Apr 24, 2017

Google Earth

Just realised that I have not posted this sharing on Google Earth in inquiry-based learning which I shared with my colleagues June and Kelly @ the Humanities network on 7 April 2017 at Fajar Sec. The slides which we used for the sharing.



Making use of what I had learned from Paul Cornish in the Humanities Conference. You can also click on the link below to see how to create kmz files for geographical inquiry:
http://ezitnew.blogspot.sg/2012/06/using-google-earth-for-geographical.html

You can download Google Earth free here: http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/agree.html


This is how the screen will look when you open up Google Earth app or plugin.



Perform searches from the search box at the top left side of the program. Let's visit Machu Picchu! 
This was very useful when I get the students to take a virtual trip there and explore the area as a place with rich heritage... some were debating that it is a place with scenic beauty as it is high up in the mountain! This virtual trip get them to relate better to the issues mentioned in the textbook such as erosion of the footpath etc. They learn better through authentic learning.

You can type a place name, zipcode or postcode, a town/city name, an airport or you can even try to type in a latitude-longitude location (in decimal format). Once you press the  Enter key, you'll be "flown" to that destination.  You can take a virtual holiday!
You can also drag the little yellow man icon to the map and you will get to see street view. I do this before I visit a place so that I can navigate the place easily when I am there!


Use the zoom out and zoom in options from the buttons on the right hand side of the screen.
Turn the wheel in the top right corner to spin the item to a better understood angle. 




Click on Exit Street view to go back to the map.

Look for the date the picture was taken from the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

My colleague, June, shared on how she use Google Earth to prepare the students for their GI in Chinatown. Indeed the tool is useful for them to take a virtual visit before the actual field investigation so that they will not be lost. The students can also be shown how to do the landuse survey, marking the main landuse on both sides of the streets.




Use of Google Earth for Physical Geography https://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/sec3geog/google-earth

I have attached some of the kmz files below which you can explore. There are also many kmz or kml files which you can use with Google Earth online.

2 of the kmz files attached below were created by me - one on map reading which is the coastal area south of UK. The map was from one of the N level papers. 



The other file is the Earth Tectonic plates. I have place marked the features or the plate boundaries you see the actual locations on Google Earth. 



Earthquake around the world kmz - WWeqANSS.kml  attached - Have you wondered where and when did earthquakes of magnitude 8 or 9 occurred? Open up the file and find out!




Open the earthquake focus file attached to see whether there is a relationship between the depth of focus and the plate boundaries.



Use the 4degrees file to investigate the areas where there are higher increase in temperatures.

Open up the Hurricane Katrina file to see the historical images on how the hurricane formed and moved over New Orleans. Scroll through the dates to see all the satellite images from different days of the year. 
Drag the location of the toggle slider switch in the top left corner to a different date and see what the area was like. e.g. you can see what New Orleans was like after Hurricane Katrina, or one of the many famous historical times that date back to 1990! 



Google Earth for Sec 2 https://sites.google.com/a/moe.edu.sg/sec-2-geog/using-google-earth presented by my colleague, Kelly.

You can also drag the yellow man button on the left to any of the blue line and you can see the street view.


This is one of the street view of Tokyo. Look at the high rise buildings and more developed infrastructure e.g. flyover, wider roads congested with cars etc.


The second file is on the Favela in Brazil (slum).  

Open the file with Google Earth. You will see the Favela area marked by a yellow line. 
To see the street view, drag the yellow man icon on the right to any point on the blue line.


You will able to virtually walk down the street by clicking on the road. Click on Exit Street View on top right hand corner to go back to the aerial view of the Favela zone in Brazil.

Look at the living conditions of the people in the favela by taking a virtual walk in the area using street view.

Look for the date the picture was taken from the bottom corner of the screen.
Scroll through the dates to see all the satellite images from different days of the year. 
Zoom to a place on the map where the satellite image has a date, click the "View" menu from the menu bar and click the "Historical Imagery" button to enable the feature. 
Drag the location of the toggle slider switch in the top left corner to a different date and see what the area was like. e.g. you can see how the Serangoon River mouth was like before the dam was built in 2010 in 2005, 2008 and 2010.








Click on the attached file below 'Forest' and then click on the pie charts in the various countries and find out which countries experience high rate of deforestation.

How much forest cover has Singapore lost?



Amazing effort by a teacher on enhancing the use of Google Earth through coding and design of app - something which I have yet to learn ( I just know how to use html with help of designer code in dreamweaver) https://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2011/12/using_google_earth_in_the_classroom.html
The app online he created: http://www.geteach.com/ Love how you can analyse the maps side by side e.g. the population density versus the topography  etc

The Google Earth pages with files attached on my Google Sites:

Sec 1 

Sec 2 

Sec 3 

Sec 4 







Visible learners and engaging pedagogy

Love the sharing by my colleagues Elisabeth and Wen Ee today.

In fact there is a need for active and collaborative instruction coupled with various means to encourage student engagement which will invariably lead to better learning outcome.

The use of technology can help to engage the students and becoming visible learners. They shared with us the following links which contain very useful apps or website for educators.

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2017/01/70-educational-ipad-apps-for-teachers.html

The Ultimate EdTech Chart for Teachers and Educators www.educatorstechnology.com

Another good resource shared by Wen Ee is freetech for teacher
A bit of "magic" using Aurasma which would definitely excite the students as they can use the app to see the picture comes alive in the form of a video. 

Engaging students using the app aurasma
I have learned about this 2 years ago and had wanted to try but have not done so. Decided to try a simple one using a photo of the tuned mass damper in 101 building to trigger an interesting video clip from a Taiwan news report.


You can try to use Aurasma to scan the following picture:

And it will come alive in the form of a video  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJDpDkDUYOE) on the screen!

To create an aura:
Sign up for an account @ https://www.aurasma.com/






Aurasma app can be downloaded 

Just activate the app and you can scan the trigger picture. Students will be amazed how the video will suddenly come alive in VR! Try it out today!
 


Extracted from my earlier post on Aurasma below:


An interesting app shared during the ICT symposium 2015 - Aurasma
It can be downloaded from App Store for IOS and Play store for Androids (however my Samsung Note 4 is not compatible and cannot download it. It works on my Samsung Galaxy Pro)
The app offers a lot of potential in creating virtual learning. 


Aurasma allows users to create or view augmented reality experiences. The user open up the app and capture the photo with the camera. The image will transform into a video, animation, another image or bring you to a website with more information. 
To create their own Auras, students or teachers choose an overlay and a trigger. An overlay is a video, image, an animation or a website link that will appear when someone finds the trigger object or photo. 
Tutorial on creating a sequenced aura using the aurasma studio https://studio.aurasma.com/login
https://youtu.be/CaczBAfdRns - so cool being able to create a scavenger hunt with photos. User just scan the photo and could see a video or even a url link providing more information.

Use of Aurasma in teaching:

https://youtu.be/uHIxYpBW7sc?list=PLYk2ySKukLs6Fih_6xze0EYRyGJguDYCF

Use of Aurasma in learning nature:

https://youtu.be/WRS_nZOOMyY?list=PLYk2ySKukLs6Fih_6xze0EYRyGJguDYCF