What Do I Think About Using GeoTools in the Classroom?

Geotools are a great new technology that bring a whole new life to mapping for the classroom. No longer are students confined to looking at a flat map in a textbook, or search an encyclopedia for an image of a location across the world. With geotools, students have the capability of visiting the places they learn about and see a 3-D perspective of the location. Geotools are beneficial no only for an entertaining or interactive activity in the classroom, but they are also great for visual and spatial learners. Many think that tools such as google earth can only be used in classes such as Geography. However, these programs can be used to teach a History lesson, in order to take students around the globe to the areas being studied, Science can be integrated in studying space, Math classes could make use of this tool in finding measurements, and other technology courses could use these tools to bring other multimedia into the presentation with the display of pictures or videos. The interest level of students in using geotools will be much greater, as they participate in finding locations, rather than reading them in a book. Many students will also grasp a better understanding when using geotools through viewing locations on an interactive level. As an English teacher, I may use tools such as google earth to allow students to put together a trip based on a voyage characters are taking in a story. For example, if the students were reading a book about characters migrating across the country, taking various stops along the way, the students may put together a folder on google earth displaying each location in which they stopped. They may also have to include pictures displaying the cultures of each location. Geotools have brought a new level of technology into the classroom, for, field trips can now be taken on the computer screen at the cost of nothing.