1. Creating a Google Earth Virtual Field Trip.
An interactive guide with directions, templates, and helpful hints for creating your own Google Earth Virtual Field Trip.

2. Where do I start? Decide on a trip

3. Trip Ideas Pre-site visit to field trip location
Ex: Lake Mead Marina
Location of geologic features
Ex: Colorado Plateau
Overview of local or regional locations
Ex: School, State Capital, etc.
Tracing their local source of water
Ex: from mountain to tap
Across the Ocean
Ex: Where can islands form?
Watching Arctic Ice over time
Ex: Using the past time viewer, showing the shrinking Arctic Ice Shelf

4. Now What? Gather your information

5. placemark Location Templates
Once you know where you’re going,
create a template for each stop on your trip

6. How to use the template If you have a Google Account
Make sure you are logged in (I would use another tab)
Click “File → Make a Copy”
This will make a copy in your main Google Drive folder that will automatically save as you work
If you don’t have a Google Account
Click “File → Download As…”
Click the version you would like to download
Open downloaded file
SAVE IT SOMEWHERE (flash drive)

7. CODE TEMPLATES Version A Text, Links, Small Pic
Version B
Text, Links, Big Pic
The above pictures are links

8. To link an already created Google Doc
File must be located in Google Drive.
In Google Drive, click the blue “Share” button
Click “Get Sharable Link.”
If you are using a GAFE/Business Google account , make sure it says “Anyone with link can view” and not just your domain.

9. Hint: When searching for an image using google, add “site:
Hint: When searching for an image using google, add “site:.gov” after your phrase to limit it to government websites, which allow the copy and use of their photos

10. To use your own photos Add the photo to your Google Drive.
Make sure the sharing properties are set to “Anyone with link can view.”
Click on the picture (this opens a preview)
“Pop Out” the picture to a new tab using this button in the top right.
HINT: New tab must have this picture.
Right-click (PC) or Control+Click (Mac) picture.
Click “Copy Image URL”
Your URL should start with something like this

11. Once your information is completed in the top half of the template, then you will add it to the code at the bottom.
COPY (Ctrl + C) the information on the top and PASTE (Ctrl + V) it on the bottom (You should get rid of the brackets)

12. HINT- HTML Test
To check to see if your HTML works, try a HTML test site.
Copy and Paste the bottom half of your worksheet into the top half of these websites

13. Adding it to Google Earth
Create your placemarks and add your information to create your trip.

15. How to add a placemark Unclick “My Places”
In the Menu Bar → Add → Folder
Name it
This folder should be the only one with the blue checkmark in your places tab
Search for your specific site
Get the view to what you want, including viewing angle
Create a placemark (There are 2 ways)
Click in the toolbar
In Menu Bar, click “Add” → “Placemark”

16. How to Edit the description of a Placemark
Right click on the placemark
Click “Get Info” or “Properties”
Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) the bottom part of your template in the “Description” tab
This should make a blue box with all of the information show up when you click the yellow pushpin Placemark.
*NOTE: when you click “Get Info” on your placemark, a yellow box shows up around the pin… this is the only time you can move your pin after you have placed it.

17. Don’t forget to save your Google Earth file.
Right Click on the folder you made in the left navigation pane.
Click “Save Place As…”
Save to a flash drive or your user account
To open the next time
From the menu bar “File → Open”

18. BASIC EDITING html code
Some basic tips for format text

19. Making spaces between lines (double space)
What you want to do: Place a blank line between lines of text
What to do: Place <p> at the start of the text and </p> at the end
What what the code looks like: <p>The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.</p>This is the start of the the next paragraph…

20. Going to the next line (single space)
What you want to do: Start a new line without a blank line between (single space).
What to do: Place <br> at the point where you want the text that follows to be on a new line.
What the code will look like: This text is on one line<br>while this is on the next<br>and here is the third line.

21. special text What you want to do: Make text BOLD or Italic
What to do: Place <b> at the start of the text and </b> at the end for bold face or <i> at the start of the text and </i> at the end for italics
What the code will look like: The word <b>climate</b> means the average temperature and precipitation over <i>30 years.</i>

22. Del Webb Middle School, Henderson, NV
Credits
Created by
Lori Henrickson
Del Webb Middle School, Henderson, NV
Google Slide Theme
Special thanks to all the people who made and released these awesome resources for free:
Busy Icons by Olly Holovchenko
Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
Photographs by Unsplash