National Geographic has just unveiled Open Explorer.
They call it a “digital field journal” where anyone can document their exploration of anything (they use “your backyard” as one simple example), as well as follow the explorations of others (many are much more involved than a backyard).
You need to register for the site, which takes a few seconds. The buttons to “start your own expedition” don’t seem to work right now, but you can easily get to it by clicking on the “Dashboard” button at the top right of the screen after you register. I’m sure they’ll fix that glitch soon.
You can read more about it at Why We Created This First-of-Its-Kind Digital Field Journal.
I have students in my ELL World History class do a project on Explorers, and I’m trying to figure out if I can incorporate this new tool in it.
I’m adding this info to The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience.”