STUDENT-GENERATED GOOGLE EARTH COURSE PORTFOLIOS IN EARTH SCIENCE COURSES

Some university courses require students to complete an electronic portfolio, an online compilation of assignments and reflections completed during a semester to document learning. The typical ePortfolio is a static document with links to pages of text. A twist to the traditional ePortfolio format is to have students to place their learning in a geospatial context, enhanced with audio, photos, and/or video. The free application Google Earth is a useful tool for students to geolocate their knowledge. Students can create and customize placemarks and balloons with their own text and supporting media. The benefits of using Google Earth as the delivery mechanism for the ePortfolio include enhancing student geographic literacy and digital literacy, as well as promote an understanding of the global context of course topics.

The Google Earth portfolio has been implemented in two different Earth Science courses. For the introductory-level course Water: Science and Society, students were required to create content in Google Earth that summarized their learning connected to the case studies covered in the course. This non-majors course had students embed images available in the public domain to enhance written summaries of each global water issue. In a senior Earth Science seminar titled Fire, students focused on geolocating self-created podcasts and videos to document their new content knowledge relating to public lands and fire. In both courses, only a short classroom demonstration was necessary to train students on how to customize content in Google Earth.

For both courses, students reported an appreciation for the innovative course design and the ability to develop their technology skills. Some students are taking the Google Earth portfolio and posting the file on their own electronic portfolio, further showcasing and disseminating their knowledge. Students report continuing to use Google Earth as a tool in disciplines outside of Earth Science, such as anthropology and history, to document journeys and events. Importantly, students report an appreciation of facing the need to increase their geographic literacy to understand the context of global events.