Positives
- Creates higher levels of interactivity then other audio-visual web 2.0 applications
- Provides 3 dimensional views
- Empowers students by involving them in more complex tasks
- Access to global geography and landmarks
- Provides a coordinates function
- Ability to provide information on population distribution
- Provides photo tours
- Historic timeline function
- Simulates climate change
- Provides ability to share information with others in different locations
- Provides a vast repository of images, sound and video
- Can be used outside of school hours for extracurricular educational activities
- Not subject to licencing requirements
- Free application
- Provides supplementary readings and supported by audio or video
- Menu or tool navigation less complex due to point and click operation
- Provides students with opportunities to learn about spatial patterns and enhance spatial thinking
- Complex spatial analytical operations are compromised by a lack of functionality or tool capability
- Data not included on the Google Earth interface requires account creation for access and knowledge of how to open specific data sets
- Accuracy or authenticity of information may not be readily available
- Fast internet connection required
- Students may become disinterested if Google earth is unresponsive because of inadequate internet speed
- Less complex functionality ensures less time required for teacher training to acquire knowledge and skill to use the tool
- Google Earth can be used to introduce students to themes of geography identified as location, place, relationships with place, movements and regions
- Provides tools that allow students to collaborate, communicate, locate, evaluate and collect information which gives students the opportunity to foster knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation central to developing higher order thinking
- Google Earth can help fulfil education standards by; questioning the reasons humans obtain and use earth materials for resources, describing earth features, looking at possible impacts of human behaviour on earth surface, measuring distances and using analytical or other thinking capabilities
- Google Earth assists in overcoming limitations of hard copy materials such as the ability to support dynamic and interactive curriculum
- Improvements in concept or skill comprehension and recall of information occurs from using Google Earth as a result of the applications visual functionality
According to the Department of Education Training and Employment Queensland (2012) Google Earth can be used to enhance learning across curriculum KLA's such as English, ICT and SOSE for grade 2 students. Exploring different media to communicate and collaborate in ICT can assist with writing, designing, speaking, listening, reading or viewing skills for English and learning about places or space in SOSE.
Example: Using Google Earth track a route and identified locations of a designated "travel buddy", then exchange information regarding such activities by creating and sharing digital images or class videos in a class blog.
Google Earth Tutorial
Sourced: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=99637
Google Earth Lesson
Sourced: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=36997
References
Department of Education Training and Employment (DETE). (2012). Communicating with ICT. Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/enabling-learners/ict-expectations/prep-year2/communicating.html
Patterson, T.C. (2007). Google Earth as a (not just) geography education tool. Journal of Geography, 106(4), 145-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00221340701678032
Hanewald, R., & White, P. (2008). What, how and why web 2.0?. Australian Educational Computing, 23(2), 3-6. Retrieved from http://acce.edu.au/sites/acce.edu.au/files/pj/journal/AEC%20Vol%2023%20No%202%202008%20what%20how%20and%20why%20web2.0.pdf
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