Google Earth Discoveries

This post may reveal that I'm behind the times where Google Earth is concerned, and so be it. I've just got to sing from the rooftops how excited I am to discover new "spherical panoramic" photos in Google Earth. Previously, there were of course small pictures you could click on and see embedded in various places on the Google Earth map. Now, there are reddish tinted thumbnails which indicate a spherical image. You can click on these and actually step INTO that exact spot and look around 360 degrees. I saw amazing sights at Mount Everest and Old Faithful Geyser. The article I linked above was from 2008, so yeah, I might have missed it.

Also, I discovered their "new" (?) Earth Gallery. In it, they have overlays and interactives which show fun things like shipwrecks, 3D forests, historical Maps, Ancient Rome and so much more. Check it out.

Google Earth and Novels

In the March/April issue of Learning and Leading with Technology, there was a great article called Traveling the Novel. Two teachers at Harpeth Hall School in Nashville put together a step-by-step guide to how they use Google Earth to enrich their literature studies in English classes. The article specifically discusses their projects for The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and one on the Iditarod. These seem a lot like Google Earth Lit Trips, but with the added dimension of requiring students to post quotes/photos and other responses directly on the .kmz file. I've sent the teachers an email asking how they evaluate success on the project and I hope to hear back from them. In the meantime, their wiki "Harpeth Hall Uses Google Earth" has links to the Google Earth files they have already created. Incidentally, they also include directions for using Google Earth!
Image source: http://historytech.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/sam-is-dead.png

Google Earth Pro: Not Quite As Simple

Google Earth Pro for Educators, Free! Wow! So Easy! Whoa nelly! Not so fast. I received an email back from my request explaining a few things:

"This wide distribution of Google Earth Pro is provided for one full year as a means to increase the use of Google Earth in core curriculums.

In return, we ask for your yearly contribution to a forum of educators facilitated by the Google Earth Community at http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php/Cat/0 or http://groups.google.com/group/google-for-educators. There, you will be joined by other educators seeking collaborative opportunities with their peers for the benefit of students. Whether it be information in the form of a lesson plan or in a detailed testimony outlining your successes, these contributions will foster incentives for creativity and innovation which that can ultimately evolve into Google Earth enhancements geared specifically toward curriculum development.

To participate, please return your completed application to GEEC@google.com. Should your organization qualify you will receive notification via email with detailed instructions on how to set up your account and register for Google online support.

Information required:

1. Your name (key contact person)
2. Organization / Institution
3. A brief description of the Institution / Organization
4. Full mailing address
5. Telephone number
6. User name (complete email address that will be assigned to the license key)
7. Institution's web address
8. Your Institution's Tax ID (if applicable)
9. Your Institution's 501-3 number (US only, if applicable)
10. A description of the intended application including grade level(s), discipline(s) or subject.
11. What features in Google Earth Pro are important to you and how do you wish to use them in your classroom.
12. Number of computers you are requesting to download this software on.
13. Prior license key information. "

So, this all isn't quite as simple as it seemed, and it appears you get the product for one year only. Then, I wonder, are you required to pay the $400 yearly fee per computer? Or do we go back to the free Google Earth version? Anyone know?

Google Earth Pro for Educators

Last night at the AIMS Technology Retreat, Hall Davidson, of Discovery Education was our keynote speaker. While he didn't teach me many new things, I did learn that Educators can download Google Earth Pro for FREE (usually a $400 license). Kevin Jarrett over at Northfield Community School blogged about it, and I'm reposting his info on how to get it for your school here:
"Download the PRO trial version at http://earth.google.com and then forward the answers to these questions to GEEC [at] google.com
1. The e-mail address (log in) that will be used in connection with the Google Earth Education Account.
2. A brief description of the institution where Google Earth will be installed (URL included). The license may be installed on two computers.
3. Name, title and contact information of the principle faculty member or administrator in charge of the license.
4. A brief description of the intended applications of Google Earth, including grade level(s), discipline(s) and subject matter."

Google Lit Trips

Yeah, we all talk big about how kids need to stop plagiarizing. The copy and paste mentality is ruining intellectual rights. We don't talk enough about how we, as teachers, need to change our own assignments and evaluation tools so that higher-order analysis isn't optional, but required. This new tool I found today makes that possible. Google Lit Trips is the new book report. It's a "mashup", I think. That's a fancy word that just means more than one tool is combined into a new form. Now, a student can open Google Earth and placemark all the stops the character makes along the way in the book, the birthplaces and homesteads for all the characters, the main event locations. The student leaves a running commentary as the "character" traverses the world, offering potential discussion questions or things to consider. There are a lot created for high school books and not so many for the younger grades, but it's just a matter of time. Now THAT's a book report for 21st Century Learners.