Assignment 2: Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

Google Earth Across the Curriculum

The purpose of this Virtual Learning Environment is to give educators a basic understanding of the main functions of Google Earth and some ideas for using Google Earth in the classroom.

Google Earth is a great tool for both the primary and secondary classroom. It is not limited to just the geography or earth science class, but can also be used in history, English, and mathematics among others. The scope is really just limited by the teachers knowledge and skills in using Google Earth.

Students can explore ancient city ruins; recreate the expansion of the Roman Empire; measure distances between landmarks; get directions; calculate the area of the base of the pyramids; track the movements of refugees from Sri Lanka; highlight significant places and events from a text/film; create layers showing the growth of Melbourne; use placemarks, descriptions and images to show a recent holiday trip, etc. The list is literally endless.

This VLE is basically an online ‘PD’. The target audience of this VLE are teachers. Through this VLE, I aim to show how to use the basic functions of Google Earth and give some examples of how it can be incorporated into your class.

Numerous social software programs will be used in the development of this VLE. This blog will be used to get information across, explain the task, discuss issues and respond to questions. Jing video clips will be used to show basic Earth tools – search, 3D, placemarks, creating a tour and basic navigation. Jing clips will also be used to show how to complete the task (which will be outlined in the next blog post). Google Earth 'Outreach' will be used to show some excellent examples of what can be achieved using Google Earth. A YouTube clip is embedded which gives a good introduction to the basic functions of Google Earth. Finally, there is a wealth of information about Google Earth, and I am definitely not the first educator who has thought to use it with students. This blog will link to relevant sites which offer lesson plans, webquests and class ideas.

To use this blog, follow the order of the pages in the top left corner of this blog: Home, The Basics of Google Earth, Jing Clips, A Completed Tour, and finally Google Earth Outreach Tutorials. At the bottom of each page there is a link to the the next step of the task. This link simply takes you to the next page of this blog.

The Importance of Spatial Awareness

'Spatial awareness is important in the understanding and representation of real world physical conditions. Making maps, drawings, and models that represent actual conditions within our world are useful in scientific processes and developing spatial awareness. Concepts of spatial awareness are also linked to the development of imagination and the creation of original creative content. Design and the creation of new and original ideas must often be represented as maps, drawings, and models to communicate, and test ideas that are important in architecture, design, and art.

Even though we navigate daily through a perceptual world of three dimensions and reason occasionally about higher dimensional arenas with ease, the world portrayed on our information displays is caught up in the two-dimensionality of the endless flatland of paper and video screen.

The problem of spatial perception does not end with the experience, but is continued in the ability to understand and communicate ideas of three-dimensional space in two dimensions. The use of digital technology in the classroom offers the opportunity to both develop spatial awareness and develop methods to communicate spatial concepts necessary for understanding the visual information within children's minds (Everett, 2000; Hermer-Vazques, Moffet, & Munkholm, 2001). The nature of the information created to communicate three-dimensional spatial ideas bridges science and art, physical space, and cyberspace.'

Matthews, David (2002), Technological applications to support children's development of spatial awareness, Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual, p.321

Note: the text above is not my work. It has been adapted from the reference.

Once you have finished looking through this blog, reflect on the following questions: Can Google Earth play a role in the development of spatial awareness? Can the ideas and concepts created in Google Earth 'bridge' science and art, physical space and cyberspace? Is spatial awareness important?

The Importance of Global Education

Abstract of an interview about the importance of 'global education' taken from this site.

'Global education has significantly increased in importance and prominence in K-12 education over the last two decades. Not only are students learning about the world through new technologies, they are also interacting with it. Being fully immersed in the twenty-first century has placed new importance on understanding cultures other than our own. New technologies are placing distant peoples only clicks away.

In an email interview with Dr. Merry Merryfield, one of the foremost scholars in the field of Global Education, I asked her to address what it takes to offer a truly global education and why it is important.

Brian Knighten: Can you define "global education"?

Merry Merryfield: Global education prepares young people to understand and interact within a culturally diverse and globally interconnected world. Its content includes the study of world cultures and religions, world literature, the interrelatedness of world history, global issues, global economic, technological, environmental, and political systems, non-state global actors, and cross-cultural communication skills.'

After completing the task and browsing this blog, come back here and reflect on the following question: in what ways can Google Earth help 'prepare young people to understand and interact within a culturally diverse and globally interconnected world?'

Task

The task that other FLE students willl attempt is to use Google Earth to create a short tour of three locations. The task will include:

1. Three locations with placemarks
   
2. A brief written description of each location with an image (taken from the internet)
   
3. Audio
4. Saving the tour to hard-drive
5. Uploading the tour using Google Docs
6. The tour will be put through a 'gadget' in order to get the html code which will enable the tour to be embedded on a web page (such as this blog)

I have made Jing clips which cover each step of the task. I expect this task to take a couple of hours.

Before starting the task, you need to go here to download the lastest version of Google Earth (its free). There are several tools and functions that this version of Google Earth has to offer, including: navigating, directions, layers, places, measuring and site-seeing. All of these tools are easy to use and can be effectively used in a lesson for almost any subject.

The next post is an introduction to the basics of Google Earth through a YouTube clip. To see this post click here or click on the Basics of Google Earth page at the top left corner of this blog.