GOOGLE EARTH MASHUP: LINKING REAL AND VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS FOR AN INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY CLASS

The purpose of this two week long introductory lab/lecture project was to make a virtual field trip guide about the geology of the Presidential Range, NH, based on information from an actual class field trip to the same area linked to readings and maps describing the geologic history of the range. The field trip notes, GPS waypoints, Picasa digital images, and YouTube video clips were embedded into Google Earth as a mashup. A mashup is a "web page or application that uses and combines data, presentation or functionality from two or more sources to create new services (Wiki)". Mashups allow for easy and fast integration of a variety of data sources to produce an enriched end product that students are good at doing and really enjoy making.

The all day field trip took vans up the Mt Washington Auto Rd and then the group hiked down to Pinkham Notch a distance of 5 miles. The class went to a variety geologic settings form bedrock to surficial in nature. The students worked in groups of 2-3 and at each stop they recorded GPS waypoints, took their own digital images of outcrops and features, and made field sketches and notes about the geology.

Back on campus the students uploaded their images to the class web album on PicasaWeb. Each group then made four 30 second videos using their own cameras or a borrowed camera that described in their words, and with props, aspects of the geology. When completed, the video clips were uploaded to the class YouTube web site. The GPS waypoints and tracks collected on the trip were downloaded into Google Earth and for each waypoint students embedded a digital image or a video clip, or both, describing the geology at that waypoint. All the waypoints were accompanied by text, geared for a scientifically literate person of their ability, that describes the geology seen at that waypoint and images were annotated to point out salient geologic features.

The resulting mashups were very good and showed a great deal of high quality, independent, student-motivated learning and group work. Grading, using a rubric, was actually enjoyable, entertaining, and easy, as students simply uploaded a .kmz file to the class web site which we instructors opened in Google and then ran the virtual field trip. Students also presented their virtual field trips to the class which was very well received and again fun.