Google Earth, as 46 blog posts in the last year will show, is one of my favorite resources for use in history, geography, and environmental science courses. Over the weekend I found David Tryse’s Google Earth Files webpage where he shares some excellent Google Earth creations. Most of Mr. Tryse’s Google Earth files are centered around an environmental science theme. The files listed include overlays for US National Parks, deforestation maps, oil spills, and biodiversity hotspots.

Creating Google Earth tours is not a terribly difficult task once you’ve done it a time or two, but that first experience can be frustrating for some students. The new Google Earth 5.0 makes it easier than ever to create tours. As easy as the new Google Earth 5.0 makes it create a tour, there are still some functions that your students may desire, but struggle to make work. Fortunately, people like Rich Treves on the Google Earth Design Blog put together detailed directions and tips for improving Google Earth tours. Today, Rich Treves published directions for creating a Google Earth tour with annotations. If you or your students are looking for tips for creating better Google Earth tours, check out the Google Earth Design Blog.

In case you’re wondering if there are uses for Google Earth in literature or math check out Google Lit Trips and Real World Math.