Community reviews for Google Earth

Google Earth is a great example of a technology that when used appropriately can open the doors for student learning that before seemed impossible. I love the tours, weather applications and galleries which give access to earthquake data, human impact studies, NASA satellite data and many more. Google Earth has so many educational opportunities for our students but it could serve our students better if it became a little more user friendly. Right now when I want to use Google Earth in the classroom it takes a lot of pre-planning and there is a learning curve doing some lessons with the different applications. I would love to use Google Earth more in my lessons because student engagement and achievement have definitely increased when using this tool.

My 8th grade students loved using the tool, though the learning curve was fairly steep. Also, I found I spent a lot of time redirecting students who immediately started looking for their own houses or places in their community. In the future, I would give students a set period of time to learn to navigate the app by looking through their communities before beginning the lesson. The SAMR level of this app really depends on the lessons the teacher uses. It can be simply used as a substitution for maps and atlases, but could also be used all the way up the SAMR ladder as students plot waypoints, share coordinates, and link their coordinates to other materials in conjunction with other applications.

I believe that this project was very beneficial for students to see real life applications of how coordinates are important for many careers. I found that the pictures, articles, and 3D capabilities provided the students with a better understanding of the location. The application is useful for many subjects and could create a better understanding of many topics. The tools that are provided make it easier to navigate and explore.

Overall, this app worked very well for virtual field trips. This allows the student to take control of their learning. The app provides ALL students an opportunity to travel to areas where they may never visit. My students enjoyed zooming in to see the detailed views of the area.

One of the BEST teaching tools. Versatile and can be used in so many facets. Watch the YouTube video "Google Earth in Plain English" to help any one new to the "tour" become well acquainted.

First and foremost this product is free, and easy to install. It can be used across many different platforms. This allows for students to access it from their phones, computers or tablets. Because of this the digital gap is easier to close.

As a teaching tool, it allows the student to visualize locations, gather data, and see possible correlations among the data gathered. Hence, it caters to students with various learning styles and is useful for student-centered research projects. There is plenty of help that can be accessed through the Net (there is an official Maps Help center), and what one needs to do is go to the link: https://support.google.com/maps/?hl=en#topic=3092425

I don't think that I have even scratched the surface on the potential of Google Earth in my classroom. I look forward to finding more creative ways to utilize it.

Again...encapsulates global village concept nicely as we can move freely and quickly from the great wall to the pyramids to my own backyard - excellent "tool" to support learning.

I love this tool. It allows me to help my students see the world without ever leaving the classroom. I liked how they could go to Street View and it made them feel like they were standing in front of the destination. For many of my students, they will probably never get the opportunity to travel to places around the world and this is a great way to take them in a different way. Some students did have trouble with it freezing on them, but it was nothing that really prohibited the use of the application. Student engagement was wonderful. I would have to add, that you might as well give them some time to play around with the site - look for their house, our school, our community, etc - before you really get started with your purpose because it is too tempting to them. It also makes the site that much better for them.