Teaching Geoscience Concepts with Google Earth
Julia Baldwin
, University of Montana
Summary
This is an activity that was developed for a teacher development program to introduce the various ways Google Earth could be used to explore geoscience concepts.
Context
Audience:
Geoscience course for pre-service and inservice K-8 teachers.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered:
Basic computer skills. Basic familiarity with Google Earth.
How the activity is situated in the course:
This is a stand-alone exercise.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity:
- Learning how Google Earth can be used to explore Geoscience concepts.
- Earthquakes and seismology
- Volcanic Landforms
- Glacial geomorphology
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity:
analysis of datasets, formulating hypotheses, using computer visualizations
Other skills goals for this activity:
computer and software skills.
Description of the activity/assignment
This is an introduction to Google Earth that was developed for a K-8 Geoscience teacher development workshop. Students must first download and install Google Earth (GE). They then explore three different geoscience topics including earthquakes, volcanoes, and glacial landforms.
Determining whether students have met the goals
Students must complete a worksheet showing that they have completed the various tasks.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.Download teaching materials and tips
- Activity Description/Assignment (Microsoft Word 116kB Jul14 08)
