Thursday, August 6, 2009

Google Earth

Hi bloggers,

The topic of this blog is Google Earth, I must say this has been one of the few technologies presented within the uni course that I have some knowledge around and have utilised before. Not only have I used Google Earth but have also used programs that are very similar. However, this was a few years ago when they did not provide the longitude and latitude of where you are currently situated. It's clear over the last few years how much more technology is constantly developing with new and improved gadgets all the time.

I remember the first time I used Google Earth was in high school, and I was like wow that's my house, but suddenly I thought if I can see my house that means everyone can. I kind of thought of this as a bit of a privacy barrier after passing my initial interest in this program. I thought a little more in-depth as to how this could cause problems for people in the real-world with stalkers etc.

However, looking at Google Earth in a different light as in different countries in the world and different towns and other iconic places and landmarks in the world. I see that this could be an effective tool to use in a mathematics lesson with topics such as mapping, latitude and longitude co-ordinates and bearings. it could also be used within SOSE - especially a geography strand. As cited at Central Queensland University, "Google Earth is a fantastic resource for teachers and students as it enables students to see images from different parts of the earth with the ability to overlay streets/roads with latitude and longitude. Students can see their own backyard and those of another country." (2009). this is very true, and I believe this could be an effective tool if used in classrooms appropriately. Teachers need to be on their toes ensuring this is used correctly and for the right purposes.

As I had already used this program before, I didn't really learn anything new from it. However, after all these years I still find it as interesting to use. i would like to learn about your experiences with Google earth so feel free to share them with me = )

Cheers,
Courtney

References

Central Queensland University. (2009). Google Earth. Retrieved on 6th August, 2009, from: http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=671

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