Click the mouse button while the ;ight
simulator is running; the mouse cursor
will change to a cross, and your mouse
will act like a ;ight yoke. Push forward to
push the aircra;’s nose down, pull back
to raise the nose, and use side-to-side
motion to roll the plane and control its
direction.
;e aircra; is easiest to manage when
you’ve turned on Roads (especially if
you’re ;ying in a place you know) and
Airports (from the Layers/More/Trans-portation) layer. It can be challenging to
land the aircra;, but it is possible. You
can even ;y on Mars and the moon. (I
know; there’s no atmosphere on the
moon, but still, it’s pretty cool.) ;e ;ight
simulator adds an entirely new dimension to Google Earth as you try to buzz
the St. Louis arch and ;y through the
Grand Canyon.
Building Your Own 3D Models
You can take Google Earth even further. Google has released a free 3D
modeling tool called Google SketchUp.
While 3D modeling is never easy, this
tool makes it relatively painless. You
can download a copy of SketchUp here:
sketchup.google.com/download.
You can build a model of your house,
models of prominent buildings in your
area, or whatever else you want. You can
then submit your model to be included in
Google Earth. Part of the reason Google
Earth has models of buildings all over the
world is because they have been contributed by the community. SketchUp is a
great tool for talking about 3D geometry,
modeling, and architecture.
;e Google Building Maker is an on-line tool that’s a little easier to use than
SketchUp. It makes it easy to make buildings, but they are available for only a limited area. You can ;nd this tool at sketchup
. google.com/3dwh/buildingmaker
.html.
Google Earth Plug-in Fun
One of the other amazing aspects of
Google Earth is how it has been extended. ;e folks at Google created a version
of Google Earth called the GEPlug-in,
which exposes the Google Earth engine
to web browsers. Clever developers have
added all sorts of interesting games and
add-ons based on this technology:
•;G. E. Flight Simulator
For any of these examples to work,
you’ll need to download and install the
Google Earth Plug-in, available at www
. google.com/earth/explore/products
/ Plug-in.html.
So how does this ;t my school? Clearly
Google Earth is an impressive program,
but it’s not designed as a curriculum. It
certainly won’t replace traditional media
for geography, science, or history, but it
can provide added bene;ts in all these
areas. Google Earth is especially suited
to help technically minded students interact with various subjects. Here are just
a few project ideas to get you started:
Science
•;Look;over;weather;patterns;and
make your own predictions based on
cloud and radar images to the west of
your town.
•;Investigate;a;wilderness;web;cam
for several days and log the animals
you see.
•;Look;into;the;volcano,;earthquake,
and tsunami layers for information
about these geologic events.
Geography
•;Use;Google;Earth;to;more;closely;in-
vestigate areas you study, read about,
or visit on mission trips. Look for
photos, panoramic images, and videos
of your favorite places.
History
•;Use;Google;Earth;to;discover;ship-wrecks. Do more Internet and library
research to discover the story behind
the wrecks.
•;See;how;far;back;image;data;goes
for your town. Create a poster or
paper describing how your area has
changed. (You can print out the results of G. E. searches.)
•;Create;a;tour;that;describes;a;histori-cal trek: the Israelites in the desert,
Sherman’s march to the sea, or Napoleon’s misadventure in Russia.
Art/Architecture
•;Model;your;house;or;some;other;build-ing, and submit it to Google Earth.
•;Locate;famous;sculptures;and;statues
throughout the world.
•;Use;SketchUp;to;build;a;3D;model;of
anything you can imagine.
Let me know if you come up with anything else. If you have trouble ;nding any
of the links in this document, please visit
my website:
www.aharrisbooks.net.
;ere is so much fun to be had with
this app. Don’t tell your kids they’re
learning stu;.
Andy Harris is a homeschool dad,
father of four great kids, and husband
to the greatest homeschool teacher ever.
He has taught all ages of students, from
kindergarten to university level. Andy is
the author of a number of well-known
books, including HTML/XHTML/CSS:
All in One for Dummies, Game
Programming—The L Line, PHP6/
MySQL Programming for the Absolute
Beginner, and Beginning Flash Game
Programming for Dummies. For
more information about his books, to
see where he is speaking next, or to just
say hi, please stop by his website: www
. aharrisbooks.net.
www.; eHomeschoolMagazine.com