Google Earth ToursGoogleEarthDesign.blogspot.com

Richard Treves January 2011

2

Att

rib

uti

on

Research funded by grant from Higher Education Academy, Geography Earth and Environmental Sciences.

In Partnership with Paula Englebrecht, Ordnance Survey, UK

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• What is a tour?• Background

– Story– History of TEL -> Content vs Whizz

• Good and Bad of tours• Best Practices

– Animations Best Practice– User Tests

Intr

od

uct

ion

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Pre-Recorded Flight/Layer Control/Audio ITS EASY!!W

hat

is a

Tour?

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Interesting choice of poster placement

Just because we can does not mean we

should

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His

tory

of

TEL “Books will soon be

obsolete in the schools… …scholars will soon be instructed through the eye. It is possible to touch every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture" Thomas Edison, 1913

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His

tory

of

TEL

"A radio receiver will be as common in the classroom as the blackboard...”“ ...radio instruction will be integrated into school life“William Levenson, Director Ohio School of the Air, 1945

Photo courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/nite_owl/

9

His

tory

of

TEL

• Late evaluation shows education value was overstated

(“Teachers and Machines”, Cuban, 1985) (http://bit.ly/hSKRhP)

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When t

o U

se G

E“Wow!”

Isn’t enough

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Show geog/geol evidence over multiple scales and locations

When t

o U

se G

E 1

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When 3D is important W

hen t

o U

se G

E 2

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When t

o U

se G

E 3 Streetview

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When N

ot…

1 World Maps

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When N

ot…

2 When 3D is *not* importantThematic 3D maps (untested)

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Anim

ati

ons

in E

d.

Mayer et al• Audio better than text and text/audio• Close in time, space

– Labels, say and show the same thing!

• Personal language, use of ‘I’• ‘Chapters’ – logical chunks of content

17Use

r Test

ing

Tours

Slideware with 3D transitionsUnstudied Characteristics of Virtual

Flights:SpeedCamera anglesOverview

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Resu

lts Speed: x2 as fast as ‘comfortable’ = fine

Camera angles: no big effect (conservative?)

Overview: Big effect.

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Concl

usi

on

Animations

Google Earth ToursGoogleEarthDesign.blogspot.com

Richard Treves January 2011