Google Earth Resources for Educators

Basic Controls:

 

Zoom – Sliding the zoom indicator toward the plus sign will bring the view closer to the ground.  Sliding it toward the minus will zoom out.  Users can also click on either the plus or minus sign to zoom in and out.  Also, users can use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

Users can also double-click on a location to move that location to the center of the map and zoom in.

Rotate – Users can grab and rotate the ring with the mouse to change the view from north to south, east, or west.  Double-click on the N to reset the view to North.

Pan – Clicking on these arrows will move the view right or left, up or down.  Alternately, users can grab and drag the map to the location they desire.

Tilt – Sliding the control to the right with tilt the image in respect to the horizon.  Sliding to the left will change back to an overhead view.  Double-click on the left icon to reset the tilt to the overhead view.  This control is useful for viewing 3D topography.

Basic Tools:

Hide/Show Layers – toggles between full screen and view of layers on the left side.

New Placemark – allows users to mark a location for future reference.  Information and links to web pages can be embedded in placemarks.

New Polygon – allows users to highlight and area with a shape.  The opacity of the area and color can be changed so that details underneath can be viewed.

New Path – allows users to mark a path on the route.

Image Overlay – allows users to add images to a map.  These may be local images or images found on the Internet.

Measure – allows users to measure distances between points on the map, either in a straight line or along a path.

E-mail Map – allows users to send a picture of that map view e-mail.  An e-mail client must be available and configured, such as Microsoft Outlook or Novell Groupwise.

Print Map – allows users to print the current map view.