One clever use of 3D models in an educational context, however - an exercise on visualizing wind farms - is from Noel Jenkins' Juicy Geography site. Although 3D models are fun to play with, they are less broadly useful than other types of placemarks, so I won't go into them in detail. This will allow you to build and use 3D objects in Google Earth. Placemarks and overlays are discussed in more detail later.ģD models of buildings in some cities are provided with Google Earth (the "Buildings" layer), but to get the most use out of 3D models, you will have to download the SketchUp plugin. Although some placemarks and overlays are supplied with Google Earth or are directly accessible through Google Earth in the "Google Earth Community", the majority must be downloaded from the Web. Google Earth's main attraction, however, has been its ability to display vector datasets (placemarks - points, lines, and polygonal areas), raster images (overlays), and 3D virtual models on top of the virtual globe. The viewpoint can also "tilt" from a vertical position to a nearly horizontal poisition (again using a slider control). The viewpoint can zoom into the globe using a slider control, the mouse wheel (PC) or control-clicking and dragging (Mac). The window's viewpoint can be rotated relative to the virtual globe using a sliding or rotating control on the viewer window. The user can navigate (pan) either by clicking and dragging part of the field of view with the mouse, by using the arrow keys, or by using a set of navigation arrows displayed in the main Google Earth viewer window. Google Earth allows the user to view true-color images draped over topography for most of the globe, at varying resolutions mainly depending on the browser's "eye altitude" (height above ground). Nonetheles, I will summarize some of the basics here. These guides describe the basics of browsing in Google Earth better than I can. Those who are not familiar with the interface may wish to take a look at one of the guides in the text box below. Navigation in Google Earth will be fairly intuitive for students who have grown up in an age of clicking and dragging, mouse wheels, and video games. Getting Around in Google Earth: Common Functions I do not have experience with the "plus" ($20) or "pro" ($200+) upgrades. This discussion covers the standard version (available for free for personal or educational use). Several upgrades to the Google Earth software are available. The Google Earth browser can be downloaded from ( more info). A beta version (v.4) runs on Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux platforms. As of July 16, 2006, the current stable version (v.3) runs on both Windows 2000/XP and Mac OSX (10.3.9 and higher). The Google Earth browser is a separate application from your web browser.
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