THE OVERVIEW EFFECT
EDUCATION
A NEW WAY OF TEACHING TO DEEPEN OUR CONNECTION WITH EARTH
– OUR ONE AND ONLY HOME
In a time when the world is facing complex global challenges, education must do more than convey facts – it must foster understanding, engagement, and responsibility. The Overview Effect is a key to a new way of teaching.
When astronauts see the Earth from space, they describe a profound sense of connection, vulnerability, and wholeness – an insight that changes how they perceive life on Earth. This is what they call The Overview Effect. This experience can be translated into the classroom. By combining images of Earth from above, texts, students' own reflections, and interdisciplinary approaches, we create a powerful educational tool.
Tulip fields in Lisse, Netherlands.
Aquaculture in the Cat Ba Archipelago, located in northern Vietnam.
Residential development is seen in Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
The Navigator of the Seas, Miami USA.
Salar de Uyuni Lithium Mines, Bolivia.
Port Hedland is the largest iron ore loading port in Pilbara, western Australia.
A massive bloom of cyanobacteria is seen in the Baltic Sea.
"The Empty Quarter” — is the largest sand desert in the world, Saudi Arabia / Oman.
Venice, Italy, is a unique city built on 118 small islands separated by canals and connected by bridges.
THE VISUAL PLATFORM
The foundation of this method for teaching about our planet – either through interdisciplinary approaches or standalone narratives – is a visual installation consisting of LED screens that you stand upon to experience the pictures under your feet. Before each task, participants experience the sensation of floating above Earth and observing it from a new perspective. The central LED screen, embedded in the floor, acts as a kind of window into our planet, where different themes and stories are projected. The horizontal screen works both in parallel or independently, offering complementary material.
Viewers are invited on a visual journey across the Earth, where various themes related to the environment, history, societal development, and technology are explored. Through film, sound, and storytelling, a deeper understanding is offered of how our planet “thinks” – and how humanity, through centuries of innovation, discovery, and impact, has left both positive and negative footprints.
The installation contains all the necessary information related to the different parts of the teaching material. It is activated by authorized users via login and can be easily controlled through a fixed touchscreen or a mobile device. The platform creates an engaging and interactive learning environment, where students gain an experience-based entry point into complex questions about our shared future.
THE FILM OVERVIEW
Overview is a short documentary film from 2013, created by The Planetary Collective. The film explores the so-called “Overview Effect” – a profound emotional and cognitive shift often experienced by astronauts when they see Earth from space. Through interviews with astronauts, philosophers, and scientists, the film portrays how this unique view of our planet evokes insights about Earth’s fragility, the interconnectedness of humanity, and the urgent need to care for our shared world. With stunning visuals from space and thought-provoking reflections, Overview invites us to see our place in the universe in a new light.
ALIGNED WITH THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM
The method is clearly anchored in the Swedish national curriculum for both compulsory school and upper secondary education. Both the teacher’s guide and the subject-specific student instructions are designed in accordance with the curriculum’s objectives, core content, and knowledge requirements. This means the material can be used directly in teaching without the need for extensive adjustments. Teachers receive structured, goal-oriented support, while students are given clear guidance in developing the skills and knowledge needed to meet the goals of each subject and school level.
TEACHER’S GUIDE
The purpose of the Teacher’s Guide for The Overview Effect is to provide educators with tools and inspiration for working thematically with the film and the accompanying images and descriptions in the classroom. The guide supports teachers in connecting the film’s core messages — Earth’s fragility, the unity of humanity, and our shared responsibility for the planet — to school subjects and national curricula.
Through discussion questions, in-depth assignments, and interdisciplinary approaches, the guide creates opportunities for students to reflect on major societal issues, develop a global perspective, and relate the film’s content to their own lives.
STUDENT GUIDES
The purpose of the subject-specific student guides is to support teaching by offering curriculum-aligned entry points into the content of the film. Through assignments, key questions, and reflection exercises linked to course objectives and core content, students are encouraged to explore The Overview Effect from different perspectives — such as social sciences, natural sciences, or philosophy.
These guides aim to deepen understanding, stimulate critical thinking, and create meaningful connections between the film’s themes and the learning goals of each subject.
The Overview Effect Education program for schools and universities is available for rent.
Please contact us for more information.
Per Olsson
+46 703-757787
per@uponwalls.com