Reflection on Google Earth with Second Graders :
Last Monday, our class went down to the computer lab to teach the second graders about Google Earth. I was partnered with a boy named Lakssh who was from India. He told me that he was Indian but was born in Malaysia. He was not shy at all but was really enthusiastic. He told me that it was his first time using Google Earth. Therefore, the first thing I taught him was to rotate and to zoom in and out of the globe. Then the places we first went was India and Malaysia. Lakssh was so excited when he could see the city of where he was born and raised. Then I took him to other places like New York. When I showed him the street view and the 3D building, Lakssh was in his highest point of excitement. He was like driving in the street and told me that the environment is similar to the game he enjoys playing,which is called Minecraft.I also taught him how to view Mars, sky and the moon. I think he was more interested when I showed him the sky as he could view different stars and lights. The last request from him was the sun. So what I did was to click the icon that shows the direction of the sunlight then I rotated the globe to show him the sun. He really liked it. Unfortunately, we did not have time to make a tour so I told him to ask for it when the students in the next class come.
I had so much fun during this activity. It was the time that I could actually teach a kid as if I was the real teacher. I had no difficulty teaching Lakssh about the Google Earth because he was a fast learner and was really smart. He listened to me well and we could work collaboratively as a partner. I hope to do a similar activity next time maybe with a different grader teaching about different stuff.
