Google Earth in the Classroom: Danny Maas Emerging Technology Consultant Edmonton Catholic School District Using Google Earth in Math and Science

Rationale for Using Google Earth Universal Design for Learning Presenting information and content in different ways (the "what" of learning) Differentiating the ways that students can express what they know (the "how" of learning) Stimulating interest and motivation for learning (the "why" of learning)

Rationale for Using Google Earth Skill & Attitude Development Visual literacy Global awareness Geographic thinking Inquiry

Hands On With Google Earth Measuring Distances Directions Drawing Paths & Polygons Adding Web 2.0 Elements onto Google Earth Exporting Items to a.KMZ file

Measuring Distances Open “Ruler” tool For a single line, choose ‘Line’ tab For a path, choose ‘Path’ tab Choose appropriate units Click once to begin path Click again at key points to keep path going Toward the end, click a point near to your start point (you won’t be able to click on the exact starting point)

Getting Directions In the search area, choose the ‘Directions’ tab Enter a start and end point Click the ‘Search’ button (magnifying glass) Scroll down for the total distance Push the ‘Play Tour’ button to view the directions as a Google Earth Tour

Drawing Polygons Click the Polygon tool button Click once for the first point of your polygon Click again at key points around the shape Click on your starting point to finish the shape Name your shape On the ‘Style, Color’ tab choose the color and opacity of your shape If your shape is unusually-shaped, you can click and drag the entire path (versus clicking at key points only)

Drawing Paths Click the Path tool button Click once for the first point of your path Click again at key points around the path Name your path On the ‘Style, Color’ tab choose the color and thickness of your path If your path is unusually-shaped, you can click and drag the entire path (versus clicking at key points only)

Adding Web 2.0 Elements Many web 2.0 tools offer an ‘embed’ feature to embed the multimedia onto other websites, blogs, etc. (E.g. YouTube, Animoto, Voki, etc.) To embed on Googe Earth, first add a placemark Copy the ‘embed’ HTML code from the web 2.0 website Paste the embed code into the description area of the placemark The next time you click on the placemark your web 2.0 element should display

Exporting Items to a.KMZ file Any group of placemarks, polygons, paths, and tours can be grouped together and saved as a single.KMZ file Right-click on My Places and choose “Add  Folder” and name that folder Click/Drag all the items you want into the new folder Right-click the folder and choose “Save Place As” Name the.KMZ file and choose a save location

Math Estimate and measure the distance, area, and perimeter of real locations What is the area of our school grounds? What is the perimeter of our school? How far is it from Edmonton to Saskatoon? What directions would you give to someone traveling from our school to the nearest grocery store?

Science Access weather overlays to gather environmental data Access National Geographic information layer Use the Date and Time (sunlight) tool to show where sunlight is shining at any place any time and explain time zones and seasons (good for math as well)

Science Use the Sky view to investigate and view our solar system, constellations, and stars _sky.html _sky.html Visit environmental locations related to a topic of study E.g. Native Forest Council googleearth/download.html E.g. Ducks Unlimited 70 th Anniversary Project Tour

Other Uses Visit a field trip location on Google Earth before you travel Download pre-made Google Earth tours and information layers ?synd=earth&sort- order=desc&cat=featuredhttp:// ?synd=earth&sort- order=desc&cat=featured h/RealWorldMath.org.htmlhttp://realworldmath.org/Real_World_Mat h/RealWorldMath.org.html _earth/activities.htmlhttp://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/google _earth/activities.html

Find.KMZ Files on the Internet Open Google and choose ‘Advanced Search’ Enter your search term(s) Look for ‘File type’ and select “Google Earth KMZ or KML”