Google Mashups are a great way to map data quickly and easily. While these mashups are not a replacement for GIS they can be a perfect solution for many projects.

Professor of Philosophy Dan Lloyd and Data Specialist Rachael Barlow got us started with Dan's "Invisible Cities", a First Year course at Trinity College, which seeks to explore the hidden dimensions of the places we inhabit, with a special emphasis on the dynamic city of Hartford.  As one of their course projects, students in the course used the new technology of Google Map Mash-ups to develop different ways to see the city.  The students worked in conjunction with local community agencies (CREN and HART), along with Carlos Espinosa at the TrinfoCafe, to develop these maps.

Dan and his students have continued working with mashups and developed a great guide to making mashups with zeemaps.com: Download the Google Mashup User Guide.

Students in Dina Anselmi's Child Psychology class made mashups as part of a public policy project. Both groups of students worked with community organizations to develop a resource which could be useful to local residents. Two mashups were created for the Hartford area: HUSKY insurance providers and single parent resources.