Week 6 - Assignment 1: Reflection 5

Engagement this week required the use of a tool which we could choose from a list. I chose Google Earth as I can remember really enjoying using it when I was younger and I wanted to revisit it's use. The ability to zoom from my house in my hometown to a street on the other side of the world is still just as mind blowing. This program is a fantastic way to attend to visual learners and brings a global aspect to the classroom. It can be a great starting point or be used as an aid for a lesson.

• Click here to watch a recording of my use of Google Earth

Some suggestions on how this tool can be used in a primary school classroom are as follows:

Curriculum: History

Topic: European Settlement

• Students can map the journey the First Fleet took from England to Australia
• Students can "street view" important places of interest and compare today's world with paintings depicting the land at the time of settlement.
• Teachers can show a recording of use as a "hook" to a lesson
• Teachers can quickly search a town or place of interest for the class to view 

As I had not used Google Earth for quite some time it was refreshing to use it with a new point of view with the context of a classroom in mind. I plan to use it frequently in the classroom because I am confident that it is a powerfully engaging tool that students will find fun and interesting.