Google Earth 5.0 was released last week and I have been meaning to post about it for some time now. A new feature added to Google’s already acclaimed software is the ability to step forward and backward through all available satellite imagery with a feature called “Historical Data”. This relates to research in my ETEC 533 class where we are looking at web tools and information visualization technologies such as these to supplement and support classroom teaching.
This new feature opens up a new world of educational opportunities as teachers can explore how our world, or certain geographical areas, has changed over the past 5-60 years. Satellite and topographical data dates back to the 1942 for some areas but most city level views contain images from the last 10 years or so. This new feature gives teachers the ability to explore local and global changes in water-level, urban sprawl, forest area and even enhanced layers like ocean chlorophyll levels and temperature patterns.
Other features added in previous releases but expanded on in the current version are:
- Ability to overlay wide-ranging resources ranging from Wikipedia and YouTube videos to UNESCO Heritage Sites and Discovery Channel news items.
- NASA Satellite imagery of the Galaxy and Mars.
- A flight simulator.
- Recording video of tours and exporting.
- Adding paths and user-made overlays to maps to publish and share.
The software has always been a must for the social studies classroom but I feel this and many of the other new features make it an interesting free pieces of software for science and math classrooms as well. The levels of information visualization that are offered here enable deeper understanding of complex concepts on a global scale.
Check out the video below for a look at this and the other cool new features.