TeacherTECH Science Series: Google Earth- A Great Tool for Many Subject Areas in the Classroom

Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Community College and Continuing Education Educators are invited to attend our TeacherTECH Science Series in collaboration with UCSD-TV. The workshop is focused on the many ways that Google Earth can be used in the classroom. 

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

4:30pm - 6:30pm

San Diego Supercomputer Center, SDSC Auditorium

University of California, San Diego

Workshop Overview

Google Earth, Google's satellite imagery-based mapping product, is a great open source (free) tool that puts the whole world on a student's computer. It enables users to "fly" from space to street level to find geographic information and explore places around the world. Like a video game and a search engine rolled into one, Google Earth is basically a 3D model of the entire planet that lets you grab, spin and zoom down into any place on Earth. View satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings and even explore galaxies in the Sky. You can explore rich geographical content, save your toured places and share with others.

In this workshop, you will learn how to use Google Earth as a tool in your classroom for both you and your students.  The class will cover a hands-on how to and share ways in which you can incorporate Google Earth into a variety of subject areas to really bring the curriculum to life in new and exciting ways.

Google Earth Can be Used for Many, Many Subject Areas

From literature to environmental science, Google Earth can help you bring a world of information alive for your students. You can use Google Earth demos to get your students excited about geography, and use different Google Earth layers to study economics, demographics, and transportation in specific contexts. For instance:

• you can use real-time coordinates to demonstrate distance calculations and verify the results using the measurement tools
• view tectonic plate-shift evidence by examining whole continents, mountain ranges and areas of volcanic activity
• study impact craters, dry lake beds and other major land forms. 

Students can also use Google Earth to explore topics like the progress of human civilization, the growth of cities, the impact of civilization on the natural environment, and the impact of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Using Google SketchUp and historic overlays, students can recreate entire ancient cities. The only limit to Google Earth's classroom uses is your imagination.

Don't limit your imagination to our lonely planet, though - launch your student's imagination with Sky in Google Earth. And if you prefer to explore the night sky from your browser, you can now try Google Sky on the web. Whether you stargaze, explore Hubble telescope images, or check out current astronomical events, you'll capture the wonder of the universe without leaving your classroom.

Here are some other ideas for using Google Earth in your classroom: 

• Biology: Track routes of chimpanzees in Tanzania's Gombe Forest. 
• Ecology: Create a short quiz.
• Environmental Science: Have students check Alaska's global warming problems. 
• Geology: Find images, links, and descriptions, with information about thousands of volcanoes around the globe, thanks to organizations like the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.
• Global Awareness: Study the Crisis in Darfur with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's unprecedented project.
• History: Explore Tutankhamun's Tomb.
• Humanities: Have your students scout film shoot locations with The Golden Compass.
• Literature: Bring class or contemporary tales to life with Google LitTrips.
• Math: Explore distance, velocity, and wave properties of tsunamis. 

Please join us for an exciting and informative session of hands on learning presented by Mike Senise, San Diego Unified School District. 

Registration is free. Space is limited. Please contact Ange Mason at 858-534-5064 or  amason@ucsd.edu to reserve your space.

For more information on upcoming TeacherTECH workshops, please see http://education.sdsc.edu/teachertech.