USING GOOGLE EARTH© IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS TO CONQUER TEACHERS' FEAR OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

Professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers seem to increase each year and appear to cover nearly all content areas taught in the earth sciences; but many of the teaching strategies and instructional materials avoid the use of technology because of both perceived and actual barriers to learning that seem to appear whenever computers are introduced into these sessions. The SC MAPS Project Office at Clemson University runs several courses and workshops each year for middle school and other teachers throughout the state of South Carolina. Feedback from these sessions has historically been quite good except when computer skills are required. Most participating teachers, even those who routinely use computers for personal word processing and spreadsheets, report that they are not comfortable using computers as learning tools in the classroom; even after they complete the training sessions. In some geographic areas of South Carolina, many veteran teachers do not even use e-mail or have home computers.

The relatively new web-based Google Earth© program is an excellent tool to introduce teachers to computer technology because it provides an instant incentive to teachers to want to learn the required procedures. The idea of being able to view aerial photography of their school building and grounds, or of their home residence, seems to excite even the most recalcitrant participant and keeps everyone at full attention while the computer tools are being explained. A customized tutorial guides teachers through the basic types of views that are available through this very user-friendly program. Because interest level is so high, teachers willingly repeat the steps many times, learning the techniques more rapidly, thereby increasing familiarity and comfort with the program.

The images and maps available through Google Earth© complement hardcopy maps such as those available through the SC MAPS and SE MAPS curriculum projects, and help to document a record of changes in land use and land cover through time. A teacher can quickly zoom from one landscape example to another to point out geologic and geographic features and specific landforms. The aerial perspective gives students a new way of viewing the landscape, however, computer access should not completely replace physical interaction with large-format maps for pedagogical reasons.