翻译《ELI7016 - 关于地图混搭你要知道的七件事》
7 things you should know about...
Mapping Mashups
关于地图混搭你要知道的七件事
Scenario
场景说明
As part of a large undergraduate history course he teaches about World War II, Dr. Martinez developed a mapping mashup that he introduces to the 150 students at the beginning of the semester. The mashup, which works with Google maps, represents major events leading up to and during the war. Fundamentally, it's a map, he explains, showing them on a projection screen that it works very much like the online mapping tools students regularly use. The map covers virtually the entire globe, and users can move around the world, zooming in and out, showing the area of search as a map, satellite images, or satellite images with maps, dates, and events superimposed.
作为公共历史课的一部分，马丁尼兹教授负责二战部分。他制作了一份地图混搭，这样就可以在学期初向一百五十名学生介绍课程。这份混搭运行于谷歌地图中，呈现二战之前和当中的重大事件。他解释道，从根本上讲，这还是地图，显示在投影屏上的地图，工作方式非常类似于学生经常用的在线地图工具。该地图几乎涵盖整个地球，用户可以在世界各地自由移动，放大缩小，可以将目标区域显示为绘制地图、卫星图以及混合了绘制地图、卫星图、日期和事件的混合图。
When students zoom in on Europe, they see flags scattered around the continent and into Asia. Similar maps dot Japan, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific. When clicked, each flag opens a pop-up box that names the location, explains what happened there and when, and shows a photograph of that site at or close to the date in question. Flags correspond to important battles, political events, treaties that were signed, and cities such as Vichy, the wartime capital of France. The text in the box also includes links to articles that talk in depth about what took place in each location and the significance of that event. Students can zoom in to particular locations and see satellite images of what the place looks like today. They can also get an idea about the terrain where soldiers fought and died.
学生放大欧洲，会看到散布在大陆上的小旗。进入亚洲，类似的小旗点缀在日本、东南亚、南太平洋。点击小旗，都会有一个弹出框，标明位置、解释什么时候在这里发生了什么事情，同时显示一幅当地接近当时的照片。小旗对应重要的战役、政治事件、签署条约，以及城市，如战时法国首都维希。弹出框中的文字，还包括链接到深入谈论每个地点所发生事件及事件重要性的文章。学生可以放大到具体地点，查看卫星图，看看当地今天是什么样子。他们还可以想像士兵战斗和牺牲地点的地形地势。
During lectures, Dr. Martinez encourages students to have the mapping mashup running and use it to see what he is talking about. Answers to many common questions are available through the application, and Dr. Martinez finds over the semester that students are answering many of their own questions - and asking him more thoughtful ones - than in pervious semesters because the maps integrate content and context. Most importantly, he finds that student comprehension is improved, particularly their understanding of the geography of Europe and the growth, and then regression, of the Axis powers.
在教学中，马丁尼兹教授鼓励学生运行并使用这份地图混搭，看看课上讲的是些什么。通过这款应用，可以回答很多常见问题，马丁尼兹教授发现，与上学期相比，在这个学期，学生解答了很多他们自己提出的问题——问他的问题则更加深入，因为该地图集成了内容与背景。他认为，更重要的是，提高了学生的理解，特别是他们了解了欧洲的地理和经济增长，然后是因为轴心国导致的经济衰退。
What is it?
它是什么？
Mashups combine separate, stand-alone technologies into a novel application. Unlike open source software, mashups typically function through an application programming interface (API), which facilitates communication between the technologies without modification of the source code. Mapping mashups interoperate with an online mapping service, such as those developed by Google or Yahoo, combining data with the mapping application's locating service.
混搭，将分开的独立的技术组合成全新的应用。不像开源软件，混搭通常通过应用编程接口（API）实现功能，这有利于技术间的沟通，而不需要编辑源代码。地图混搭，与谷歌、雅虎开发的在线地图服务相互操作，将地图应用的定位服务与自己的数据相结合。
Online mapping services allow users to navigate most of the globe through a Web interface, viewing varying levels of resolution through maps, satellite imagery, or a combination. Mapping mashups overlay data on those maps with clickable markers showing specific points of interest. For example, a map at geology.com shows 50 of the most easily discernible craters caused by meteorites. The craters are located on six continents, and users can zoom in and see the name, location, and size of each crater.
在线地图服务允许用户通过网页接口浏览地球大部分地方，在绘制地图、卫星图和两者混合地图中，查看不同级别的分辨率。地图混搭将数据覆盖在这些地图上，用可点击的标记显示具体兴趣点。比如，geology.com 的地图显示五十个最容易辨别的陨石坑。这些陨石坑分布在六大洲，用户可以放大，查看名称、位置和每个陨石坑的大小。
Who's doing it?
谁在使用它？
Quite a few colleges and universities have developed mapping mashups for administrative and informational purposes. A number of institutions offer maps, for example, that display information to new and returning students about available housing. Other applications include tools that show where incoming students are from, offering admissions staff a clear, graphical representation of how well regional recruiting programs are working. Similar applications can show where alumni live or can serve as orientation tools for new students as they familiarize themselves with a campus and its facilities.
不少高校已经出于管理和信息目的开发地图混搭。比如，一些学校提供地图，显示新生和老生的住房信息。其他应用包括显示学生来源的工具，为招生人员提供清晰而形象的表示，展示各地区招生的情况。类似的应用还可以显示校友的生活情况，还可为新生提供定位工具，让他们熟悉学校及其设施。
Educational applications are starting to emerge as well. Hobart King, professor of geology and geography at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania, has developed a mapping mashup that helps students learn about plate tectonics. Students see a map of the world with "pushpins" indicating locations where evidence of tectonic plates is most apparent. Satellite images show clearly, for example, that the opposite shores of the Red Sea have what King's map calls a "jigsaw puzzle fit," evidence of plates that are diverging. Each pin on the map gives a brief explanation about what students see when they zoom in and out on the maps and move from one site to another.
教育应用也开始浮现。霍巴特·金，宾夕法尼亚州曼斯菲尔德大学的地理与地质学教授，开发一套地图混搭，帮助学生学习板块构造。学生看到的世界地图上，用“图钉”标明板块构造证据最为明显的证据地点。比如，卫星图很清晰的显示，红海相对的海岸具有金教授所说的“拼图一样般配”，是板块裂开的证据。地图上每一颗“图钉”都提供一段简述，告诉学生缩放地图、移动位置的时候他们看到的是什么。
How does it work?
它是怎么工作的？
Most mapping applications function just as the underlying mapping tools work, with the additional ability to click on markers. The API allows the source-data application and the online map to share longitude and latitude data or address data, accurately locating relevant sites on the mapping service. A database can feed information to a map, as in the case of a housing application, or an instructor can manually locate points of interest and attach markers. Some applications offer markup tools. With these, users can add lines, free-form scribbles, text notes, and other graphical elements to a map.
多数地图应用仅仅发挥地图工具最基本的作用，还有点击标记物获得一些额外功能。API 允许源数据应用与在线地图共享经纬度数据、地址数据，在地图服务上准确找到相关位置。数据库可以为地图提供信息，就像在前面提到的学生住房应用，教师也可以手工找出感兴趣的地点，然后插上标记物。一些应用提供标记工具，利用这些标记工具，用户可以在地图上添加线段，涂鸦、文字说明和其他图形元素。
When users click on a marker, a pop-up window displays information about that location. This information can be text, pictures, audio or video files, or links to other online resources. The pop-up windows can contain static information, such as what an instructor might enter when developing the map, or dynamic information from a database that shows current data.
用户点击标记物，弹出窗口显示该地点信息。这些信息可以使文字、图片、音频、视频，也可以链接到其他在线资源。弹出窗口也可以包含静态信息，比如教师制作地图时输入的东西，也可包含动态信息，来自包含最新数据的数据库。
Why is it significant?
为什么重要？
Students today understand online maps - the old joke about properly folding a roadmap applies doubly to people raised with computers, who may never have used a paper map. Mapping mashups are another opportunity to incorporate a technology students already use into education. The interactive nature of such applications appeals to students, who increasingly seek opportunities to take an active role in thire learning. Whether navigating the content of a mapping application generated by an instructor or applying their own knowledge to build or contribute to a map project, students enjoy the immediate connection of content with its physical place in the world.
学生现在掌握了在线地图——有一个老笑话是说，伴随计算机长大的孩子如何正确折两折地图，他们的确从未用过纸地图。地图混搭是将学生已经在用的技术融入教育的又一次机会。这类应用的互动本质吸引了学生，他们越来越多寻求机会在自身学习中发挥积极作用。无论是浏览教师制作的地图应用的内容，或者用自己的知识或开发或参与一项地图项目，学生很喜欢真实世界与内容之间的实时联系。
Largely because of the early and frequent use of computers, students increasingly benefit from visual learning, and mapping mashups provide sophisticated yet easy-to-use tools for visualization - tools that clearly show spatial relationships. In many cases, rendering data or concepts in a visual form - as opposed to simple text and numbers - helps users see and understand more thoroughly the material being represented.
主要因为学生一直经常使用计算机，日渐从视觉学习获益，地图混搭为视觉提供了先进且易于使用的工具——清晰呈现空间关系的工具。在许多情况下，以视觉形式——而非简单的文字数字——呈现数据或概念，可帮助用户更彻底看懂所呈现的材料。
What are the downsides?
有什么缺点？
One drawback of mapping mashups is that they depend on the underlying mapping service. Although the online maps from Google and Yahoo are generally reliable and stable, any application that uses them will stop functioning should the mapping service be interrupted or discontinued. Moreover, the choice of a mapping application may have implications for a mashup built on it. Although Google Maps appears to have spawned more mashups than Yahoo Maps, for example, the two services are not identical. Further, new mapping services are being developed, complicating the selection of an appropriate service.
地图混搭的一点不足就是，依赖于底层地图服务。虽然谷歌和雅虎在线地图通常可靠而稳定，但如果这些地图服务一旦中断或停工，所有使用这些服务的应用都将停摆。此外，选择一款地图应用也会影响到搭建其上的混搭。比如，虽然谷歌地图似乎比雅虎地图催生了更多的混搭，但这两款服务仍有所不同。将来，产生新的地图服务之后，选择合适的服务会更加复杂。
Another concern with commercial mapping services is that they often focus largely on North America and Europe. The level of detail available for other parts of the world can be spotty, resulting in potential gaps in areas a mashup hopes to cover. Functionally, many mapping mashups demand considerable bandwidth and, as a result, function poorly over slower connections. Finally, creating mapping mashups is not trivial. Although the concept behind a mashup might be straightforward, making it work properly often requires strong technical skills and a considerable amount of time.
商业地图服务另一个令人关注的问题就是，他们多关心北美和欧洲市场。世界其他地区的详细程度参差不齐，导致在混搭覆盖区中形成潜在的空白区域。功能上，许多地图混搭需要很大带宽，因此，在低速连接上缺乏功能。最终，建立地图混搭并非小事。虽然混搭背后的概念可能很简单，要让它正常工作常常需要强大的技术技能和相当长的时间。
Where is it going?
用在什么地方？
Mashups built on online maps are proliferating, covering a wide and growing range of topics. Mashups are being developed, for example, that allow users to "geotag" photographs posted on Flickr. As this practice grows, users can start with global coordinates and search the Web for resources - not limited to photos - that have been tagged with those coordinates.
建立在在线地图之上的混搭日益激增，涉及话题广泛且不断增多。比如，开发出混搭，允许用户利用“地理标签”定位Flickr上的照片。随着这种做法越来越多，用户开始给资源——不仅仅是相片——标记全球坐标，并根据标记坐标在网络上搜索。
Although maps that show drink specials in New York City or fastfood restaurants across the United States might not seem useful for education, these and other mashups offer researchers and educators new ways of presenting and analyzing data. Even zany mashups might be one creative instructor away from being compelling educational tools. As the features and functionality of the underlying online maps grow, so too do the opportunities for new combinations of data with maps.
虽然显示纽约特定饮料，或者显示美国快餐店的地图，可能看上去对教育没有什么用处，但这些混搭为研究者和教育者提供了新的表现手法和可供分析的数据。非常糟糕的混搭有可能让有创造力的教育者远离优秀的教育工具。随着底层在线地图服务的特性和功能不断增长，也为数据和地图的新组合提供了机会。
What are the implications for teaching and learning?
对教育学习有什么影响？
In many fields of study, an understanding of the geographical context of places and events is central to deep comprehension of the subject matter. This applies to areas ranging from the sciences, such as geology or meteorology, to the humanities, such as history or political science. Joining subject matter to a mapping tool provides an educational experience unlike simply reading about a place and then finding it on a map. Applications can show groups of locations on a map, representing how proximity among the sites, topographical features, or other elements of the physical world bear on the subject at hand. Mapping mashups provide a means for placing data and class lessons into a physical context. For some students, this step moves an otherwise abstract concept into the real world, helping them see patterns and movements that explain ideas and their significance.
在许多研究领域，对地点和事件的地理环境的理解，集中于对课题问题的深度理解。应用领域从地质学气象学等科学到历史学政治学等人文科学不等。把课题问题与地图工具结合起来，提供的教育体验，不像先阅读然后在地图上找到位置那么简单。这些应用可以在地图上显示地点群，表现出地点之间的远近程度，地质特征，以及能对手头课题产生影响的现实世界的其他因素。地图混搭为把数据和课堂教学代入真实环境提供了条件。对于某些学生，这一步将其他抽象概念搬进真实世界，帮助他们看到具体的形态和运动，帮助他们解释观念和重大意义。
By their nature, many mapping mashups are particularly well suited to research. To the extent that such tools accurately model the practices of researchers - manipulating data, thinking critically about patterns and relationships - mapping mashups can bring research closer to teaching and provide authentic experiences to students.
就性质而言，许多地图混搭都特别适合研究，以至于这些工具能精确的构建研究者的实践模型——处理数据、对模式和关系的批判思考，地图混搭可以让研究更接近教学，为学生提供真实的体验。
Mapping Mashups
地图混搭
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July 2006
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