Today I spent the day working with teachers from around the state showing them how to use Google Earth in the classroom. The workshop was sponsored by SCETV, and was held in their studios in Columbia. I did two sessions of Basic Google Earth, and one of Advanced.
The basic sessions went very well. It’s always great to hear the ooo’s and aaah’s as they see the really cool parts of the program for the first time. We covered basic navigation, basic placemarks, did some sight-seeing, and I pointed them to some web resources. That was about all we had time for.
As for the advanced sessions, well…
it’s always a risk when label something "advanced." Basic is easier – you start very simple and go from there. However, you never know what some people are going to consider advanced. In today’s session, I had some that were probably ready for more intricate topics, and some had never seen the program before. It was tough, but we managed. I really didn’t want to leave anyone behind. I guess I should have made the prerequisites a bit more explicit.
Anyway, we covered including HTML into placemarks, the creation of overlays, and the concept of geotagging.
Tomorrow I repeat the schedule. The only difference is that SCETV wants to record the session. Wish I’d known that before I packed. I think I would have adjusted my wardrobe a bit.