Google Earth–and the ability to easily create tours with Google Maps–lends itself to many curriculum uses. In a literature class, teachers and/or students can create a guided tour of the main character’s journey, highlighting each stop along the way with quotations from the novel, descriptions of the stop and its relationship to the novel’s themes, pictures evocative of the spot’s symbolic or thematic significance, a discussion of the character’s growth, and links to interesting web resources. In foreign language classes, students and teachers can create guided tours of a city, or a scavenger hunt, or a recreation of where in the world is carmen sandiego with clues in each pop-up balloon. Foreign language teachers can also have students visit a city and then find cafes, cinemas, restaurants, etc. and provide them with a budget to spend for a one-day visit. Students can write an essay determining the best spot for a new hotel based on GE research about local attractions, subway stops, and amenities. Younger students can create a tour of a particular country. History students can create tours tracing the journeys of great explorers or the conquests of emperors or the key battles in a war. Study latitude and longitude with a treasure hunt. The possibilities are endless.   Here is a youtube video with some suggestions about using Google Earth in the classroom:  

Voicethread allows you to upload images; then different students can record their comments for each image, creating a slideshow with many commentaries. Students can also add written responses. Foreign language teachers, lower school teachers, and english teachers will particularly like this site, but history, science and math teachers can create interesting Voicethread slideshows. The site has tutorials and suggestions for using a voicethread in the classroom Try it.

Throughout the year, Steve and I will update this blog to include tips, tricks, thoughts, and more. We will highlight cool web sites, interesting shareware to download, and links to educators’ blogs and wikis. Please feel free to add your comments and suggestions. If you have created a great lesson plan, discovered a terrific site, or mastered a skill you would like to share, please feel free.