The effectiveness of Google Earth in the acquisition of spatial perception ability in social studies courses

Spatial perception ability helps individuals state their relationship with their environment and the universe in their daily lives. It consists of skills such as identifying locations, giving directions, and understanding the shape and setup of the objects. The primary school social studies courses play a critical role in the acquisition of this ability. The Google Earth (GE) application is able to present the world digitally in a 3D way and provides access to all settled areas. Therefore, it is an operational tool for the spatial ability. The purpose of this study is to identify the effectiveness of GE in the acquisition of spatial perception ability in 4th grade social studies courses. The study was conducted in a 4th grade classroom in Demirci, Manisa during 2015-2016 fall semester using an embedded experimental design. GE-based activities were conducted in the classroom during five weeks. The students were given a pre-test and a post-test followed by the semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using Wilcoxon and thematic analysis method was employed for the qualitative data analysis.. The results showed a significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores of the students in the achievement test. According to the students, GE-based activities helped them increase their success and that they acquired the spatial skills well. In conclusion, providing primary school students with GE-based activities in the social sciences courses might have an important role in the acquisition of the spatial perception ability. Key Words: Primary school, Social studies courses, Spatial perception ability, Google Eart