Habitats in Google Earth

Tom Barrett, a teacher in Nottinghamshire, has created a Google Earth resource which maps the locations of selected clips with information about nine major habitats. In his view, the clips are "exactly the sort of high quality resource that all teachers should be aware of and making the most of in classrooms".

The map contains direct links to the clips, and you don't need a BBC logon.

Here are the essentials:
Broadband - 2Mb, at least
Real Player - download from uk.real.com
Google Earth - download from earth.google.com

To access the resource, visit Tom Barrett's blog:
Click on 'open this placemark'. This will open Google Earth with a starting view of Africa.
Scroll down the 'Places' panel. Enable 'Temporary places' and 'Planet Earth DV' (by clicking in the box).
Scroll down the 'Layers' panel and deselect Borders, if you prefer the maps without the yellow borders.
Press F11 for a full screen view. Drag downwards with the right button to zoom in, drag upwards to zoom out. Drag with the left button to move the map view.
Double-click the yellow 'placeholders' which appear over the video thumbnails. Information appears, with a link to the video.
To Save: Google Earth won't keep the links unless you save in 'My Places'. Click Edit - Save to My Places.
NB Encourage pupils not to overlook the text, which is equally informative!

Google Earth offers the remarkable experience of 'flying' around Folkestone and Dover, and the Medway towns - these locations are photographed at a higher resolution than the rest of the county. Central London is even better! There are sliders for rapid zooming and for tilting the map.