Scribble Maps, a great tool for editing maps, has recently added some excellent features that they’re calling Scribble Maps Pro. Usually the “pro” label means a company is charging for the extra features but I was able to register and use the new features for free.

As I noted in my original review of Scribble Maps it is still very easy to draw on your Google Maps and add placemarks to your maps. The new Scribble Maps Pro allows you to import KML files, import spreadsheets, and import SHP files. Importing KML files allows you to add free hand drawing on top of files that you may have already created for Google Maps or Google Earth. Importing spreadsheets makes it easy to quickly add placemarks to a large number of places. SHP file importation allows you to add custom shapes to your maps. Watch the following video to see all of these new options in action.

Applications for Education
One advantage of using Scribble Maps over standard Google Maps in the classroom is the ease with which students can get started. Drawing on a Scribble Map is a very intuitive task. If you want to get students quickly marking-up maps, Scribble Maps is a good choice. Using Scribble Maps students could create a map on which they highlight various sites and include short text descriptions of those places. Scribble Maps could also be used to quickly draw a simple timeline on a map.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
101 Ways to Teach Geography
Google Earth and Google Maps Help
QuikMaps – Quickly Customize a Google Map