A day with Google

Today (Friday) was invited to spend a day at the Google Head office in London. The main purpose of the day was to discuss how Google Earth, Google Sky, Google Maps and Google Sketch Up could be better used in the classroom. Our fascinating conversation also expanded to include other Google Apps such as Blogger, Google Docs, Google Video/You Tube and Google Search.

There were a number of familiar faces in the room including Martin Brown (from LTS), Noel Jenkins (possibly the most enthusiastic man on the planet and of Juicy Geography fame) and Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop (from Digital Explorer). There was also an opportunity to meet a few new people including Richard Treves from the University of Southampton, who runs the Google Earth Design Blog, Steve Brace who is Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the Royal Geographical Society and Tina Ornduff from the Google Geo Education Team.

I was really interested in some of the ideas that Richard was putting forward to do with Google Earth / Maps Design and about the need to try and keep the basics right when teaching people to use Google Earth / Maps. This is something that I have talked about before (see my post on: Ten Ideas for using Google Earth and Google Maps in the Classroom). I will also be coming back to this theme later in the month when I present on Breaking Down Walls with Google Earth at the Scottish Learning Festival.

We talked about a number of things and discussed different ways that we could try and get more teachers using these types of resources in the classroom. I was keen to try and promote the idea of trying to create ways of attracting more children to use Google Earth for themselves. At the moment most of my / our efforts have been to get children to engage through teachers. Perhaps it’s time we thought about bypassing some teachers and directly marketing this type of product to the children? This would be particularly powerful if we could get children to help design such publicity material. The model that CEOP use for the Youth Advisory Council who help them shape their web resources could be a good one to copy here? It also might be quite nice to create a 5-7 year old resource, a 8–10 year old resource and a 11–16 year old resource.

I was also very keen to work on / produce some sort of collective resource to show children who produce coursework (GCSA, A-Level and Advanced Higher) how they could better use Google Earth to improve their projects. I was impressed when Noel first showed me this (see picture below) a few years ago – and now producing such graphics has become really easy to do.

I’m also keen to encourage more teachers to set Google Earth, Google Maps and Sketch Up tasks for homework. I have met a number of teachers that complain that the reason they don’t use these resources more is because they have not got access to a computer lab. For me this needs a bit more creative thought. Why don’t you just leave some of the more boring written tasks for the classroom (where children often need a bit more encouragement, coaching and motivation – from you the teacher) and save your computer lab work for them to complete at home. Think about it – most children do have a computer at home. They find working on the computer engaging, which in my experience means they are more likely to complete their homework. 

Jamie presented some interesting ideas on the next evolution of Google Earth. Could Google Earth be used as a rich gaming environment? I think so. The Google Earth flight simulator has been around for a while and more and more games / challenges are starting to be developed in Google Earth. One of the things that Tina showed us today was the Monster Milk Float Game. This is where you drive a virtual milk cart around the globe to explore things. To get the 3D maps to work in your browser you need to download a plug in for FireFox.

Here’s a screen shot of me exploring Edinburgh when I got home tonight in my Milk Float – do you recognise Arthurs Seat?

 

Other Stuff

Google Street View

Google Street View is soon coming to the UK. Noel suggested an expansion of street view to not just include streets. For example, a tour through Cheddar Gorge or along Striding Edge in the Lake District. A great idea that I’m sure will eventually come to reality. 

 
Google Teacher Academy

The Google Teacher Academy could be on the way to the UK. I’ve asked about it before and I’ve even offered to provide 50 East Lothian Teachers.

Google Geo Apps and A Curriculum for Excellence

One of the other ideas that I was thinking about is would it be worth trying to map how some free web 2.0 tools could be used to support the experiences and outcomes of A Curriculum for Excellence? The Google Apps suite would be a good place to start here. For example the Experience and Outcomes of A Curriculum for Excellence explicitly mention the sky and astronomy. But how many Scottish Teachers have heard of Google Sky? And how many have used it in their classrooms yet? What a great resource (You Tube Video embedded below).

Google Earth and GLOW

Martin and I talked at length about how GLOW could be used to develop the use of Google Earth in Scottish classrooms. Martin has already set up a Google Earth Group in GLOW, which is a sub-section of the social subjects group. We probably need to set up other groups as well, as Google Earth is cross curricular and not just limited to social subjects. There is space within this GLOW group for Scottish teachers to up-load their Google Earth files. One of the things that we talked about was approaching some of these teachers and asking them to share their Google Earth files with the wider community perhaps via Google Geo-Education Pages?

What else?

Oh yes – an excellent lunch, a free t-shirt and I met John Connell on the plane on the way home!

Comments

[Alan Coady]

This sounds like a great day out!

Although the applications of the technology you describe sound most suited to Geography teachers - and primary teachers - the cross-curricular notion opens it up. Although I couldn't come up immediately with uses for instrumental instructors, I'd say it's in the nature of the job to subvert to adapt or subvert ideas to their purpose. An example of this would be devising uses of software which are quite different from the creators' original intentions. So, if you find yourself with 49 teachers, don't forget us.

[jaye richards]

I wonder if there is a use for this in Biology as well - environments, pollution, forestry and agriculture all come into my mind here. Same for the standard grade science environments course.
What do you think ? Any top tips ?

[Noel Jenkins]

Hey Ollie - nice write up, but I think you underplayed the quality of the lunch!

The promise of a UK Google Teacher's Academy is really exciting.

I'm looking to publish a few more examples of student work with GE and GMaps this year and hopefully developing a few more links to Higher Ed uses of Google tools. It's fairly clear that people like Richard can utilize their technical kills to develop GE educational apps much more effectively than school teachers.

[Ian Stuart]

Sounds great.
We have been working with schools in Georgia, USA and Valencia, Spain using Google docs, sketchup and google Earth.
Putting info up on https://islaymonroe.wikispaces.com/ .
We are using Google Earth and Sketchup to reproduce old settlements for Archelology.
So many possiblities, so little time

[Bill Stephen]

Great post Ollie, there is a lot to use here! Sounds like a good day too. I'll definitely be poaching some idea for the new East Lothian Outdoor Education website.

[David Gilmour]

Bet you feel at home in that Milk Float.

[Alan Parkinson]

Where was my invite ?
Perhaps it got lost in the post ;)

Using GE and maps as part of my new role at the Geographical Association to help build teacher networks.
Don't forget my user guide blog too...
http://googlearthusersguide.blogspot.com
You can tell me all about it at SLF...

[Jim McDougall]

Great post; how do you get to visit Google HQ?! I am doing maps and atlas skills with S1 and I feel it's vital they get meaningful experience of Google Earth and other online maps as well as the traditional OS maps. I think "e-maps" are changing the way we construct a sense of place and teach concepts such as scale, distance and conventional symbols. For example, on Google maps or Multimap we perceive "scale" as a continuum of detail that can be adjusted by sliding a toolbar, zooming in and out to the required level of coverage. Layering and superimposing aerial photos on to maps are other powerful tools for any mapwork lesson.

[NovaLoca]

Never mind Google, we have Street Level View already, check out....

http://www.novaloca.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/17/view-londons-commercial-property-in-street-level-view-with-novalocas-maps/

[OllieBray]

Yes, but none of Scotland!

[coursework help]

i really appreciate google services and still upgrading systems and ways, google earth is quite helpful for travel guide.