Saturday, March 10, 2007
NASA World Wind: Zooming in on Earth
I was at a Region 10 (NYCDOE) Technology Liaison workshop on Friday and we were introduced to this terrific open source program. It's lot like Google Earth on steroids! On the left is a screenshot of Mt. St. Helens from the 3d application and a visual of Maximum Temperatures. From their site:"World Wind lets you zoom from satellite altitude into any place on Earth. Leveraging Landsat satellite imagery and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data, World Wind lets you experience Earth terrain in visually rich 3D, just as if you were really there.Virtually visit any place in the world. Look across the Andes, into the Grand Canyon, over the Alps, or along the African Sahara." Go to the website: http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/index.html
What's so special? It is truly amazing. Historical data, data is updated every 24-72 hours, layers you can turn off and on that show political boundaries, weather events, pollutants, place names, fires/smoke events from volcanos, all kinds of things. There's even a Lewis & Clark expedition layer with links to a website. People can create their own layers, too, with a little xml programming. Some layers get you close enough to see the cars on the Golden Gate Bridge. There is an abundance of educational opportunities here from all disciplines. All teachers should check this out.
What's so special? It is truly amazing. Historical data, data is updated every 24-72 hours, layers you can turn off and on that show political boundaries, weather events, pollutants, place names, fires/smoke events from volcanos, all kinds of things. There's even a Lewis & Clark expedition layer with links to a website. People can create their own layers, too, with a little xml programming. Some layers get you close enough to see the cars on the Golden Gate Bridge. There is an abundance of educational opportunities here from all disciplines. All teachers should check this out.Labels: educational software, Geography, intructional technology, NASA World Wind, satellite imagery, teaching
