GOOGLE EARTH IN THE EARTH SCIENCE CLASSROOM

The scale of the Earth, and features that are created or responsible for many of the important earth science processes are often too large and too complex to visusalize easily in a sketch, photograph, or even on a real-life field trip. Since its release in the summer of 2005, Google Earth has provided an uncomplicated means of combining aerial imagery with geologic and geographic information in an easily accessible, free software package. Google Earth's 3D rendering of surface features of the earth can be manipulated easily and incorporated into Earth Science lessons in a variety of ways. Without a doubt, Google Earth visualizations grab students' attention. It's the thoughtful teacher's job to integrate these visualizations into lessons that include important content and meaningful learning activities. The authors have collaborated on several Google Earth projects appropriate to the earth science classroom - including the DLESE New York Landscape Regions in Google Earth collection - and present some ideas for classroom lessons here.