Storytelling with Geo Tools

Want to see what else your students can do with Google Earth other than finding their house in Street View? Redefine what classroom projects can look like by using Earth as a storytelling canvas instead! The 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Donnie Piercey will be sharing some engaging collaborative cross-curricular activities that you can start implementing in your classroom right away. It's the perfect way to bring our students' stories into the real world.

Session Objectives: 

• Learn how students can use Geo tools (like Maps, Google Earth) to create collaborative stories/narratives.

• Learn how to help students make connections between virtual experiences and real-world places.

Presenter: The 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Donnie Piercey, teaches fifth grade in Lexington, Kentucky. After graduating from Asbury College and earning his master’s from Auburn, he has been teaching since 2007. Donnie specializes in using technology to promote student inquiry, learning, and engagement. Over the past fourteen years of teaching, these interests have given him the unique chance to represent Kentucky around the world. Donnie was the recipient of a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship to Antarctica, and he also represents Kentucky on the inaugural National Geographic Education Teacher Advisory Council.  He is the North American lead for the Google Earth Education Experts Network. Donnie has been invited to keynote and present at schools in thirty-three states and on four continents. In 2017, he co-authored The Google Cardboard Book: Explore, Engage, and Educate with Virtual Reality based on virtual experiences he created for his students.  The Bluegrass always calls him home, however, as he regularly leads professional development at school districts around the state. Donnie lives in Lexington with his wife and three children.  

Time: 1 Hour