Professionally Speaking Article: Tools of the Trade (Part 1)

Think Outside the Map

Take your geography lessons to the next level with these tools for deeper learning and a new spin on core concepts. Students will leave their classroom behind and become explorers of distant continents and their own backyards.

BY CAELI MAZARA

1. Google Earth Education 
   
   Free; Available in FrenchThis groundbreaking 3D-viewing platform offers explorers a chance to go on a global adventure. Search filters make it easy to find an ideal lesson, whether it's geographic sleuthing with Carmen Sandiego or biodiversity on the high seas following marine biologists off the coast of Costa Rica.Grades K–12
2. GeoGuessr
   
   
   Free for limited use, or $4.79/month; Available in French

   This point-and-click game drops players somewhere in the world and asks them to figure out where they are. The app gets students thinking critically about geographical and cultural identifiers. They'll look for clues like flags, writing and vegetation to solve this geographical puzzle.

   Grades 4–12