I did not truly realize until today how amazing a resource Google Earth really is. Not only is it fun to see the town or state you live in, but it's an excellent way to "travel" anywhere on Earth. This afternoon I "saw" whales off the coast of Australia, the ancient Mayan ruins of Becan, and the island of Santorini, Greece. Google Earth also offers animated 3D tours of places like the Roman Colosseum, cathedrals around the world, a trip through Asia, and a view of the solar system. This program offers unlimited learning opportunities and can be integrated into nearly every school subject. It is an amazing piece of technology and I'm excited to see how it will grow and advance over the next decade. Hopefully in the future they will have high quality imaging of the entire world (and space) and a real 3D look of major landmarks and historical sites.
Possible Projects
Take a Virtual Field Trip
Student Autobiography (Students can place placemarks at significant personal locations and add stories/pictures at the locations to create an autobiography tour.)
Where Are We Today? (Like the game "20 Questions")
How To Begin
After downloading Google Earth, go to www.google.com, click on ADVANCED SEARCH and under File Format choose KMZ before searching. KMZ, or Keyhole Markup Zipped, is the type of file that Google Earth saves in. After you find an interesting KMZ, double-click and it will open in GE. It will open under your temporary locations so you will need to save it in "My Places" if you want to return to it later.
-You can read tutorials on how to use Google Earth.
-Google Earth also offers many ideas for educators.
Additional Resources
Google Earth Lessons
Discovery Google Earth
Google Lit Trips
Google Earth Blog
Google Sightseeing
Google Earth How-To Videos
Rome
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1 comment:
WOW! that is a fabulous way to use google earth. You also has some great ideas and i would love to learn more about how to use it and integrate this tool into a lesson or project.
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