GoogleEarth: First time exposure to GIS type interface

When I first downoaded google earth about a year ago I wasn’t aware of all the features that are available in the software.  I was unaware that this was a form of GIS with layers, coverages and all of that fancy stuff in ArcGIS software.  As a novice to GIS I found google earth as great exposure to the type of interface used in Arc.  Although education is not my career choice I am interested in promoting use of google earth in high school classrooms for practical reasons of learning where the heck you are.  I am curious as to how much google earth is used in social studies classrooms.  Does anyone have some statistics or articles on the subject?