Google Earth in the classroom

I suggested an activity on my webpage which may be appropriate to use in the classroom that involves measuring and recording the distance from school to students homes.  After consideration of having this information published online in a wiki, I would change that element and have the students document this information on paper in class and perhaps ask them to record other measurements online, so that in no way, students could be put at risk.  While I would not have allowed them to publish their names or even necessarily the name of the school, I cannot fully predict what and how even the smallest amounts of personal information may be adversely used.  To enable students to undertake this task I have made a small video which I uploaded to You Tube which explains how to achieve the measurement, to provide scaffolding for this task and also future tasks.  Measurement of school to home one day, measurement of home town to other like sized towns internationally and even measuring the perimeter of a pyramid.  I find Google Earth an easy tool to use, with many interesting options such as grid overlay.  The ability to view the sky, Mars and the Moon and information from the data layers provides an interesting and interactive approach to learning.  Activities for multiple learning areas can be included such as maths, history, science and geography.  There is the opportunity to have collaboration in group activities as well.

Strengths-
Engaging
Easy to use
Helps to acquire spatial recognition
Allows for collaboration
Can support multiple learning areas

Weaknesses-
Requires internet connection
Not all measurement information is exact

Opportunities-
Nurture students curiosity about the world
Allow for more interaction with information relating to other places

Threats-
Students may get side tracked from required tasks