Module 9: Google Earth & Maps - Some ways to use Google Maps or Google Earth to engage learning in the classroom.

Google Maps and Google Earth can be used for navigating global maps; for example, users can look up and study places anywhere in the world, switching between map, satellite, terrain, and StreetView modes as required. With MyMaps, students can create personalized maps, preview field trips, document journeys, and embed photos, videos and accompanying text.

Depending on what they are studying, students can take a virtual tour of all types of museums, places of interest such as the Colosseum, historical towns, capital cities (e.g., a tour of Rome when studying Roman history), various countries, and even share their summer and winter vacations with their peers within the four walls of the classroom. The Google Lit Trips site supplies lesson plans pairing books with Google "trips" that students can take while reading literature; similarly, they can simply trace the movements of a character in a novel from town to town, or map the journey of a historical character such as Alexander the Great. The Google Historical Voyages and Events site transports students into the world of explorers, historical voyages and events of countries throughout the World.

I shall witness the effects of technology-enhanced instruction on student learning as I utilize these tools in my classroom; namely, my sixth-grade humanities students will use the Weather and Storm Tracking Tools in Google Earth tools to study weather and even track storms/hurricanes, which is part of the humanities curriculum for grade six. The students will also prepare a travel project/presentation using Google Maps as their final project for this academic year; they will take us on a seven-day tour to at least seven different places in the world.

Both Google Maps and Google Earth offer high quality and engaging educational activities for students.