Exploring Google Maps/Earth

Ron Hall and Dr. Michael Hotz helped me lead an hour long workshop for teachers attending the KACEE Green Schools Conference at Farley Elementary School in Topeka on July 27, 2012. The workshop included an overview of Dr. Hotz’s program at Wyandotte High School, in which he has implemented Google Maps and Google Earth activities that he developed with our assistance for students in the 9th grade combined science and math class. He described how his students have shown a marked improvement in test scores and engagement after the implementation of project based learning that included e-Portfolios, Google Earth and Sketchup exercises. We then led the teachers on an exploration of Google Maps and Google Earth (see Google Doc below), followed by a discussion of the way in which Google Earth and Maps function, led by Ron Hall (via Google+ Hangouts).