10 INTERESTING WAYS TO USE GOOGLE EARTH
Here are some great ways to use Google Earth! Check them out!
#1 - TAKE A VIRTUAL DRIVE!
- plan a drive to a location and let you students to on a VIRTUAL DRIVE!
#2 - WHERE ARE WE TODAY?
- pick a location and zoom into street view
- have students guess where the location is (country, landmark, etc)
#3 - SHAKESPEARE TOUR
- show the students where he was born
- visit where his plays were performed
#4 - MARK YOUR BOOKS
- mark on the globe the where the books you are reading in your class were written
#5 - OVERLAY HISTORIC MAPS
- take a historical map and overlay it on Google Earth
#6 - OVERLAY CONTOUR MAPS
- use a mountainous area
- put contour map over it so that students can get a better understanding of how it works
#7 - VISIT HISTORIC PLACES
- visit different historic sites and landmarks
#8 - RIVER PROJECT
- find the beginning of a river and follow it to the ocean
#9 - CITY PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION
- have students find an underdeveloped area and then plan a city and build it using Google Earth and Sketchup
#10 - THIS IS MY LIFE PROJECT
- have students follow their lives and mark the place they were born, where they have lived, and where they have traveled
Which one did you find most interesting? How are you going to use Google Earth in your classroom?
Google Earth seems to have endless possibilities in the classroom. The 10 idea your provided were great. My favorite was number 10 "This is my life project." I think this would be a great thing to incorporate into my classroom. I could see working this in as a getting to know you activity at the beginning of the year. Or even integrating it into the ekids curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI liked the tenth suggestion too, and I was thinking of using it as a getting to know you activity as well. It's a great way to set the climate of your classroom, and show the kids that technology is going to be a big part of their curriculum in your class.
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DeleteIn addition, I thought it would be interesting to have students pick locations around the world that they would like to visit and have them map out a trip. It would be neat for them to be able to choose locations and set goals based on where they would like to visit. I could see using this with upperclassmen preparing to go to College to plan study abroad trips.
DeleteI can remember I had an assignment in middle school where we had to plan a trip for our teacher and had to research locations, attractions, prices, etc. and do it all on a budget. I like the idea of having students plan a trip with a set amount of money and using Google Earth to highlight pieces of the trip. Turn it into a contest and see who is the most convincing for their trip!
DeleteChristian- what a fun idea! The fact that you even remember the project shows that the learning process stuck with you because the project was directly related to your world. If I was a math teacher, I would definitely implement this into my classroom!
DeleteA lot of these suggestions are a bit over the heads of my kids, but I like the idea of choosing a "Spot of the Day" and having students try to figure out where the location is. That would tie in really well with different science standards, and provide students with plenty of exposure to landmarks and world terrain.
ReplyDeleteI think "spot of the day" would be great to use with elementary students. You could even have a student pick the place of the day! Great idea.
Deletegreat ideas.
Deleteleña del árbol caído
I too like the spot of the day - maybe there is a bucket of options...and the one chosen leads us to a direction of discovering a significant place in history. Site seeing at its cheapest:)
DeleteI love the idea of using Google earth in the classroom. Just reading through the list of suggestions gave me countless ideas. I love the idea of visiting the Globe Theater, or allowing students to visit locations from novels that we are reading. I think Google Earth could really enhance teaching setting in the classroom in relation to reading. Likewise, Google Earth would provide an authentic view for students.
ReplyDeleteThis one was my favorite as well. My mind started racing when I thought of all the possibilities in showing my student different places in history or in a novel we are reading. I really think that it could bring the story more to life for these students. It is something I already texted my co-teacher about and we are planning on using next year.
DeleteFor upper level students, I like the idea of having them research a city and find a location they would expect new development to most likely occur. This would be interesting to have students research city trends and history and then put an action plan together of what, where, and when an area should be developed with the highest chance to succeed. WHo knows, in 10-20 years, they might be right!
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DeleteGreat post. I had no idea about all the uses of Google Earth. I didn't realize you could build your own city or overlay historical maps. Pretty cool ideas to use in the classroom. I would love to brain storm all the ways students could use google earth to promote global awareness and global competency.
ReplyDeleteGoogle earth is great for virtual fieldtrips in history classes- loved using it this year. I commented on it the last blog we had on google earth.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using Google Earth in the classroom. I've used it before to show landforms when we were talking about weathering and erosion and plate tectonics. However, I essentially just had the kids look up the landforms in groups to help them visualize them. I like the idea of using Google Earth into a project-based learning tool. Could they create travel plans as if they were an aspiring geologist? Volcanologist? The possibilities are endless.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think that there is a strong place for google earth in my art classroom. I am not quite sure exactly what..but could probably find various ways of making it worthwhile for my students. Virtual tours of destinations... maybe background of artists, sculptures, architectures, etc. Love it as a project based learning tool as well.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be great if Art Museums allowed google to set up cameras inside their museums and people could see the artwork real time. I'm sure that is something that is on the horizon if it's not already happening.
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