Google Earth Workshop Version 5 From the Mitchell Home Page (http://mitchell.needham.k12.ma.us) Technology > For Teachers > Prof Dev > Google Earth Getting to Know Google Earth Taken from Google Earth User Guide The following diagram describes some of the features available in the main window of Google Earth: K Martell Page 1 April 2009
1. Search panel - Use this to find places and directions and manage search results. Google Earth EC may display additional tabs here. 2. 3D Viewer - View the globe and its terrain in this window. 3. Toolbar buttons - See below. 4. Navigation controls - Use these to zoom, look and move around (see below). 5. Layers panel - Use this to display points of interest. 6. Places panel - Use this to locate, save, organize and revisit placemarks. 7. Add Content - Click this to import exciting content from the KML Gallery 8. Status bar - View coordinate, elevation, imagery date and streaming status here. 9. Overview map - Use this for an additional perspective of the Earth. Click the following toolbar buttons to... Conceal or display the side bar Add a placemark Add a polygon Add a path Add an image overlay Record a Tour Display sunlight across the landscape View the sky, moon & planets Measrue a distance or area Email a view or image Print the current view of the Erath Show the current view in Google Maps Display historical imagery Using the Navigation Controls 1. Click the north-up button to reset the view so that north is at the top of the screen. Click and drag the ring to rotate your view. 2. Use the Look joystick to look around from a single vantage point, as if you were turning your head. Click an arrow to look in that direction or continue to K Martell Page 2 April 2009
press down on the mouse button to change your view. After clicking an arrow, move the mouse around on the joystick to change the direction of motion. 3. Use the Move joystick to move your position from one place to another. Click an arrow to look in that direction or continue to press down on the mouse button to change your view. After clicking an arrow, move the mouse around on the joystick to change the direction of motion. 4. Use the zoom slider to zoom in or out (+ to zoom in, - to zoom out) or click the icons at the end of the slider. As you move closer to the ground, Google Earth swoops (tilts) to change your viewing angle to be parallel to the Earth's surface. You can turn off this automatic tilt (Tools > Options > Navigation > Navigation controls; Mac: Google Earth > Preferences > Navigation > Navigation controls). Fly To You can search for specific locations using the Fly To tab in Google Earth. To do this, enter the location in the input box and click on the Search button. Search by city, state, zip, or latitude and longitude. Using & Marking Places You can use the Places panel to save and organize places that you visit, address or listing searches, natural features, and more. Every item located in the My Places folder is saved for subsequent Google Earth sessions. Items located in the Places panel but not saved in the My Places folder are located in the Temporary Places folder and are unavailable in the next Google Earth session if you do not move or save them to your My Places folder. K Martell Page 3 April 2009
Add a Placemark 1. Select Placemark from the Add Menu. 2. Click the Placemark icon on the toolbar menu at the the top of the screen 3. Click OK Advanced setting will allow you to add a name, description, style, color, icon, view, and altitude. Using Layers The Layers feature in Google Earth provides a variety of data points of geographic interest that you can select to display over your viewing area. This includes points of interest (POIs) as well as map, road, terrain, and even building data. Using Map Features This section covers how to set and use the map features, which include photos, roads, terrain, borders. buildings, and models. About KML KML, or Keyhole Markup Language, is a file format used by Google Earth for storing geographic features such as points, lines, images, polygons, and models for display in Google Earth, Google Maps and other applications. You can use KML to share places and information with other users of these applications. You can find example KML files on the KML Gallery and Google Earth Community site that describe interesting features and places. KMZ is a compressed or zipped KML file. There are great tours and lessons available as KML files. Visit Google Earth Outreach Showcase Search for Google Earth tours (KMZ files) created for topics related to education & culture, global development, the environment, and current affairs. http://earth.google.com/outreach/showcase.html K Martell Page 4 April 2009
Using Tours You can create and play tours of places and content. Tours are a guided experience where you fly from one location to another, view terrain and content and look around as you wish. You can create tours that record your exact navigation in the 3D window and even add audio. You can then share these tours with other Google Earth users. Playing Tours To play a tour, double click the tour in the Places panel. To create and play a new tour of items in My Places, select the appropriate folder in the Places panel and click the Play Tour button Play Tour button. To create and play a new tour of a line (path), select the appropriate line in the Places panel and click the Play Tour button Play Tour button. The tour begins playing in the 3D viewer and the tour controls appear in the bottom left corner of the 3D viewer. To pause or resume the tour, click the Pause/Play button. To fast forward or go back on the tour, click the arrow buttons (press these repeatedly to accelerate back or forward). To replay the again and again tour, click the Repeat button. Use the tour slider to move to any part of the tour. These controls disappear if the tour is inactive for a period of time, but you can make them reappear by moving the cursor over the bottom left corner of the 3D window. 1. Go back, play/pause and fast forward buttons 2. Tour slider 3. Current time in tour 4. Repeat button 5. Save tour button 6. Close tour button K Martell Page 5 April 2009
Drawing Paths and Polygons - Measuring Distances and Areas Google Earth offers a number of tools that you can use to measure distances and areas. Use the Ruler window (Tools menu) or click Measure button to measure length, area, and circumference (Google Earth PRO only). Viewing Sky In addition to browsing the Earth, Google Earth allows you to view heavenly objects, including stars, constellations, galaxies, planets such as Mars and the Earth's moon. To view these objects, click View > Switch to Sky or click Sky button. and choose Sky. In Sky, the Earth is hidden and the 3D viewer presents a view of the sky. K Martell Page 6 April 2009