Google Earth, Google Maps and Scribble Maps

Google Earth:

Google Earth is such a great tool. It allows users to see images from all over the Earth right there in front of them. You can zoom in to street view or zoom out for a view of the whole city, state or country. Google Earth would be a great tool to use in the classroom as it allows students to interact with a variety of different places. I have used Google Earth in the classroom for an activity on latitude and longitude, where I gave the students locations and they had to figure out the latitude and longitude of each and plot them on a map (which included a latitude and longitude grid).

Google Earth is not only good for viewing pictures but also good for interactive lessons on many other topics. I explored the Google Earth for Educators website and found so many awesome ideas I never would have thought of. I encourage you to take a look as it has heaps of lesson plan ideas, shows ways that you can use Google Earth for different subjects and so much more.

The only downfall of using Google Earth would be the need for many computers, I would recommend only 2 students per computer. However this could be overcome by good planning for a whole class activity on s smart-board.

Google Maps:

Google Maps is very similar to Google Earth. It allows you to see images of places around the world, showing street views and also city, state, country or world views. Google Maps allows you to create your own personalised map based on the places you provide. Like Google Earth, Google Maps also have a great website with ideas on how to use Google Maps in the classroom. Go to Google for Educators and have a look around.

Scribble Maps:

Scribble Maps is a website that allows you to draw lines and pictures over Google maps. It's features include:

• Draw shapes and scribble.
• Add custom images / overlay.
• Place text.
• Place markers.
• Send maps to friends.
• Print off custom maps.

Scribble maps is a free tool and you do not need an account to have access to it. It would be a great tool to use in the classroom for the students to interactively learn about the area they live in. For a SOSE activity you could get the students to identify and mark the areas in their school that have leaking taps on the map. This activity could be an individual activity for older students or a whole class activity for younger students. Their is an endless range of possibilities for using this tool. I am sure I will use it when I have my own classroom.