Creating lessons that integrate technology and provide information your students can relate to can sometimes be difficult. Google Earth Tours is a great way to show students how the great big world actually relates to them.
It shows them how they are part of the whole. Their community is a part of the larger system.
It can be a very large and daunting task to teach a new piece of technology, especially if you aren’t familiar with it yourself. While learning Google Earth or a class I am taking, my process was very similar to that of an elementary student when they are presented with something different and a little daunting.
At first, I hated it. Then I started to see the use. After a few more attempts, I finally understood the process and I was back to my “click and learn” self!
Where Do You Start?
I’ve created a step by step guide to help you use Google Earth Tours in your classroom. You can walk yourself through the process or hand the PDF to one of your students and let them explore on their own. We all know that they will probably grasp the concept much faster than we do. They will be creating dynamic presentations and tours and you will be asking them for guidance. Typical of kids and technology! 🙂
The guide can be accessed in the “member’s only” area. If you have already subscribed to the newsletter, you have the password to enter. If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter, now is the time! The password will be emailed to you after you confirm your subscription 🙂 Check out the sidebar —> for the sign-up form.
Not sure how you want to implement Google Earth Tours into your classroom yet? Check out the new collection of lesson plans in my store: Technology
Be sure and download Google Earth onto your computer or iPad and dive in. It’s another great tool to implement into your lessons and explore virtual field trips!
This would be a great lesson to add other components to your Google Classroom with. Video snippets of different locations or animal habitats for Science. Math resources that you have created or website links that have interactive components that your students might enjoy.
If you have suggestions about other lessons you would like to see integrated with a form of technology, please leave a comment below.
🙂
Rhoda
