How this N.B. teacher combines computer gaming and geography lessons in his classroom

Imagine being dropped in a random location in the world and having to guess where you are.

Well, that is the premise of an online game called GeoGuessr. And not only is it a fun way to brush up on world knowledge, it can also be an interactive tool for teaching geography to young students.

Paul Adams, a teacher at Fundy Middle and High School in St. George, uses the game in his lessons and is an avid player himself.

"I was looking for something that I was going to be organically enthusiastic about," Adams, whose main subject is history, said in an interview.

"And also, I knew from when I was in high school, and I assumed it was still true today, that geography is not a strong suit when you're 12,13,14,15."

Adams started using the game to help strengthen his students' world geography skills and also their local knowledge.

And he's already seen an improvement in their ability to read a map. At a minimum, they now know where to find Saint John and some other communities, and where Toronto is relative to the Saint John area.

The game works with Google Streetview, dropping the user into random locations anywhere in the world or in a specific region identified by the game host.

The user then can move around forward and back and look left and right, searching for clues as to where they are, before then guessing the location on a map.

The closer the guess, the more points the user receives.

A time limit can be applied, but Adams said he usually plays without one to go easy on himself.

The game used to allow 20 minutes of free play every 24 hours, but since Feb. 1, the platform has required a paid membership for any play.

Adams has a yearly membership and with that, he will often create a game lobby. Students will join the game using a code on their phone or computer.

Then the location is displayed on a classroom smart board — a type of digital whiteboard — and his students either compete against each other or work as a group to identify where they've been placed.

He said he will sometimes select specific maps, such as Charlotte County, so his students can get acquainted with their own surroundings.

Adams started playing by himself about seven years ago, and for him, one of the attractions is being able to explore the world.

"Travel's always been expensive, it's only gotten more expensive in the last year, so it gives me an excuse to see perhaps areas of Canada I'd never see," said Adams. 

"Like if you play the Canada map, you get dropped in Yukon quite often. I don't know if I'm ever going to find a way or reason to go to Yukon, but I think it gives you just a hint of that travel excitement."

Adams said his students have also liked playing, but it depends on the class — some are happy to play every Friday, while other classes aren't as enthusiastic about it.

One thing he's noticed as he's introduced the game, is that students' questions have changed.  

In the beginning, for example, students would ask where Saint John is on a map or where a certain location is relative to Toronto, but those questions have started to go away.

"To me, that makes it worthwhile on its own," said Adams.

"It's gamifying geography a little bit and giving these geography crash courses that I think are quite useful to knowing about other countries and about Canada itself."