Google Earth
© 2005 Google, Inc.
Have you used Google Earth lately? Since it was first released two years ago, it has continued to improve, with the most current version (4.2) including 3D buildings, site-seeing tours posted by other users, and views of space. Available as a free download, Google Earth is a stellar example of how interactive media can make abstract geographical and spatial concepts leap out of a textbook. Even though it is not specifically marketed to schools, this is a must-have classroom tool, as long as you have a current Mac or Windows computer with a good Internet connection. If you have that, you now have your own super globe, giving you the ability to search by keyword or address, and then zoom into satellite images. You can see the building you're currently in, or fly along a route. You can also view annotations left by other Google Earth users, such as the 88 locations mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. Younger children can get a sense of how their neighborhood fits into their town, their county, their state, and their continent. Other education applications are numerous—both for mapping and geography—as well as other more indirect uses, including science, history and math. Google Earth is free for personal use, although more powerful versions are available for purchase, offering higher resolution images.
Windows, iPad, iPhone, Android, Chrome
Teaches: geography, science
CTR Rating: 100%