Google Lit Trips

Reading about how Anne Brusca implemented Google Earth and technology into her classroom is just fascinating. Today students seem to be motivated and thus actively engaged in many technological activities that teachers do. However the one problem I see is that often teachers aren’t making sure that this implementation has a purpose. When Brusca set out to use a web quest for her lesson she mostly had a plan to discuss The Family Apart. However she accomplished so much more. Google Lit Review partnered with Google Earth allowed her to use an interdisciplinary curriculum in this ELA lesson. By using Google Earth, Brusca introduced Social Studies, geography, and technology all into one lesson. This is the type of technology based instruction that not only motivated and engages kids but helps to build comprehension with a firsthand basis for understanding. They were able to see the trail of the orphan train and make connections through visuals. This is what “got them to deeper learning” said Brusca. I know that personally as a student and many of my students in the past which be able to relate much more to a novel having seen a path or a map of where the events took place as Brusca created with the journey in The Family Apart.