Google Earth Mapping

Tuesday April 24th:
We used Google Earth to make a map of different locations and to label five of them with a description and a name.  Also for two of them we had to include a website where people could research more about the area.  After we found our five different places, we then made a tour of all the places that included our pictures and website if it had one.  We also set the time that a person could look at the places so that if they wanted to look at the website, they could because they had enough time to click on it.  The tour also took them to many places in Oregon, not just one area in Oregon unless a person did that, but we were suppposed to do different areas.

What I liked:
I really liked doing the fun activities of looking up places that we know first to become familiar with the program.  I felt like I could connect with the program, have fun, and not feel like I have to do this.  I also liked being able to pick what I wanted to find out in this project.  We did not have to do cities or another thing to study.  We had guidelines, like the places had to be scattered and not just in one area.  This way a person could know multiple different places they could travel, but it would be nice to make one for just a certain county if a person had never been to that county before.

What I didn't like:
I did not like that sometimes the locations did not match up with the rivers that I was trying to find.  For example, when I tried to find the Calapooia River, it took me nearby it, but it did not show the actual name that was by the river so that I made sure to have the right one.  Sometimes it gave me an area that was not even nearby a river, or it was so small that maybe when I was looking I did not recognize it as a river.  This was frustrating because it made me think that I had the wrong area or river. 

What I learned:
I learned how to label different areas with a picture and a website which was fun after I got the hang of doing it.  It was a little intimidating at first to think of everything that I had to do, but after I got used to it, it became easier to use and it felt like a game because I had to find the location.  I learned also how to make the tour go together and have it have a certain amount of time.  Also within the tour, I learned how to add a website to two of them and I learned how to add pictures to the all of them.  This was fun to watch on the tour because it did not just show the name of the rivers, it showed a picture.

What I would use in the classroom:
I would have my students do an research project and for them to try to find a place that they want to research.  I would also have them make an ideal destination with things that they want to do.  They could plan a trip and we could take  virtual tour and they could present what they find and share it with the class.  The students could also look at a certain area in a different time, for example they could look at the city that they live in and as a class the teacher could show the students how a town has changed over the years.  Students could make a map of favorite places that they like to visit or go to in town.  This way if a new student moves to town, they could get to know the area and have an idea on what there is to do in town.