Teaching with Google Earth
This material was originally created for
On the Cutting Edge: Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty and is replicated here as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service.
Created by Glenn A. Richard, Mineral Physics Institute, Stony Brook University
Classroom Activities: Ready-to-use
A Complete Guide to Using Google Earth in the Geoscience Classroom
What is Google Earth? - provides Google Earth basics, including descriptions of the three versions of the program.
Becoming Familiar with Google Earth - provides information about web resources and books for learning how to use Google Earth.
Why Teach with Google Earth? - outlines potential uses for both students and teachers.
How to Teach with Google Earth - points the way to several methods to get started.
User Guide - contains clear, step-by-step instructions and screen shots for students and teachers, including a handy one-page guide: Google Earth Tip Sheet (Acrobat (PDF) 440kB Nov20 08).
Working with KML - introduces Keyhole Markup Language (KML), a standard format for storing and distributing geographic data.
KML Examples from the Google Earth Community Forums - presents examples of how members of the Google Earth Community have created a variety of map features with KML.
Google Earth API (application programming interface) enables developers to embed Google Earth applications into web pages.
Google Maps - is a browser-based mapping service with an API (application programming interface) that can be used to create customized interactive maps.
Resources and References provide more information about Google Earth.
Classroom Activities: Ready-to-use
Ready to get started teaching with Google Earth? Want to see some examples of classroom use?
See the collection of ready-to-use classroom activities that use Google Earth.
Contribute a Teaching Activity
If you have a Google Earth activity you would like to share with the community, please use our Contribute an Activity form to upload your materials.
