Google Earth: The coolest free teaching tool on the net!

Google Earth: It's cool!

Okay, Google Earth has been around for a couple of years now, but it’s still cool. The personal applications and classroom applications of Google Earth are limitless. I am a Spanish teacher and I don’t get to use Google Earth as much as I would like in my classes. However, when I zoom in from outer space and highlight Spain or Mexico my students go crazy. They love it! When, I use the measuring tools to plot distances my students are even more impressed, but the real kicker is when I create map overlays or play a video segment from United Streaming.

Like I said, the applications are limitless. Last year we used Google Earth in my class to find one of our exchange student’s houses in Germany. Also, you can use it to plan vacations, kayaking trips, hiking trips, hunting trips, camping trips or anything you want. Personally, I use the measuring tools to plot the distances of creeks and rivers for my kayaking trips (e.g. put in point and take out point).

Sorry, I’m not posting more but I am just scratching the surface of what the program has to offer and the Google group keeps improving it. I highly recommend Google Earth to all educators. It will spice up your lesson plans and impress your students. Have fun!

If you’re interested in using Google Earth in your classroom I suggest the following:

Download Google Earth, install it, and play with the various applications.
Visit the Google Earth Community (G E C) and read some of the posts.
Visit Frank Taylor’s Blog and do some more reading.

Google the globe and tell them that I sent you!

W. Bishop

Technorati Tags: google earth, classroom technology, k12online, k12, global mapping, gec