Soon reading a paperback or even an only- text eBook may be a thing of the past for applications like Google Lit Trips have begun to provide an interactive reading experience. Integrating with the satellite images provided by Google Earth and Google maps, Google Lit Trips aims to virtually transport the reader to the location and time of a book. Several aids like period music and pictures are used to recreate the ambiance of a bygone time.
The man behind Google Lit Trips is Jerome Burg, a retired Livermore, Calif teacher. The invention has its roots in Burg’s early fiddling with Google Earth. He fidgeted with path tool and ended up writing a code which made Volatire’s classic Candide an interactive read. Speaking to Post Media News, Jerome Burg said, “I want kids to feel like they are sitting in a car with the Joads ( from John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath), looking out the windshield, traveling with them-in that story, in that environment.”
Google Lit Trips hasn’t gained a cult following yet but more than 1000 students, teachers and book lovers are visiting it each day to download free guides on whatever they plan to read next. Equipped with HTML coding, teachers can even add more images, audio files or notes to the guides available.
The guides can be run on a number of devices like computers, notebooks, Apple’s iPad, Kindle and a several eBook readers. A Lit Trip transports the reader to a 3-D view of the environment obtained through Google Earth. There are supporting images, text and music to give the reader a feel of the time in which the book is set. In-guide notes which can be added by anyone with HTML knowledge will serve in explaining the meanings, marking the importance or initiating discussion about a scene in the book at its real life location.
