FOSS Earth History 2010 National Trials
FOSS Earth History 2010 National TrialsTest your browser to see if it meets the minimum technical requirements for the FOSSweb Activities.
For technical support with the FOSS multimedia, please contact support@fossweb.com and include "Earth History National Trials" in your subject line.
Google Earth is required for the FOSS Earth History 2010 National Trials. Download the latest version of Google Earth.
Using Google™ Earth with the FOSS Earth History Course
Once you have installed Google™ Earth, change these default settings before you begin work:
• Display distance units in kilometers Change miles to kilometers in "Preferences" under the Google Earth drop-down menu.
• Ensure that the Terrain layer is on In the left sidebar of Google™ Earth, locate the Layers menu. Check the "Terrain" box to turn terrain on. If you are using Google™ Earth 5.2, terrain options are located in the Tools menu item. Select "Options" and the "3D View" tab. Under "Terrain Quality" there is a checkbox for terrain.
• Remove unnecessary layers In Layers menu of the left sidebar, deselect all the boxes except "Terrain." This will remove place names and political boundaries from the images. You may want to add boundaries, roads and place names after students have first had an opportunity to view Google™ Earth without these labels.
• Change the navigation bar setting so they are always visible. Under "View" select "Show Navigation Bar" and ensure that "Always" is selected.
• Change the sidebar settings so it is always visible. Under "View" ensure that "Sidebar" is selected.
Become Familiar with Google™ Earth
If you are a Google™ Earth novice, plan to spend some time exploring the application before using it in class. In addition to the content in this guide you can also find tutorial instructions and videos on the Google™ Earth site (http://www.Google.com/earth/learn/).
Using a Google™ Earth Tour from FOSSweb
FOSS has developed Google™ Earth tours of specific landforms and locations that students will observe and examine throughout the FOSS Earth History course.
1. On the FOSS Earth History Trials webpage, locate the Google™ Earth tour you would like to view.
2. Click on the tour name to begin downloading the tour to your computer. A KMZ file (a file which opens up in Google™ Earth) will be downloaded to your computer. Save the file in a location where you can locate it again.
3. Locate the file you downloaded. Double click on the file to open it in Google Earth.
Alternatively, open Google™ Earth, select File, then "Open" and click on the KMZ file that you downloaded in the previous step. Google™ Earth will automatically bring up the file and you will see it appear in the Temporary Places panel on the left sidebar of Google™ Earth. By clicking on the file folder, you will bring up all the placemarks contained in that trip.
4. Travel from placemark to placemark by double-clicking the name of the placemark in the Temporary Places panel, or clicking on the placemark itself in the 3D viewing area of Google™ Earth. In some tours you may also see a pop-up balloon displayed with information and photos related to the placemark. Navigating in Google™ Earth Searching for a location Type the name of your town or location (e.g. Berkeley, CA) in the Search box at the top of the left-hand column. Click on the magnifying glass. You should get a list of places related to your search. You can remove extraneous sites by un-checking the boxes next to them. Double-click on a listing to "fly" to the location.
Zoom in Using a Placemark
In Google™ Earth, a placemark is a visual notation that marks a location. Each placemark appears as a pushpin with a label. To zoom in on a placemark, double-click the marker name in the search result or Places panel. If you see a placemark in the 3D viewer you wish to zoom in on, double-click the pushpin icon of the placemark.
Zoom In and Out Using the Navigation Controls
The navigation controls appear in the top right corner of the 3D viewer. To view and use the navigation controls, move the cursor over the top right corner of the 3D viewer. The navigation controls automatically appear whenever you do this; they fade from sight when you move the cursor elsewhere.
1. Zoom out by clicking the zoom out button .
2. Zoom in by clicking the zoom in button . You can also click and hold these buttons to zoom continuously. The zoom slider can also be used to zoom in or out.
Looking with the Navigation Controls
In Google™ Earth, you can look around. Looking around involves gazing from a single vantage point, as if you were turning your head.
To look around:
1. Move the cursor over right corner of the 3D viewer. The navigation controls appear. The Look joystick is at the top of the controls; it has an eye icon at its center.
2. Click an arrow to look in that direction.
3. Click and drag the outer ring of the Look joystick. This rotates the view. To return to a north-up perspective, click N or press N on your keyboard.
Moving with the Navigation Controls
You can also change you location in Google™ Earth by moving around.
To move around:
1. Move the cursor over right corner of the 3D viewer. The navigation controls appear. The Move joystick is in the middle of the controls; it has a hand icon at its center.
2. Click an arrow to move in that direction.
3. Click an arrow and continue to press down on the mouse button and drag to move quicker. You can also move using the arrows on your keyboard.
Creating and Saving Placemarks
If you would like to place a marker on a location, click on the pushpin icon at the top of the page. You will get an information box where you can type in the name of your location. While this box is open, you can use your mouse to move the pushpin around to exactly where you would like it placed. When you close the information box, your placemark will usually be listed in the Temporary Places panel on the left side of the Google™ Earth image. You can save the location by clicking on "Save to My Places" under the File menu at the top of the page. This is saves the placemark to the "My Places" panel and allows you to access it the next time you open Google™ Earth.
Saving Tours
When you open Google™ Earth tour downloaded from FOSSweb, it will automatically be listed in your "Temporary Places" panel. You can save the tour by clicking on "Save to My Places" under the File menu at the top of the page. This is saves the placemark to the "My Places" panel and allows you to access it the next time you open Google™ Earth.
Troubleshooting
For technical support with the FOSS Earth History Multimedia, please contact support@fossweb.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is an Internet connection required for Google™ Earth?
Yes, an Internet connection is required for installing and viewing content in Google™ Earth. If you only have temporary have access to an Internet or have a very slow Internet connection, you can use the cache to use Google™ Earth in a limited manner while offline.
While you have access to the Internet, go to the Google Earth menu item and then select "Preferences." Then select the "Cache" tab. You can make the cache size as large as 2000 MB (i.e. 2 gigabytes). This will give you more data to work with. Next, select "Clear Cache." This is remove your old cache and allow you to start building a new cache. To begin adding views to your cache, navigate to the placemarks or locations you wish to view while you are offline. It's important to zoom to the closest view you think you'll use. Be sure to turn on layers for information you want cached, such as the "Terrain" layer. You should also deselect layers you do not need—the more layers you select, the faster the cache will fill. If you are planning on viewing a Google™ Earth Tour from FOSSweb, run though the entire tour while you have an Internet connection. The Google™ Earth views will then be stored to your cache. The cache can only store a limited amount of views before it becomes full, so be judicious about the sites you select.
When you are offline, you will be able to navigate to the locations you recently viewed and view the Google™ Earth imagery associated with those locations. Keep in mind that you will not be able to view any new locations or tours until you re-establish an Internet connection.
2. When Google™ Earth Program is launched, all I see is a green or black screen with stars and no Earth. Alternatively, the message "We are unable to connect to the Google™ Earth servers" appears on the screen.
This error is caused by little or no connectivity to the Google™ Earth server. It can because by a lack of an Internet connection or by a very low Internet connection. If you are certain that you are connected to the Internet, it may be because your Internet signal strength is very low. If many users are on the same network, you may receive this error. It is best to contact your school IT staff in this case. This error can also be cause by a proxy server or a firewall. Please contact your IT administrator to add explicit exceptions in your proxy server and firewall for these three servers:
• kh.Google.com
• maps.Google.com
• auth.keyhole.com
3. The imagery in Google™ Earth appears blurry.
First, please check the streaming indicator at the bottom right-hand corner of your Google™ Earth window and ensure it completely loads. The indicator is circular, and will appear as a connected light-blue circle when loading is complete. This error can also be cause by a proxy server or a firewall. Please contact your IT administrator to add explicit exceptions in your proxy server and firewall for these three servers:
• kh.Google.com
• maps.Google.com
• auth.keyhole.com
4. The imagery in Google™ Earth looks very flat. The tour says I should be looking a mountain, but all I see are flat aerial views.
The Google™ Earth tours developed by FOSS are designed to take advantage of the 3D landform views in Google™ Earth. To view these 3D features make sure that the "Terrain" layer is on. To turn on the "Terrain layer" navigate to the left sidebar of Google™ Earth and locate the "Layers" menu. Check the "Terrain" box to turn terrain on. If you are using Google™ Earth 5.2, terrain options are located in the Tools menu item. Select "Options" and the "3D View" tab. Under "Terrain Quality" there is a checkbox for terrain.
5. Can I add a local landmark to a Google Earth Tour for scale purposes?
The Google 3-D Warehouse features 3-D models of many buildings, natural features, and other landmarks. It is possible that a local landmark has been created and shared in 3-D warehouse. The models from the 3-D warehouse can be brought into FOSS Earth History Google Earth tours.
Once you locate a 3-D model in the Warehouse that you would like to use, click on the "View in Google Earth" link. Clicking on this link will launch Google Earth.
Google Earth Tutorial Videos
Navigation
Searching for Places
Placemarks and Tours
Drawing and Measuring