Technology Project: Google Earth and Me

I really enjoyed learning how to use Google Earth, especially because I believe that it will be very useful for my later teaching. There are a lot of different tools on Google Earth that I learned about as I worked on this project. One of the most useful that I found was that you can record a 'tour' on Google Earth. For my activity, the students will have a guided 'tour' of Greece. The students will be working in pairs on their own computers and we will discuss how geography effected the development of both social and cultural aspects of ancient Greece. As part of the activity, I will have students record their tours of Greece, and I will view them later, to ensure that the students were on task and understood the assignment. Another interesting aspect of Google Earth is that you can add a landmark on your person computer, so you can find it later. Also, there are a number of different features that you can view, such as 3D buildings, labels and borders, important places and landmarks, as well as images of buildings and landmarks that have been tagged onto certain sites.
I will definitely be using this resource in my classroom, because it will provide students with a visual, as well as help them to become involved in learning about geography. They will also be able to connect things that they are learning in class to concrete images and resources. I feel like I have a good handle on what Google Earth is and how I can use it effectively in my classroom.