I'm brainstorming projects to include more tech into my existing units and I think I've come upon a slightly brilliant idea. Problem is, I don't know if it's something I can implement. What I think I'm going to do is rattle off in a bit of a stream of consciousness fashion and see what comes. If anyone would like to comment, help, etc. -- please feel free :)
There is one place in our curriculum where science and history meet and that is the geography of Washington. In history they study the various maps/resources of the state. In science we interpret land forms and the past geologic events that created them. History has dibs on the NOVA video Mystery of the Mega Flood (very good if you haven't seen it) about Glacial Lake Missoula. As I was wandering around in Google Earth I started to wonder if there is a way to have students build their own map or overlay of the area that the lake covered and the extent of the flooding after the ice dams broke. But then how much front loading or training will be required for students to be able to do this? They don't all get computers at the same time and I'm pretty sure that Google Earth wasn't covered for them last year. How long would it take to do this, four students at a time? Is this something that I could screencast for the class? Is there a way I could create a webquest for them to complete that uses the components of Google Earth? Or would a wiki be better for something like that (just looked at a couple webquest pages)?
Still not having a great inspirational thought but I do think I need to play with Google Earth more and see if what I have in my brain is possible. I'd like students to see the actual sites depicted in the video if possible -- sort of like a virtual field trip.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to create a map of these things on Google Earth yourself and then have your students link to that to play with it in Google Earth? I seem to remember loading pre-made maps and data of the Texas wildfires earlier this year to see how in danger my Aunt's farm was. I was then able to zoom in and out and read the tags that the Texas Department of Wildlife had created. This would take some considerable time on the front-end for you, but would make things easier for the kids, especially if they have ever used Google Maps. I have never attempted to create a file like that for Google Earth, but it is possible that it might already exist. It might be worth contacting some State Agencies to see if they have any data for the Lake and it's history already made available for Google Earth, or possible some Colleges and Universities. Why re-invent the wheel! Let the experts do it and borrow :)
Michele
Christine, this sounds like such an interesting project to have your students do. I think that it could be worth the time to teach students the skills they would need because they will be able to use them later on in their school career as well. Have you found any good webquests on Google Earth? I have found that webquests can be a very effective way for students to learn a lot on information in a very short amount of time. I also agree with Michelle that it might be worth looking for some data on the lake before you try to put all the work in yourself. Good luck!
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Sarah, I found some things on Google Earth that looked promising but I'm having trouble finding them again. I think I got to them through the Web Tools stuff. I'm starting to feel like my first unit (Earth history) is going to be all "teched up" compared to the other two. I really need to sit down and think of what I would want to get out of Google Earth regarding Glacial Lake Missoula before I start creating anything. I've looked around a little but haven't found anything that's already out there. It could be a cool topic for this program, actually. Maybe it'll be covered in my Earth History class next semester. Thanks for the ideas!
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