GoogleEarthTrips

The newest version of this page is available as

In presenting at the CUEBC Horizons conference, is the PDF of the Keynote presentation

Here are the two files used in the two ALI exhibits

See also http://sd36imlexamples/GoogleEarth

=Working with Google Earth=

This is inspired by Jerome Burg’s Google Literature Trips www.googlelittrips.com

Working with Google Earth

This is inspired by Jerome Burg’s Google Literature Trips www.googlelittrips.com

What is Google Earth? Google Earth is a database viewer that combines satellite imagery to create a 3D model of the Earth.

What can you do in Google Earth? In creating this workshop I learned even more than I thought was possible about Google Earth.

You can: View places on the earth and look out toward the sky Zoom into places View changes over time Mark places of interest Measure distances between places View photos people have taken of places View sketches people have created to represent places And so much more

Google Earth Pro for Educators Google Earth Pro is free for educators to access and install personally. You can find out more at http://iamliterate.wikispaces.com/googleearth

How do you personalize/ customize Google Earth? You customize Google Earth by creating your placemarks, polygons and tours, then exporting them.

What are kml and kmz files? These two files are used to export and share your information. The KML file is the uncompressed file stored on your computer. When you want to share your file, you export it as a KMZ file that is transferable like any other file.

To learn more about customizing KML files, see the Google file: http://code.google.com/apis/kml/documentation/kml_tut.html#descriptive_html

Placemarks Placemarks are the most basic way to identify points of interest for later viewing.

Create a placemark 1. Click the placemark button in the toolbar. The New dialog box appears and a placemark icon appears in the exact center of the 3D viewer. 2. Try moving around the placemark by clicking and dragging it. You can use this method to move the placemark to any location in the 3D viewer. 3. In the New dialog box, enter the following information; a. Name of the placemark b. Description for the placemark 4. To change the icon, click on the icon button to the right of the name field. 5. (Under the View Tab, you may want to take a snapshot so that this zoom and angle is used when viewed as well.) 6. Click OK. Google Earth displays your placemark in the 3D viewer and at the top of the My Places folder in the Places panel.

To view your placemark at any time, double click the placemark in the Places panel. To simply display the balloon description of the placemark, single click it in the 3D viewer or the Places panel. Customize a placemark balloon / description The placemark can contain anything displayable within a webpage. To Edit the placemark, either Ctrl-Click or Right-Click on the push pin(default icon). Choose either properties or get info to access the properties panel.

Using HTML Inserting images 1. Upload your photo to a web accessible server 2. Use the following HTML as a template to display your image 

Inserting Links 1. Go to the site you want listed. 2. Copy the URL 3. Paste the URL into the following template. 4. Adjust the displayed text as desired.  This is my Delicious Account

Other HTML If you know additional HTML, you can use much of the standard HTML; however, only a subset of HTML is used in Google Earth. You can also use an HTML editor such as NVU or Dreamweaver and copy and paste the generated codes

Inserting YouTube / Video (possible; however, I had an issue when testing)

1. Copy the embed code from youtube. 2. Paste in the description field   

More on building balloons / descriptions http://earth.google.com/outreach/tutorial_balloon.html http://earth.google.com/outreach/tutorial_user_experience.html

Creating Paths / Polygons Paths and Polygons are not difficult to create, but it does take a bit of an understanding of creating and moving edit points on lines – similar to vector drawings.

A Polygon allows you to create a 3D shape that overlays an area – such as a park or house. A Path allows you to create a set of connected lines that act as path to fly or navigate

http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/ug_drawing.html

Organizing Placemarks, Polygons, Paths Creating a Fly to list 1. Create a folder in the places panel Right click and select Add > New Folder a. Name the folder b. Drag places you have created into the folder. 2. Drag the places into the correct order within a folder. 3. Either check or uncheck places to visit.

Touring Places Once all your places are listed in a folder, you can click on the folder, then press the play and stop buttons to follow the tour. If you have included images, you may need to stop it long enough to load the image before the tour proceeds.

Touring Speed You can modify touring speed, which controls how fast the viewer "flies" to each stop in the tour. Keep in mind that setting the tour to a high speed requires your computer to keep everything in cache. • Windows/Linux: Click Tools > Options. Mac: Click Google Earth > Preferences. • Click on the Touring tab. • In the Fly-To/Tour Settings area, adjust the speed accordingly.

Pause Time and Balloons at Each Stop You can set the desired pause time for each stop in the tour. You can also set Google Earth to display balloons at each placemark when the tour pauses. • Windows/Linux: Click Tools > Options. Mac: Click Google Earth > Preferences. • Click on the Touring tab. • In the Fly-To/Tour Settings area, adjust the Tour Pause slider in seconds, from 0 to 60, or enter any number in seconds.

To display descriptive balloons at each placemark when a tour pauses, check Show balloon when tour is paused. Learn more about placemarks.

Looking Beyond 1. Using Google SketchUp With Google SketchUp, you can also create sketches of places / buildings.

2. Adding other Content You can add other KML files such as those located here http://earth.google.com/gallery/ - This one has a timeline for the city of London.

3. Saving Google Earth Images Use the File > Save > Save Image

4. Use the Ruler Window to measure distances and to measure area of polygons

5. For More Ideas go to http://classroomgoogleearth.wikispaces.com/ and http://iamliterate.wikispaces.com/googleearth