Suzie Boss’ article, "New York Children Take a Google Lit Trip" discusses an event where a teacher was able to successfully incorporate a new technology and a literature study in such a way as to make the book come alive.  As a library media specialist, Anne Brusca was able to utilize her knowledge of google maps in order to add to a 5th grade teacher's desire to create a project where students could actually visualize and relate to the journey that the characters in their books had taken.  In this project, students explored pre-set "placemarks" using google maps, to see where events in their book had unfolded.  
This article spoke to me as I used google maps on my smart board last week.  My students are studying geography and early American history at this moment.  Using google maps, I was able to take their direction and locate different historical points of interest.  In this way, my students were able to connect to the information they were learning, while using a visual stimulus, and participating in their learning.  It also promoted a strong connection to the world around them.
However, I was wondering how I would be able to include this technology in a formal project, or on more of an individual basis, as opposed to a support at the end of a lesson.  This article showed one successful way to incorporate technology into the classroom as a whole.  Using google maps in a literature project provides a structure for students to explore their learning on their own.  It was very exciting to read about this usage.