Hopes pinned on new Google site boosting interest in Scottish history

Published on Wednesday 14 July 2010 14:55

CONTROVERSIAL internet site Google Street View is being used to create an online portal that is set to transform the teaching of history in Scottish schools.

• The early image of Charing Cross in Glasgow shows the construction work on M8 flyover

History Pin, an online photograph archive, has teamed up with Google to link pictures of the past with the current image on Google Street View.

Images already posted on the site show how the Canongate in Edinburgh looked a century ago compared with today and Calton Jail on Regent Road, mostly replaced by St Andrew's House government building.

An image of Charing Cross in Glasgow is compared to how the site looked in the late 60s and early 70s when the flyover across the M8 motorway was under construction.

Google Street View has been attacked by civil rights groups for invading privacy. However, the new use for the site has been praised by the education sector in Scotland. Rod Grant, the headteacher of Clifton Hall School in Edinburgh, said: "History Pin could become a valuable educational tool.

"Children are fascinated by pictures of the past anyway, but the added feature of being able to overlay an old photograph with the modern-day setting provides an immediate and valuable indication of the changes that come about over long periods of time."

Fiona Norris, the programme director at Learning and Teaching Scotland, the body responsible for the curriculum, said it has its own history portal. But she said other online resources were a fantastic way to engage pupils and stimulate interest in history.

She said: "They offer a wealth of information and interactive activities for learners to help develop an understanding of how Scotland has grown as a nation, as well as an appreciation of their heritage within the global community."

• The website shows Calton Jail transposed on to a modern-day shot of Regent Road, Edinburgh

Scottish history has been a key issue in recent years with the SNP promising to boost teaching of the subject once it came to power.

Previous Higher history pupils in Scotland could achieve the qualification without studying any element of Scottish history. Now a Scottish element is compulsory and various websites have been created to boost understanding of the subject under the new curriculum.

Tourism chiefs said the new history website might also boost visitor numbers.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish tourist board, Visit Scotland, said history was a "major draw" for overseas tourists.

She said: "This website is great news as it really brings that to life.

Many visitors come to Scotland to research their family tree and walk in the footsteps of their ancestors.

"The History Pin website will, hopefully, give them even more inspiration to book their trip to Scotland."

Google Street View caused controversy when it sent cameras across the country to take pictures of every street. Critics protested against the move, saying it infringed the right to privacy of people going about their everyday lives.

• Much of the Canongate in Edinburgh has a familiar feel with the Tolbooth clock still on show today

Police in the US, Europe and Australia were asked to investigate Google over possible breaches of telecommunications privacy laws following complaints from members of the public. Google later admitted it had stored wireless computer information picked up by the street view cars.

But calls to shut down the site in the UK last year were rejected by the privacy watchdog, which said it would not be right to "turn the digital clock back".

When the service launched, users discovered a man walking out of a sex shop and another being sick outside a pub. Residents of Broughton, near Milton, blocked the driver of a Google car, which captures the photographs, when it tried to enter the village..