Google Earth Across the Curriculum

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Most of us have seen the wonders of traveling the earth courtesy of Google Earth, but have you had the chance to consider its vast resources and how they might help you in the classroom? Google Earth has become one of those resources I can't live without as it contains so many incredible pieces that complement each part of my curriculum. Whether I'm using it for a geography lesson or conducting a lesson on area, you can be sure that I'm going to use Google Earth first! 


In fact, the more I learn about Google Earth the more I grow to love it and appreciate all the different facets of it! Lately I've been doing many presentations for educators on the benefits of Google Earth and just how they might use it in their classes, whether they're teaching kindergartners or college students, whether they're discussing science or art. 


Here is a link to the outline I use for my course: tinyurl.com/GEATC2. Inside you'll find tons of links to fantastic resources and ideas for projects. One of the most beneficial links you'll find is to a document I worked up regarding Google Earth Layers: tinyurl.com/GEATC2Layers. This document lists all the layers within Google Earth 6 and highlights how some of them might be used by different subjects.

Have a great time using Google Earth and if you have any questions or comments about my presentation, please leave a comment. Also, feel free to use any of the material I've provided, but please, give credit where credit is due. Happy travels!

The Technology Desert

As the Internet and digital technology continues to integrate itself into society, there are fewer and fewer areas of our lives left untouched to one degree or another. Whether sending and receiving emails on your phone, watching a video on a handheld device, visiting a website on a tablet device or recording a video on a wristwatch, technology is absolutely here to stay.

However, in spite of the advancements technology has made into society, it seems to have trouble gaining the same ground in the classroom, which has remained a relatively conservative arena when it comes to change. The newest improvements to classes seem to be dry erase boards as schools forego the traditional chalkboard, but this is hardly improvement enough. If schools are "training students for the future" and for "jobs that don't exist yet," we need to be adamant about incorporating current technologies into the classroom.

However, I don't blame teachers. Well, not completely. Teachers are hesitant to start using  technologies for the same reasons your parents are.

1. Fear of the unknown

It's easy to feel like technology is racing ahead and leaving most of us behind, especially when we hear of all the ways our students are using technology. We can begin to feel like there is too much to learn at this point. We ask ourselves, “If I decided to learn, how would I know where to begin? I still don't know how to change the clock on my VCR. How am I going to be able to figure out Twitter?” This sentiment is completely understandable, but also completely incapacitating. We decide that it's much safer to stick with what we know rather than moving in any direction.

2. We don't know what we don't know

Most teachers do not have the benefit of training that will teach us about the vast resources available, which tends to leave us unaware of what the Internet offers both us and our students. For this reason teachers need exposure to different technologies.

3. We aren’t taught how to bring technology into the classroom

Similar to the previous point, there is often a dearth of training for how to incorporate these technologies into the classroom. This can be solved by peer-to-peer training (i.e. learning what colleagues are doing, both within the school or in other areas around the district, city, state, nation or world) or through more professional training. Either way, teachers need a time to learn what sites exist and how they can be used in the classroom.

4. The continual change

The Internet is constantly changing. On a weekly, daily, and minute-to-minute basis there are new sites created, new tools being put out there, and new information being posted online. All of this adds to the daunting task of trying to stay on top of what is current, much less trying to stay one step ahead of the curve.

Integrating technology is a daunting task, to be sure.

 Brief Plea for Technology Integration Specialists

One of the most revolutionary positions in modern education is that of a technology integration specialist. This person is tasked to teach the teachers how to use different technologies, but the most important objective is to help the teacher understand how these technologies can be used within their classroom to teach the curriculum. (Curriculum must come first and technology merely serves as a means to an end.)

Ask yourself, How much more effective could I be if I had someone guiding me in this way? A position like this is vital to a school's relevance in the current world. These people provide the training teachers need so they will bring technology into the classroom.

Ideas for Appropriate Integration

I wanted to get back to the basics with this post and consider this question: If I am just beginning to get into technology and I want to put it in my class, where should I start? Am I too late to begin?

Not to fear, here are a couple of sure-fire tips to help you succeed!

1. Provide students with worthy choices

Have you ever been to a restaurant where the menu seems too limited and you order the spaghetti because you felt like there wasn't any other choice? Sometimes teaching can be the same way: we present students with a project without allowing them the opportunity to work with a tool that appeals to them.

Give students some choices about which tool(s) they can use to complete an assignment. That way you're hitting those learners with something that excites them. So, they may be more excited by ToonDoo than they are by Glogster or vice versa. Give them the opportunity to try out those different tools and allow them to explore their different styles of learning by allowing them to use those different tools. Fran Mauney of the Greenville (SC) School District recommends creating a menu for students so they have a variety of choices from which to complete their assignments. (Note: Ms. Mauney's menus serve a class for an entire unit, so this is not necessarily a one-time thing.)

2. Always have a backup plan

We know that when working with technology we'll occasionally run into a situation where nothing works. Either the school's server is down, an Internet connection is lost, or the website just isn't working with you! Sometimes things just don't work! Most of the ideas or resources we use in the class are web based, which means that if you're planning to use Kerpoof and the Internet is down your whole lesson is lost. So, always have a backup plan, which I suggest is the "old way of doing things". Ask yourself, "What else could I do if my whole lesson gets blown away because I don't have Internet access?"

3. Appoint a "Technician of the Week"

As you have different jobs in your classroom, perhaps the lunch count person or the door holder, have someone designated as your technology person. When you're doing technology assignments this person acts as the "go to" person. Tell the class that Joey, Bobby, and Susie are the Glogster experts and let them help their classmates. This will free you up to help students complete the assignment in an academic manner, while the "technicians" can help with more basic how-to questions. Some other roles for this person may be to get the computers up and running in the morning and shut them down at the end of the day.

4. Hold students accountable

Provide students some way to know they're on task and moving in a positive direction. Give them a rubric and help them understand how to follow it. After all, there's no use in using technology if doesn't adhere to the content and if there's no way to tell if they've learned anything. This is just like when you create any other lesson. You wouldn't plan a non-technological lesson without a way to determine what your students learned. It's the same with technology.