Before today I had only looked at Google Earth once, to have a look at the house I would soon be moving to a few weeks before our big move up to North Queensland. It was exciting enough when I thought that a distorted picture of my street was its only feature! However, after some time spent 'getting to know' Google Earth, I have discovered it is yet another wonderful tool to use in the classroom. What ever did we do without it!
The Google Earth Website boasts that using the site can give you (and your students! - lets not hog it!) access to multitudes of useful educational opportunities including exploring the moon and mars, viewing historical images, discovering the ocean floor and shipwrecks, viewing how landscapes and suburbs have changed over time (think coastal erosion, melting icecaps and perhaps the volcano that is currently erupting in Iceland...). It also features the ability to design buildings and take virtual tours anywhere in the world.
Specific to science, this being my teaching area, Joe Woods Blog has some wonderful ideas on how to apply Google Earth. In his post 'Google Earth (and Maps) in the Classroom' (2008)
he suggests accessing real time earthquake and volcano information or using the information supplied directly from NASA and National Geographic. He also suggests using Google Sky, a subset of Google Earth to access information about space.
The key to Google Earth in the classroom is the fact that is interactive. For this reason, incorporating it into the classroom will appeal not only to active learners (see Felder's Learning Styles) but will also lead to increased retention rates according to the Learning Pyramid as a result of 'learning by doing'... and it makes learning more fun and engaging to boot!
Attention all teachers: this is an ICT that can have links to just about any topic or subject area and is well worth your time and efforts exploring the opportunities.
References
Wood, J. (2008) Google Earth (& Maps) in the Classroom. Joe Woods Online. Retrieved 19 April 2010 from http://www.joewoodonline.com/google-earth-maps-in-the-clasroom
From Data to Design – Reflections on CERA15
8 years ago
Thanks Phebe, I'll have to check it out - I will be teaching SOSE and can think of many applications for interactive, real-time maps and spatial information. Like you I've only ever associated Google Earth with grainy pictures of people washing their cars and the controversy around privacy when the Google Earth car/cameras went around all of the streets taking pictures.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Karen
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