During the one year that I taught a literature course for 9th graders, I had to teach The Odyssey. Some of the students loved it, others hated it, and others were indifferent toward the book. One of the elements of The Odyssey that some of my students struggled with was grasping a sense of the geographic setting of the story. Had it been available at the time, I would have had those students explore the travels of Odysseus in this Google Earth file.

Applications for Education
This is a great example of how literature teachers can use Google Earth to help students gain an understanding of the geographic context of the books they’re reading. For more examples of how Google Earth can be used in literature courses check out Google Lit Trips.