Chromebooks, Google Classroom and Google Earth Together Provide a Framework for Teaching Geography and many other subjects in K-12
I actually started drafting an article on Google Earth in the classroom last fall but since then it’s been one thing or another pushing things to the back burner. Mostly work priorities but then COVID-19 sent everything sideways. Seemingly pointing us all in a new and uncharted direction. A new and greater reliance on the internet as many of us found ourselves working remotely.
The remote work force in many of our extended families includes teachers of whom I now have even greater respect after watching what is involved in teaching remotely and online. The lesson plans, prep work, surgically attached to the computer, and the seemingly endless hours of the encompassing interaction with students – and parents – well beyond the normal eight-hour work day.
In a roundabout way watching this teaching workflow unfold during the COVID lockdown brought me back to the Google Earth article. Google’s presence in the classroom is ubiquitous built around Google Classroom which I can only imagine will grow immensely as remote K-12 education expands in the future. Wrapped in with kabillons of lesson plans, templates, covering every education topic, discussion groups, forums, and blogs from around the world – everything built on top of Google technology. Easily delivered and made available to the masses at all levels of the educational spectrum with the uber cheap and incredibly functional Google Chomebook. (btw – using one as I type). And easily accessible within this framework – and bringing me back to the beginning of this article – is the Google Earth product for use in the classroom. It’s an incredible product to augment K-12 classroom teaching and not just for geography.