Using Google Earth on a Chromebook

First off, in case you missed it...you can use Google Earth completely in the browser (meaning also on a Chromebook).  Earth was an application that you used to have to install, but this is no longer the case.  If you haven't tried it lately, do yourself a favor and have some fun with it!

There is lots of great content in Google Earth. I'd be happy to help you find a match to your curriculum, whether it be exploring the setting for a novel that students are reading, the landscape of a region they're learning about, the mathematics of latitude and longitude...lots of possibilities!

Anyway...
The specific point of this post is that I was working with two 9th science teachers this morning on using Google Earth to study changes in glaciers.  The need was to upload KML files from the National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC) site.

Here's the solution:

• First off, what's a KML file? It's simply a text file that contains information about geographic data.  Google Earth uses these (as well as KMZ files) to show information about places. 
• Download the appropriate file from the site above (or other source). 
• Important note: When you download a file to your Chromebook, it goes (by default) to your Downloads folder (which is a folder that only exists on that particular Chromebook).  If desired, you can drag it into your Drive to be able to access it from any device.   
• In Google Earth, you need to enable KML file uploads.  This is in Settings.  Scroll down to the bottom and turn on. You (and students) only need to do this once.  See the screenshot below.

 

• You're now ready to upload the KML file.  
• Once loaded, you can double-click on any location to "fly" there.

Computer Basics

After working with a freshman class the other day, I realized that there were certain computer concepts that we might consider basic that some of them didn't know.  This is particularly true as we see more and more use of phones and tablets. Thus, this post to remind us all (including myself) that it never hurts to review some of the basics when the students are working with computers.

Here's a partial list-- feel free to add your ideas in the comments.

1. Save vs. Save As.

   Created a presentation in Keynote, but you need to play it on a computer that doesn't have Keynote?  Save As allows you to save a file in a format different from the standard format for the application.  You can save that Keynote as a Powerpoint, or a Word file as a PDF, or a Powerpoint as a set of images, etc.  Save As also allows you to make a version of a file without changing the original.

2. Visibility of on-line content

   Shared a link to a Google doc with people, but they can't open it?  When you create online content (such as Prezi, YouTube, Glogsters, GoogleDocs, VoiceThreads, etc.), you have to pay attention to the visibility of that content.  To use Google Docs as an example, you don't need to individually share a doc with each person.  You can just click on Share, then change visibility to "Anyone with the link."  Copy the link and provide it on a blog, web site, e-mail, etc.

3.  Local and network file management

   Don't just hit save and hope for the best!  At CVU, G: indicates your storage folder, while C: refers to the particular computer you are working on.  

4. Secondary clicking (right-clicking)

   Right-clicking (on a PC), or control-clicking (on a Mac) on something typically brings up a menu of options that apply to that thing.  Want to increase the font size of a word?  Right-click it!  Need to change the color of a drawing object?  Right-click it...

5. Creating hyperlinks

   When you enter or paste in the text of a hyperlink (a web address), some applications will automatically convert it into an active link (meaning that clicking on it will take you to that web page).  Moodle and Mahara (among others) do not always do this.  To create the hyperlink yourself, 1) select the text, 2) look for the hyperlink icon (it is typically a chain link or a globe), then 3) enter or paste in the web address.