Google Earth

When it comes to simulations, Google provides an interesting array of tools and services to meet a whole variety of needs. I make regular use of Google Maps, for example, to plot routes or view locations in ‘streetview’ mode. I was going to investigate its educational potential for this blog, but in the midst of my research I was finding more and more reference to Google Earth, a tool which I am much less experienced with. The possibilities began to intrigue me, so I set out to explore.

Google Earth allows people to virtually visit locations around the globe without leaving their chairs. It is a quick, free download (with permission for school use), available here. 

As soon as the program opened I was able to ‘scroll’ (using the mouse wheel) into the satellite image of the earth, and move around it by clicking and dragging. I found this very intuitive, but if I’d needed instructions, there is a series of helpful tutorial videos here. I watched one on sharing screenshots, because I wasn’t sure if I had permission to do so. It seems I am encouraged to share within my Google+ account at least (and the image has copyright information stamped on it), so here we go:

Click for full resolution!

I headed for Australia, and then Queensland. Little icons began to appear on the map as I ‘zoomed’ further in. I clicked on one labelled ‘Protected Species’, which brought up an image of a dugong and her calf, and a paragraph of information and links about dugongs in the Great Barrier Reef! Another icon near Townsville, labelled ‘Eden’, brought up an album of beautiful photographs of a waterfall (Crystal Creek) and rainforest. Links beside the images allowed me to ‘Fly to this location’, so I did.

Some other things I was able to do:

• View ‘sunlight’ to see where the earth is currently in shadow (as well as adjust the time slider to watch the shadow change at different times) – which would be useful for showing children the effects of the earth’s movement around the sun, or in discussions of time differences or daylight savings. 
• Switch from viewing Earth to viewing the sky, Mars or the moon. The sky view showed me constellations, which was fascinating although it was difficult to work out where I was viewing from! Mars and the moon were both incredible views which identified craters and other features by their names. I was even able to view landing sites in 3D, and bring up notes about the missions, with links to further information – this could help bring context to classroom investigations.
• Use Street View to move around 360 degrees in still images (a concept I was familiar with from Google Maps). This makes it possible to see what streets, monuments, shops, etc. look like in different places around the world – developing students’ global awareness. 
• Toggle different ‘layers’ to show or hide labels, photos, roads, the weather, 3D buildings and other features. 
• Use a sliding bar to view a given location as it appeared at different times. The earliest imagery provided of Paris, for instance, is from 1943, and I can see how the landscape has changed between then and now. Buildings, roads and trees have all appeared in new places! Children sometimes have difficulty understanding the concept of change over time. With Google Earth they can actually watch it happen.
• Visit landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower (there were a lot of photos provided here), using the 3D building viewer, which shows digital constructions of many buildings (especially famous ones). Clicking on a building brings up information about it, links to nearby places, photographs, and (if available) a link to the relevant Wikipedia article. The 3D software took some time to load, and not all computers would be able to cope with it, but it is fascinating. One day we might be able to take virtual tours inside important buildings!

At this point it was obvious that I could spend hours exploring the capabilities of this program, but since I don’t have hours, I turned my attention to using another popular Google tool (Google search) to find out what other teachers are doing. Google itself provides a community space for sharing ideas, but it turns out that there are many blog entries and websites devoted to the pedagogical possibilities of Google Earth. 

This site shows how Google Earth can be used to plot out tours of locations from novels (which I would love to do with my own students to help bring literature to life for them), while this site uses a plug-in to add detailed information about population, economy, geography etc.

This blog opened my eyes to quite a few more options. One of these was ‘A New Life’, in which the tools of Google Earth can be used to create and run a theoretical country. I participated in country-creation during my own schooling but all we had to map our new world were cardboard and biros. Needless to say, I find this new option far more inspiring.

In summary, I’m hugely impressed with this tool, and almost staggered by the possibilities. It must be one of the most comprehensive simulations in existence to date, and the fact that it is created from real satellite imagery means that it is accurate and realistic. The program itself is reasonably simple to use, although for young children I would turn off any features or options that weren’t important to our particular purpose (to limit confusion). It is not very visually appealing but the focus is really on the picture, not the software, so that doesn’t matter. I think Google Earth can be used to foster all kinds of activities that would support operation at the highest levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.