While looking through my Feed.ly I came across the blog update on the Google Blog talking about their collaboration with TIME magazine on their Timelapse Project. Through this product users can view images of anywhere in the world from the best quarter century and see how they have changed over time. The images provide users with an opportunity to see how their world and even their local community has changed. Timelapse can provide geography and science teachers a new way to teach the environment and the impact of humans, pollution, weather, and technology on our planet.
While looking further through my Feed.ly I cam across a post on Free Technology for Teachers discussing the project and realized that it was not limited to just certain areas of the planet and thought it would be neat to examine where I currently live. In 2005 we had an F4 tornado come through our community. It was the largest tornado on record that year. By using the Timelapse Project I was able to find and identify the before and after of the impact the tornado had on our community. You can see the before and after photos below where I have highlighted the area. You can see a dark green area (trees) completely changed brown after they were all knocked down. I am really intrigued by the relevancy the Timelapse Project can provide in classrooms.
Before the Tornado
After the Tornado
How could you use this in your classroom?
