Abstract: Geographic location recognition, or the ability to locate and name places on a map, is an essential indicator to assess individuals’ geographic literacy levels. Past research has concentrated on testing one’s geographic location recognition using twodimensional paper maps. Whereas the paper mapping method is flexible and easy to follow, it requires a fixed paper map with a series of predefined quizzes and is therefore difficult to reuse. Advances in geospatial information technologies, led by geographical information systems and digital earth systems, is providing educators with a convenient platform to cultivate and assess one’s geographic location recognition. In this paper, we present a general framework and corresponding implementation methods for the online testing of geographic location recognition using the Google Earth digital earth platform. The most significant feature of the proposed framework and corresponding implementation program is that they have abilities to improve the individuals’ geographic literacy while conducting the testing.

Key words: geographic location recognition, geographic literacy, online testing, Google Earth, KML