Here are some brief notes and links on the Google Earth and Google Maps tech talk presented Thursday Dec 11 2008.
Google Maps
Google maps, available at http://maps.google.com is a powerful and easy to use web-based map program. Its most frequently used features include viewing maps, finding directions by car or public transit, finding businesses, and viewing traffic. Many locations also have a street-level view that allows you to view a street as if you were driving down it. In addition to these features, there are simple tools for adding your own content to maps.
I recommend this page as a starting point. Google has very good documentation on the basic features of Google Maps.
Tips:
- You can search for businesses near your location. For example, search for “noodles near the university of chicago”
- When a point of interest is found through a search, a red marker will be placed on that location. Click on this marker to see a number of context-sensitive options. For example, you could click on the Noodles Etc marker and choose “get directions to here”.
- After clicking “get directions”, the default directions will be for transit by car. Click “Public Transit” on the left to get directions for public transportation. I sometimes find that google will give me a public transit route I don’t want to take. If you want to force it to take another route, try moving your start location close to the start of the route you do want to take.
- There is a lot of additional content available on the map. Click the “More” button at the top of the map, and choose one of the options. For example, there are photos and wikipedia entries pinned to locations.
My Maps
Google My Maps is an extension to Google Maps that allows you to add your own content. Though you can mark maps you create as unlisted, there are no truly private maps. If you don’t want to or can’t share the content you want to add, you should use Google Earth instead. To create maps, you must first create a free google account.
There is a good deal of variety in the content you can add. You can add placemarks, lines, shapes, images and web pages to the maps you create. You can also collaborate with other users on these creations.
I recommend this page as a starting point for help on creating maps.
Google Earth
Google Earth has many of the same features as google maps, but also has many more 3D features and much more content. It also requires installing software on your computer. If you need more advanced features (for example, importing a lot of geographical data from another source), Google Earth is also available as a commercial package.
I recommend this page as a starting point for help with Google Earth. Also, see drawing for details on Google Earth’s drawing tools.
Tips:
- You can search and get directions, just like in Google Maps.
- Drawing lines is a little more complicated in Google Earth than in My Maps. To draw a line, open Google Earth, click Add -> Path. You can name the path. Note that you can only draw the path or edit the path while this “path properties” window is open. If you need to go back and edit the path, you must first select the path’s name on the left toolbar, and then click Edit -> Get Info.
- Many of the University of Chicago buildings are rendered in 3D (using a program called Sketchup). You can view these by checking the “3D Buildings” Layer in Google Earth while positioned above the University.
- There is a built in flight simulator!
- Ancient Rome has been recreated in 3D in Google Earth.
Some Additional Links:
Here are a few examples of how people have used My Maps for historical or literary purposes:
http://coolmaps.7wonders.googlepages.com/home
http://rumsey.geogarage.com/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4209/maps/kerouac_map.htm
Here are a few relevant examples of what people have done with Google Earth layers:
http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2006/08/travels_of_odys.html
http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2005/11/places_quoted_i.html
http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2006/08/portrait_of_the.html
Good Luck!
