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Back to School – Educational Uses with Google Earth

September 11, 2007

It is close to the end of summer in the northern hemisphere. Many kids are heading back to school after a summer break. For those of you who are educators and have thought, or heard, that Google Earth would make a good tool for geography lessons – let me suggest you look closer. Google Earth (GE) is not only a great tool for geography – it has the ability to entice kids to learn about information tied to location in a huge variety of important educational subjects. When you first load GE you have a wealth of information available at your fingertips. Thousands of aerial and satellite photos, dozens of layers of information: city names, country borders, airport locations, photos, road maps, National Geographic content, volcanoes, and more. Since Google Earth is an intuitive and fun tool, I believe you could use it as a visualization and educational tool for almost any subject. Once students prepare their own content, GE can be used to present their work – or even share their work with the world.
Below you will find a sample of possible useful content for Google Earth in a variety of subjects such as geography, literature, science, history, and more. Basically, any information which can be tied to a location on Earth can be illustrated, and made interesting, using GE. Juicy Geography is a web site, by Noel Jenkins in the UK, designed to help teachers learn more about tools like GE for the classroom and suggests possible lessons. Also, check out a summary of educational uses for Google Maps by GoogleMapsMania. And, Google has their own site on educational uses for Google Earth. Continue reading the rest of this post for more information.


Google Earth is a powerful visual tool for visualizing and presenting information tied to location. And now, with Google Earth 4.2 there are even more reasons to use GE in education (GE 4.2 adds the new Sky mode which is wonderful for astronomy lessons, the flight simulator mode for teaching about aviation, and a wealth of new features in KML 2.2 which will greatly enhance educational presentations with GE). GE can also be used as a tool for students to study or even prepare their own presentations. If I were an educator I would use GE for many topics. You can use the “Search” or “Categories” on Google Earth Blog to find more information. Or, you can go to the Google Earth Community to look for materials as well. Here are just a sample of some of the material available organized by subject:

Literature

  • Places quoted in Shakespeare
  • Travels of Odysseus
  • Around the World in 80 Days
  • Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Science

  • Astronomy: GE 4.2 Sky Mode, Solar System in Google Earth, Solar Eclipses,
  • Earth Science: Ice Flows, global temperatures
  • Geology: volcanoes, earthquakes
  • Biology: Avian Flu, Chimpanzees, Ants
  • Environment: Glacier melt, International Polar Year, satellite data
  • Weather: Weather tools, lightning data from NASA, more weather stories

History

  • Lewis and Clark Expidition
  • Shackleton Expedition
  • Six Wives of Henry VIII
  • 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Geography

Try turning on the Geographic Web layer. How about basic geography information about countries of the world? Turn on the Borders layer. Or, try the CIA World Factbook for GE (more details).

About Frank Taylor

Frank Taylor started the Google Earth Blog in July, 2005 shortly after Google Earth was first released. He has worked with 3D computer graphics and VR for many years and was very impressed with this exciting product. Frank completed a 5.5 year circumnavigation of the earth by sailboat in June 2015 which you can read about at Tahina Expedition, and is a licensed pilot, backpacker, diver, and photographer.

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Filed Under: Applications, Environment, Flying, Google Earth Tips, GPS, Navigation, Science, Sightseeing, Sports, Video, Weather

Reader Interactions






PLEASE NOTE: Google Earth Blog is no longer writing regular posts. As a result, we are not accepting new comments or questions about Google Earth. If you have a question, use the official Google Earth and Maps Forums or the Google Earth Community Forums.

Comments

  1. Yong Hwee says

    October 10, 2007 at 10:57 pm

    It amazes me how useful Google Earth is, and can be.

  2. Raymond Rodrigues says

    October 30, 2007 at 11:17 am

    If I have my own website, how can I provide a link to a Google Tour on it?

  3. Derrick Hickman says

    May 28, 2008 at 10:44 pm

    I zoomed and zoomed. Wow! This was very interesting. I zoomed to different parts of the world and saw countless opportunities to include math and social studies. This website gave me a chance to explore different parts of the world that I have never been (most of my students also) to. Think how this will benefit my students. The kids will love this site and at the same time they will be able to polish their skills in other subjects too.

  4. albert davis says

    May 29, 2008 at 9:12 pm

    Google Earth is amazing. It is the closest thing to actually being there.

  5. Kentucky Wedding Photographer says

    March 11, 2010 at 9:00 am

    Google Earth has always intrigued me. I could spend hours just looking up random stuff and not get bored!

  6. Skole Noter says

    August 3, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    We can all agree Google Earth is fantastic! It’s so amazing.. Also in education! 😉
    I also like the new Google Streetview.

  7. John says

    August 17, 2010 at 12:31 pm

    A neat tool that I have my social science students examine for possible use in their classrooms.

  8. larry says

    August 23, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    Google Earth has so many uses. It helps us visualize the world outside our room. The street view is very helpful.

  9. Murfreesboro Homes says

    August 28, 2010 at 4:32 pm

    Google Earth is fantastic and helping us to realize just how small we are. Thanks for the post and for pointing out even more uses of the wonderful program. Ann

  10. Educational Travel says

    September 27, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    Don’t forget creative writing. I used Google Earth street view to explore the streets of NYC before I had been there, so I could write about it as if I had. It’s not exactly the same, but it certainly helps the imagination. We plan educational tours for student groups, and Google Earth would be a great way to learn about their destination before they go. This is a great post and a great tool for educators.

  11. Find Your Education says

    October 11, 2010 at 5:51 pm

    Science teachers definitely must be having a field day with all the things they can do on Google Earth. In generally, teachers have many more tools at their disposal to give their students a better education.

  12. Defensive Driving Course Online says

    October 12, 2010 at 4:15 am

    Today technology has grown and the usage of technology also increased. Using google earth is one among the best usage of technology. Other thing of using technology is online education or remote education.

  13. lmp says

    October 21, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    Google earth is really a awsome tool. Science teachers today have so many great tools at their disposal.

  14. Freight Factoring says

    December 3, 2010 at 8:19 am

    I wish I was a student again and back in school. I can’t imagine how much easier it would be to learn today with all of the additional tools and technology such as Google Maps. I guess that may be conterbalanced by all the distractions such as Facebook 🙂

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    January 11, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    This website gave me a chance to explore different parts of the world that I have never been. Thank you so much 🙂

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  19. Mr. Maagzuur says

    February 13, 2011 at 11:26 pm

    Sometimes i still think of the good old fashion days, when a great tool like Google Earth was still considered to be ‘magic’. Still feels like that though, but to this new generation it’s just normal. Nowadays we cant go without these new technical tools!

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    April 18, 2011 at 7:59 pm

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    April 28, 2011 at 7:25 am

    Well, I am so excited that I have found this your post because I have been searching for some information about it almost three hours.

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    May 3, 2011 at 8:02 am

    Google earth is awesome and main thing is all world is in circle of common people and it giving a lot of benefits.Thanks for sharing Google earth application in education field also.

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    May 5, 2011 at 8:13 am

    I am planning to use GE in primary classes for English and Cono (geography and history).

  26. Implantes dentales precios says

    June 8, 2011 at 11:43 pm

    I love Google Earth, the best part is that my kids loves it too, so it’s easier to teach them about countrys, flags, population and stuff..
    Thanks for the info!

  27. aambeien says

    June 22, 2011 at 8:33 am

    Hi Thare! i need to say that i mainly use street view to explore other city’s outside my country, it helps me get in the vacation mood so that i can decide better where to go on holiday haha! Thanks for your good info! (sorry for my bad English im European) Good day everybody greetings

  28. schimmelinfectie says

    June 22, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    I use Google Earth A Lot. I also like Google Universe It is a very good tool

  29. keratina brasilera says

    June 23, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    Some teachers might use Google street view as well, sometimes kids need to see what is out there..

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    June 24, 2011 at 10:59 am

    Google have given new dimensions to life and making life easier and convenient which great service to humanity.Google Earth is one of its service and guide to coming generation about it is good step.

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    July 9, 2011 at 11:25 am

    I think this is a great post. One thing that I find the most helpful is number five. Sometimes when I write, I just let the flow of the words and information come out so much that I loose the purpose. It’s only after editing when I realize what I’ve done.

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    July 16, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    Google Earth rocks !!! It has made life easy.
    Thanks for this amazing blog.

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    Happy to see your blog as it is just what I’ve looking for and excited to read all the posts. I am looking forward to another great article from you.

  35. Myriam says

    September 20, 2011 at 1:07 am

    When I started homeschooling my child Google Earth helped me a lot. It’s a wonderful tool.

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    it as a visualization and educational tool for almost any subject. Once students prepare their own content, GE can be used to present their work – or even share their work with the world.

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    Sometimes i still think of the good old fashion days, when a great tool like Google Earth was still considered to be ‘magic

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    Thank you very much for sharing, in my opinion G.E. is one of the best applications google has

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    GE can also be used as a tool for students to study or even prepare their own presentations.

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PLEASE NOTE: Google Earth Blog is no longer writing regular posts. As a result, we are not accepting new comments or questions about Google Earth. If you have a question, use the official Google Earth and Maps Forums or the Google Earth Community Forums.

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