Google is constantly finetuning Google Earth, so each time you open the application and it connects to the GE server, you might find a surprise. The newest features is real weather info, terrific for those of you who do weather units in Science class. The Weather option has three layers: cloud cover in real-time, doppler radar, and weather and temperature conditions. This feature could also be useful at election time; imagine using the weather to predict voter turnout.
I am also constantly finding terrific KML overlays created by other users that can then be integrated into classroom content. My recent finds are one on the Bayeaux Tapestry, one on the spread of the Black Death, and another on population growth throughout the world. Two sites to find these files are The Google Earth Gallery and Google Earth Community Forums.
I worked with one teacher who came up with a great lesson plan for Ancient Egypt. We flew to the Ancient Pyramids and zoomed in on them in 3-D. Then she zoomed out to show the contrast between the desert location of the Pyramids and the fertile Nile Valley and to discuss the rationale for the location of the Pyramids. We then downloaded from the Google Earth Gallery a great KML file on King Tut’s tomb. The best part was that we planned the lesson in one forty minute meeting and she used in for the next class. She was thrilled.
As you probably have guessed, I am obsessed with Google Earth. I read Google Earth blogs, search for KLM files, and try to come up with lessons to integrate GE into the curriculum. One recent innovation is the addition of youtube videos geotagged throughout Google Earth. To explore this new layer, go to the Featured Content section and choose the youtube layer. Then when you zoom in, you will see links to thousands of videos. But be careful because the videos are of varying quality and some of them might be about Grandpa Sam visiting Paris.
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:
