Impact of Google Earth on Student Learning

Virtual globes provide multiple opportunities for educators to build spatial understanding among students and bridge the gap between students and teachers and the less interactive paper map. Google Earth has been shown to support student learning and to increase levels of interactivity and user experience. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of Google Earth on student learning. The key question that is addressed is: Does incorporating Google Earth into the content of the social studies classroom impact student learning? The research was conducted among 102 students in the sixth grade and tenth grade from three different schools in southeast Ohio, United States. The research design used in this study is experimental research using post-test only control group design. This study indicates that the average grades in social studies in the class using Google Earth were higher than those using a printed map.

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