Be sure to upgrade to GE 4.2 because GE has now gone into the skies; a new icon appears on the toolbar that changes Google Earth to Google Sky. You can view the sky with constellation names on, with tours of the solar systems, and many other cool features. The new version also allows embedding youtube videos into the pop-up balloons (for PC users only, so far); it also has a hidden flight simulator which is accessed by typing CTRL-ALT-A on a Windows machine and on the Mac, type Command+Option+A. I haven’t gotten the hang of using this yet, but the video below makes it seem very cool:
Google Earth–and the ability to easily create tours with Google Maps–lends itself to many curriculum uses. In a literature class, teachers and/or students can create a guided tour of the main character’s journey, highlighting each stop along the way with quotations from the novel, descriptions of the stop and its relationship to the novel’s themes, pictures evocative of the spot’s symbolic or thematic significance, a discussion of the character’s growth, and links to interesting web resources. In foreign language classes, students and teachers can create guided tours of a city, or a scavenger hunt, or a recreation of where in the world is carmen sandiego with clues in each pop-up balloon. Foreign language teachers can also have students visit a city and then find cafes, cinemas, restaurants, etc. and provide them with a budget to spend for a one-day visit. Students can write an essay determining the best spot for a new hotel based on GE research about local attractions, subway stops, and amenities. Younger students can create a tour of a particular country. History students can create tours tracing the journeys of great explorers or the conquests of emperors or the key battles in a war. Study latitude and longitude with a treasure hunt. The possibilities are endless. Here is a youtube video with some suggestions about using Google Earth in the classroom:
Voicethread allows you to upload images; then different students can record their comments for each image, creating a slideshow with many commentaries. Students can also add written responses. Foreign language teachers, lower school teachers, and english teachers will particularly like this site, but history, science and math teachers can create interesting Voicethread slideshows. The site has tutorials and suggestions for using a voicethread in the classroom Try it.
