Only 5% of the world’s oceans have been seen by human eyes. What we do know is now being shared on Google Earth using tours like the Ocean Showcase. To view the ocean tours, you can either download the browser plug-in or the entire Google Earth 5 software to dive in to the newest frontier in human exploration. Each tour has a highlight version that you can view in your browser, or a longer version that you can download.
Each tour sends you spinning around the globe to view YouTube videos tagged to that oceanic location. Data-heads will enjoy some of the straight-mapping information, but for the general browser, it’s not nearly as exciting or helpful as Google street view. But I could see its usefulness to perk interest in a well designed educational activity, perhaps during an introductory lecture to oceanic zones or a webquest.
What are your ideas or resources to use the Oceans tours in Google Earth as a teaching or learning tool?
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