Google Earth in Teaching
eTwinning Learning Event (October - November 2016)
Assunta Laura Imondi's PLE
My profiles in social networks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laura.imondi
Twitter: @letrasparaele
My School
My city
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Tasks of the Learning Event
○ Activity 1 ○
What's Google Earth?
1.1. Install Google Earth
1.2. Join the Facebook group and introduce yourself
I joined the Facebook group and introduced myself just saying my name, where I leave and what I teach.
1.3. Post your opinion about "Google Earth" as an educational tool
In my opinion Google Earth can be useful in teaching a foreign language for many purposes such as:
- asking for and giving directions;
- preparing a touristic tour;
- studying the biography of an author or artist viewing the places where he lived;
- mapping poetic graffitis in Latin America;
- mapping the museums where the works of a certain artist are located.
1.4. Explore a multimedia track on Google Earth (Tour around Batalha)
I explored the multimedia track Tour around Batalha and took some photos of the entire tour and of some places to visit.
Viewpoint of Rebolaria
Ethnographic Museum of Batalha
Mine of Barrojeira
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○ Activity 2 ○
Explore multimedia tracks
2.1. Explore multimedia tracks (Part I)
First of all I decided to have a look at this tutorial in order to know how to import files from the web and how to search them.
2.1. Explore Multimedia Tracks (Part II)
Finally I had a look at all the multimedia tracks of the Learning Event and I found very interesting to explore the Geography Awareness Quiz.
2.1. Explore Multimedia Tracks (Part III)
Knowing that at the end of the course I should be able to create KMZ and KML files, let's see what they are.
As reported in the course:
What is a KML File?
KML is a file format used to display geographic data in an Earth browser such as Google Earth, Google MY Maps, Google Maps, and Google Maps for mobile. KML uses a tag-based structure with nested elements and attributes and is based on the XML standard.
What is a KMZ File?
A KMZ file consists of a main KML file and zero or more supporting files that are packaged using a Zip utility into one unit, called an archive. The KMZ file can then be stored and emailed as a single entity. When the KMZ file is unzipped, the main .kml file and its supporting files are separated into their original formats and directory structure, with their original file names and extensions. In addition to being an archive format, the Zip format is also compressed, so an archive can include only a single large KML file.
Google Earth, Google MY Maps and Google Maps can read KML and KMZ files directly, and they can save files as KMZ files. By default, the main KML file is named doc.kml.
Tip: To see the KML "code" for a feature in Google Earth, you can simply right-click the feature in the Viewer of Google Earth and select Copy. Then Paste the contents of the clipboard into any text editor. The visual feature displayed in Google Earth is converted into its KML text equivalent.
©Marco Neves
Thanks to this clear explanation, I think to begin with a KML to build a map and then I'll create a KMZ archive.
2.2. Post your opinion about ideas to create new multimedia tracks
- asking for and giving directions;
- preparing a touristic tour;
- studying the biography of an author or artist viewing the places where he lived;
- mapping poetic graffitis in Latin America;
- mapping the museums where the works of a certain artist are located.
As regards asking for and giving directions, I'll use the city of Verona where my school is located to show the students how to reach museum, monuments, libraries, theaters and cinemas. Then I think to create a multimedia track for Salamanca that we will visit next year. I'd like to create this second task with the collaboration of the students involved in the tour in order to let them know:
- the positions of the families;
- their school in Salamanca;
- the most important places to visit;
- the information point;
- the bus stops.
In this way they would be able to use this app, to visit a new city without getting lost and to have some knowledge about history of the city and its monuments. To tell the truth I've already told them that they will be my guide!
Now let's see what will happen :-)
In the past I took part in an Event promoted in eTwinning Platform to celebrate "World Tourism Day". During the activities planned to welcome foreign tourists, students accessed Google Earth and Google My Maps to look for the best itineraries to reach the most important monuments of Verona.
More information are available in this post of the blog El lirismo del alfabeto.
Next year I am interested in repeating this experience with other students that will be invited to use Google Earth not only to view or to check itineraries but also to create their own Tours with Tour Builder and to create some KML files or KMZ archives.
2.3. Produce a first Multimedia Track on Google Earth
My first track
As first experiment with Google Earth I decided to create a track including some places in Verona (my school, the railway station, the most important monument of the city, a museum and one of my favorite places
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○ Activity 3 ○
Prepare an action plan
3.1. Develop a plan as a support for the production of an educational resource on Google Earth
The steps to develop an action plan are:
1) Identify what you want to geo-reference (national, cultural, historical or natural heritage) and define the pedagogical strategies involved in designing the track. If you can, establish partnerships with local authorities, entities related to heritage / tourism, among others.
2) Discuss with your students the relevance of the activity and contextualise it within the curriculum. Then create a blog as a central point of debate and activity development.
3) Search and investigate sources of information about the selected topics (online information, course book, encyclopedias, etc.).
4) Select the relevant sections of the Multimedia Track that will be geo-referenced (draw up the texts and collection of multimedia elements to be included in them – upload videos and images into the web).
5) Plan the activity with the students and describe all the tasks related to the route. The recommended tool for planning is Google MY Maps because it allows you to work collaboratively.
6) Organise students to work in groups (each group will be responsible for a POI (Point of Interest or Placemark).
7) Final work on editing the track. First global view in Google Earth or MY Maps (join all the placemarks).
8) Publication of the file on the school website, sending it to parents, specific communities, Town Hall website, sharing inter-school.
9) Reflection on the work and discussion of geo-referenced assets. Edit the groups’ thoughts in the blog created to support the implementation of the activity.
©Marco Neves
Possible plans to develop
Actually there are two plans I can develop with my students:
2. Salamanca we're arriving! (for our next trip)
3.2. Explore Google My Maps and Tour Buider
I took a look at Google My Maps and found directions from a place to another in the city of Verona
After exploring Tour Builder, I created a little tour of Verona calling it "Verona Classic Tour" that starts from the railways stations and guides towards the most visited places of this Italian city.
Enjoy the view!
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○ Activity 4 ○
Produce a multimedia track
4.1. Share educational resources related to Google Earth and My Maps
As regards educational resources I share some sites in Spanish I can really use in the classroom and a very short video that explains how to add views and perspectives to our placemarks in Google Earth.
4.2. Produce and submit an Educational Multimedia Track
The tracks I share are:
1. A map of Verona I would like to include in a project for the World Tourism Day in 2017.
2. An example of what my students have to create (with Google Earth or Google My Maps) before going to Salamanca in Spain to attend a Spanish course. Their work will contain the school, the house of the families where they will stay and the monuments we will visit.
1. Verona
2. Salamanca
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○ Links ○
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