find
interactivity, quickly outdated
Commercial software – GIS – interoperable data, but can
expensive, proprietary, not be very complex, hard to learn
customizable
3

4. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
The GWHAT solution:
free map content and free map browser
MAIN CONTENT TYPES MAIN BROWSER FUNCTIONS
BASIC GEOGRAPHY – like FINDING MAPS – think of it as a
shorelines, terrain relief
Map
THEMATIC INFORMATION – like DISPLAYING MAPS – that can be
political boundaries, census animated or interactive, the same
data, battle campaigns way a media player plays video
4

5. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT content addresses key shortfalls of
existing content for K-12 use
Existing digital content GWHAT content
- Poor labeling - Standardized labeling
- Scope limited by area of map - Comprehensive across globe
- Snapshot in time - Comprehensive across time
- No interoperability - Interoperable – maps work together
- Inconsistent shorelines - Consistent shorelines
- Very often niche in focus - High level to start
- Often restricted for reuse - Freely resuable
… is a fuzzy picture - Designed to be viewed online
- Designed for K-12 education needs
- Expandable
… creates a virtual time machine
5

6. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT browser
brings GWHAT content to life
Makes maps easy to find – Can display non-GWHAT maps
search by region or time period
Links from map to related
Displays map animations to information
show the unfolding of events
over time Supports multiple languages
Enables comparisons by
overlaying information from
multiple maps at the same
time
Zooms in to show more detail
Zooms around to show what
else was going on at that time
6
map and player source: www.timemap.net

7. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
Sample teacher workflow using GWHAT
Teacher Uses browser Finds and Adds other map
reviews to search for downloads map modules to
lesson relevant content produced by provide
plan teacher across additional
the state information
Removes Adds notes & Uses map in Students
some map publishes lecture using access map
info not new, custom printouts or online from
relevant to map so other LCD projector class, library,
lesson teachers can or home
7
find it.

8. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT could provide totally new benefits
for education
STUDENTS TEACHERS
• Comparative learning – e.g. • Customizable course materials
overlaying a natural resources – bundle together sets of different
map with a population density maps for a particular lesson plan
map
• Exploratory learning – panning • Quickly find course materials –
across the world to Asia to see quickly find the right maps instead
what was happening there at the of searching the web endlessly
same time Columbus was and compromising on content and
discovering the New World quality
• Experiential learning - • Self-populating content catalog
animations – remembering the – teachers can publish content to
sequence of history because you the search engine and also find
have watched it, instead of by content created by other teachers
remembering dates
8

9. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Supporting current events
6th grade students in California study
ancient river valley civilizations,
like Mesopotamia
A teacher wants to describe how
current Iraq conflict is related to
what her students are studying
GWHAT use:
1. Teacher starts with a current
map
2. Removes terrain information
3. Adds transparency of current
ethnic diversity
4. Plays map backwards in history
to show where current ethnic
groups came from (not shown)
5. Keeps playing map backwards,
all the way to the dawn of
civilization (next slide) 9

10. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Supporting current events
6th grade students in California study
ancient river valley civilizations,
like Mesopotamia
A teacher wants to describe how
current Iraq conflict is related to
what her students are studying
GWHAT use:
1. Teacher starts with a current map
2. Removes terrain information
3. Adds transparency of current
ethnic diversity
4. Plays map backwards in history
to show where current ethnic
groups came from (not shown)
5. Keeps playing map backwards,
all the way to the dawn of
civilization (next slide)
10

11. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Supporting current events
6th grade students in California study
ancient river valley civilizations,
like Mesopotamia
A teacher wants to describe how
current Iraq conflict is related to
what her students are studying
GWHAT use:
1. Teacher starts with a current map
2. Removes terrain information
3. Adds transparency of current
ethnic diversity
4. Plays map backwards in history
to show where current ethnic
groups came from (not shown)
5. Keeps playing map backwards,
all the way to the dawn of
civilization (next slide)
11

12. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
“Drilling down” into more detail
Students are still studying
Mesopotamia, which they
now know is where current-
day Iraq is
The students then:
1. Select a region of
Mesopotamia in Iraq
2. Go back in time, stopping to
notice Hammurabi
3. Back further, to the period of
interest
4. Then the city of Babylon
5. Then the Temple of Marduk
(GWHAT supports pictures,
too!)
12

13. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
“Drilling down” into more detail
Students are still studying
Mesopotamia, which they
now know is where current-
day Iraq is
The students then:
1. Select a region of
Mesopotamia in Iraq
2. Go back in time, stopping
to notice Hammurabi
3. Back further, to the period of
interest
4. Then the city of Babylon
5. Then the Temple of Marduk
(GWHAT supports pictures,
too!)
13

14. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
“Drilling down” into more detail
Students are still studying
Mesopotamia, which they
now know is where current-
day Iraq is
The students then:
1. Select a region of
Mesopotamia in Iraq
2. Go back in time, stopping to
notice Hammurabi
3. Back further, to the period
of interest
4. Then the city of Babylon
5. Then the Temple of Marduk
(GWHAT supports pictures,
too!)
14
NOTE: Internet viewers may need a special plug-in to see the animations

15. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
“Drilling down” into more detail
Students are still studying
Mesopotamia, which they
now know is where current-
day Iraq is
The students then:
1. Select a region of
Mesopotamia in Iraq
2. Go back in time, stopping to
notice Hammurabi
3. Back further, to the period of
interest
4. Then the city of Babylon
5. Then the Temple of Marduk
(GWHAT supports pictures,
too!)
15
NOTE: Internet viewers may need a special plug-in to see the animations

16. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
“Drilling down” into more detail
Students are still studying
Mesopotamia, which they
now know is where current-
day Iraq is
The students then:
1. Select a region of
Mesopotamia in Iraq
2. Go back in time, stopping to
notice Hammurabi
3. Back further, to the period of
interest
4. Then the city of Babylon
5. Then the Temple of
Marduk (must supports
pictures, too!)
16

17. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Multilingual support for language studies
GWHAT-targeted content will be
able to support multiple
languages
Map labeling can be switched
from one language to another
at the touch of a switch
Contextual information, such as
links to related web-based
information can be changed as
well
Students can use the same tool
across classes
17

18. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Multilingual support for language studies
GWHAT-targeted content will be
able to support multiple
languages
Map labeling can be switched
from one language to another
at the touch of a switch
Contextual information, such as
links to related web-based
information can be changed as
well
Students can use the same tool
across classes
18

19. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
19

20. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
20

21. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
21

22. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
22

23. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
23

24. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
24

25. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
25

26. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
26

27. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
27

28. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
28

29. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT in action:
Art history
Example: Picasso’s career
Students can see the order of
his paintings and styles
and where he created
them
Layers could be added to
compare the careers of
Matisse or Braque
Could compare art to other
world events, such as the
fighting that inspired
Guernica
29

30. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT content library will be built up from
structured and unstructured programs
GWHAT will provide high-level
baseline content
• Global “background” info
• Civilization and country evolution
animations GWHAT backgrounds
GWHAT animations
Existing content will then be
added and linked
• Tiger team of GWHAT volunteers Existing Web Content
Further GWHAT custom
content will be provided by: Teachers’ materials
• Open source contributions, wikis
Funded content
• Teachers creating local materials
• Grant-funded content creation
30

31. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
The GWHAT concept can work
Collaborative content successes
• Oxford English Dictionary
• Human Genome Project
• Wikipedia
Open source software successes
• Linux operating system
• Apache web server
• Mozilla browser
Standards successes
• HTML fuels WWW growth
• .doc, .xls fuels Office growth
It would work best by moving quickly, with a well-
coordinated, well-funded approach. 31

32. DRAFT GWHAT PROPOSAL
GWHAT operations
• 501(c) 3 organization – nonprofit corporation
• Centered around education, technology, community activism, and
information sharing
• Centralized management, distributed volunteer participation
• Drives agreement on appropriate maps display and interoperability
standards
• Coordinates open source, free software and content development
• Funded by philanthropy, foundations, and government grants
32