Cultural Competence in the Classroom

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Hello, Earth - Let's Go Explore!

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In the spirit of Earth Day today, I thought I would share a collection of Google Earth and Google Maps resources and webtools. Google Earth is actually one of my favorite learning tools due to its versatility.  It allows for investigation, exploration, creation, and collaboration in multiple subject areas, and it even allows its users to take virtual field trips to places they have never been before.

While there are several Google Earth Tutorials that can get you started, I am going to highlight a few tutorials, websites, and features that use Google Earth as a learning tool for different content, as well as a presentation tool for creating projects. Finally, I am also going to share some webtools that integrate Google Earth and/or Google Maps into its functionality.

"Google's geo products give you and your students easy access to the world's visual information. Once, maps were available only to royalty but now, you can explore Earth, Moon, Mars, and even dive into the depths of the oceans. The possibilities of using Google Maps, Earth and Street View are as endless as your imagination. We encourage you to explore, create, and collaborate." - Google Maps Education

Ideas for using Google Earth to learn content in different subjects

 Geography: Investigate and explore any place on Earth. [1]
  • Overlay topographic maps on to Google Earth to compare and contrast different types of geographic representations [1]
  • Challenge students to make their own real-world decisions using Juicy Geography lessons for Google Earth [1]
  • Practice differentiating between physical and cultural landscape features of the world's largest cities [1]

Math: Learn geometry and measurement. [1]
  • Utilize Real World Math and the variety of lesson plans that utilize Google Earth to teach a wide range of math concepts [1]
  • Use the Ruler tool to calculate distances in various units of measurements [1]
  • Find the angle of elevation for hiking trails or ski runs using trigonometric functions [1]

Language Arts: As a place to make connections to pieces of Literature (visit: Google Lit Trips) [1]


Science: As a science tool:  Google World Wonders

  • "From the archaeological areas of Pompeii to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Google’s World Wonders Project aims to bring to life the wonders of the modern and ancient world."
  • "By using our Street View technology, Google has a unique opportunity to make world heritage sites available to users across the globe."

"Sunlight" tool, "Google Sky" tool, "Mars" tool and "Moon" tool) [1]
  • Explore the Earth's many biomes and habitats on all of the continents [1]
  • Explore the under water terrain, visit sea vents, and learn about the health of the ocean [1]
  • Using Mars in Google Earth, view images downloaded by NASA just hours ago, in the Live from Mars layer. [1]
  • Take tours of the landing sites on the Moon, narrated by Apollo astronauts [1]

History: As a history tool:  Google Historic Moments

  • "Explore online exhibitions detailing the stories behind significant moments in human history."
  • "Each exhibition tells a story using documents, photos, videos and in some cases personal accounts of events."

Historical Imagery tool [1]
  • Use Historical Imagery to travel back in time and view your neighborhood, home town, and other familiar places to see how they have changed [1]
  • Learn more about the US Presidents, their birthplaces, and the progression of states that voted during elections [1]
  • View the many historical maps from the David Rumsey Map collection, like the Lewis and Clark trail map from 1814 [1]

Art: As an art tool or resource: Google Art Project

  • Explore, compare, and contrast works of art, artists and museums. 
  • Get closer to these works more than humanly possible and take Google Street View tours of famous museums around the world. 

  NASA Earth As Art

Other creative uses
  • As a presentation tool (use the "Record a Tour" feature).
  • As a vacation planner (use the "Placemark" feature to bookmark all of your desired destinations)
  • As a virtual field trip (use the Google "Street View" tool get a 360 view of any location) Try visiting Instant Street View for a quick way to virtually explore somewhere.




Webtools that integrate Google Earth and/or Google Maps

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