I came to Juneau for the first time in June of 2012. From May – September I didn’t live in Juneau proper, I lived 12 miles in on the Mendenhall Glacier at Dog Camp. We were a glacier dog sledding tour with 300 dogs and 18 people living on the ice. It was one of the most beautiful and desolate places I’ve ever lived. Many liken the experience to living on the moon, and even though we were only 12 miles away from downtown Juneau, it felt another world away. I came down off the glacier once a week for 24 hours and would explore Juneau in my free time. While I got to know parts of Juneau intimately, I am still a stranger to others. I view Juneau through the lens of a constant tourist.
In reflection on using My Maps, I believe this was a good way to show places to fellow users geographically, but I feel like this is still a shallow method of storytelling. I feel limited by only using texts and videos in the public domain. If I were a teacher I think I would use this as an introductory brainstorming technique, but I would want my students to go even further by creating their own video of place. Of course that is easier said than done!
Shivani, I definitely agree that MyMaps was a little shallow but a great starting point for a lesson or bigger project. Great choices on where to check out in Juneau, I personally had no idea there was a Sled Dog camp.
Thank you for sharing this view of Juneau! It is so amazing that you have been here so long, but have not really been in the community of Juneau- I am excited you will get to interact with more Juneau-ites this year as a teacher, as the community is so welcoming! I had experience using this program for a historical literature project, marking landscapes in Ancient Greece, Rome, to tell a story about the relationship of the people to the land based on literature. It was so cool, so I think you are right there is potential to make this a great project!
I am definitely going to try the salmon dip at the Island Pub! These all sound great, and they’re really useful recommendations. I’m glad we did this project so early in the semester – I don’t know Juneau at all, and it’s great to start out by getting so many perspectives on what to do and where to go.
Yup, ditto on the salmon dip… I like the dog sledding pic. I have spent a bit of time on glaciers too. I aways thought the harding ice field really looked moonish. Thanks for leaving some starting places of where to go for new folks in town!