Web 2.0 and Google Earth

After reviewing several of the web 2.0 programs on the various websites provided in the powerpoint, i've discovered a new way to use the internet that makes my experiences easier. One program that i now use as my home page is www.protopage.com, this website organizes the websites i use, allows me to make to-do lists, shows my inbox of my mail, lets me personalize it and provides me with the weather for philadelphia. Its awesome! You are also able to use tabs that show you news from all different websites, comics and websites. I believe that this website is not so useful in the classroom, but can be intoduced as a easy way to organize an individuals life.
Another Web 2.0 program that i looked into was Bubbl.us, which its alot like the program inspiration that we use in class. Teachers can use this to brainstorm ideas with their class and/or students can make their own webs to brainstorm for projects and papers. I think that bubbl is a little bit easier to use than inspiration because you don't have to hit the lightening bolt before and after every thought. Another cool feature is that you can change the colors of the ballons to coordinate specific bubbles together.
I also explored other web 2.0 programs, such as, spelling city, photoshop, 30 boxes, flickr tools and voki. Spelling city is a good tool to use for younger children to help them learn and test themselves for their weekly spelling tests. Photoshop, which usually needs to be purchased, is a free application online that allows people to edit and personalize photos. 30 boxes is an online calender that keeps track of birthdays, events and allows others to view your calender. This can help students keep track of their homework, projects, sports and personal activites outside of school. Flickr tools is some what similar to photoshop but includes many different applications to edit pictures, create calenders and cards with them and other projects. The last website i explored was voki, which i think is one of the coolest web 2.0 programs. Teachers and students can create characters and add audio to make them talk. This can be helpful to teach students in a fun way and/or act out plays/stories.
Before a couple of days ago, i had never heard of google earth. The only experience i had with such a program is google street view which takes a part in google earth. After downloading the program i immediatly began to explore the world. I went to the house i live in off of temple's campus and traveled down Cecil B. Moore past the 3-D version of the Edge, and arrived on campus. I changed the settings to include weather and it showed the snow and clouds above. I also included streets and traffic which made the experience even more real. Next i went to my house in Willow Grove, Pa. I clicked on street view and was able to view my house. I saw my car and cat sitting outside. Also in the backyard was the pool we had years back. The difference between viewing my house and the house i live at in school is the date of when the pictures were taken. The view of my house in Willow Grove was out of date (we no longer have that pool in the backyard) but the view of my Temple house was from over the summer when we just moved in, the reason i noticed this was because of the Philles banner that is hanging in my housemates window. Similar to my house in Willow Grove, Alter Hall was not present in the street view of campus. After exploring the areas in the United States, i traveled to other parts of the world i always wanted to see.
It was a cool experience because i was able to see exactly what the different cities looked like with out traveling there. I explored Dublin, Ireland, Thailand, Oslo, Norway, Madrid, Spain, Malaysia and the United Arab Emrites. Teaching geography to students can become a virtual experience. This program allows you to explore the ocean, go back in time and much more. Its amazing!