How to create 360° images with

Google Street View App

(and share with others)

1

Click here to view this image in

360°

1Sylvia Duckworthbit.ly/360streetview

iOSAndroid

iPhone/iPad Apps you need for this tutorial

DesktopiOSAndroid

iOS(Android Not available yet)

iOSAndroid

2

Can view images in Virtual Reality on a smartphone

* *

* * Google Street View RoundMe

Spinnable Google Photos

3

Many thanks to Kathy Schrock, Jim Sill, Jeffery Heil, and Donnie Piercey for their help in putting this tutorial together. Check out their awesome resources!

VR Resource page

Google Street View

Google Cardboard

More VR Resources

Click here for a great preso by Jessica Louks on creating Storyspheres.

4Click here for a presentation on Google Cardboard and VR

Notes:

1. You can create and view 360° images on your iPhone or iPad with the Google Street View app but if you want to view them in Virtual Reality you must use a phone (because an iPad won’t fit in a viewing device like Cardboard).

2. This tutorial does not cover creating/sharing 360° videos because the Google Street View app does not create videos. The Ricoh Theta S camera is the easiest/best way to create 360° images and videos. For a tutorial on how to use this camera, click here.

5

Highly recommended if you are

serious about creating 360° and VR

content!

3. I do not have an Android device so I’m not sure how things are different on an Android in this tutorial.

NOTE: Photosphere = Panorama, Pano, or 360

6

PART 1 : Exploring 360° images

PART 2: How to create 360s using the Google Street

View app

CONTENTS

PART 3: How to share 360s

7

PART 1 : Exploring 360° images

On a computer On a phone in virtual reality

Click here to see more beautiful 360° photos of ParisClick here to see other gorgeous 360° collections on Round.meClick here to see Google Street View 360sClick here to see the beautiful Nasir al-Molk Mosque (Iran)Click here for the #Streetview hashtag on TwitterClick here for a Flickr group for 360s. 8

Click here to see this in 360°

On a computer

9

iOSAndroid2. RoundMe app

On a phone (in virtual reality)

3. Google Street View app iOSAndroid

You will need:

1. A viewer

10

1. RoundMe app

1. Open the app. Tap on a photosphere and scroll around with your finger, or turn sideways, tap the cardboard icon (very faint) and insert in viewer. (Android: tap 3 dots first, then cardboard icon)

Look down to change image - More spaces

2. To exit VR mode, tap the screen, then turn phone vertical to look at another photosphere. (click the back button)

3. Tap the 3 bars4. Tap World Map and explore some more

iOS Instructions

11

1. RoundMe app

1. Open the app. Tap on a photosphere and scroll around with your finger. To view in VR, tap 3 dots , then cardboard icon.

2. Look down to change image (More spaces), or take the phone out of the viewer and double tap the screen to exit VR mode.

3. Notice that you can share this image by tapping the share icon.4. Tap X to exit photosphere.5. Tap “Collections” to see more.6. Tap the globe icon to see spots around the world.

Android Instructions

(Thanks, Kathy Schrock for these instructions!)

12

2. Google Street View app

1. Open the app then scroll down and explore some of the photospheres. Double tap on the photo to take a look around. Pan around with your finger to get 360° view. If you have a VR viewer, tap on the cardboard icon and view in VR (Virtual Reality).

Tap on the back arrow once, and on next screen to exit photosphere.2. Scroll to the top and search for your home address.3. Search for your school.NOTE: If there aren’t many results, pan out (pinch on screen) to get more results4. Search for a place where you lived in your childhood.5. Think of a place you have happy memories of (a holiday?) Search for it.

How to create 360s using the Google Street View app 1. Open the Google Street View app.2. Click on the + sign.

If you have a 360° camera like the Ricoh Theta, you can take a photo with it straight from this app

If you already have a photosphere on your camera roll, you can upload it to Google Street View here

3. Options:

This is where you tap to take a new photosphere. Tap here now.

13

PART 2

4. Center the white circle on the orange dots. Your device will automatically start capturing the pictures.

5. Continue this until there is no grey area left.

6. The orange line will show your progress.

14

(NOTE: this takes much longer on an Android. Google Cardboard Camera is a much quicker option, but it doesn’t do above and below.)

7. When you are done, tap the green checkmark.

8. Now you will see a little man running around putting your photosphere together. When he stops, your photosphere is ready. Tap on it then tap on the Google Cardboard icon to view it in VR if you have a viewer. (If the screen is just black, hit the back button and try again.)

15

9. Your photosphere is now on your device’s camera roll. If you try to view it in the camera roll you will notice that it’s not in 360° view. So now you have to choose a method to share your photospheres in 360° view.

(Click here for a tip to make sure your phone is optimized for the viewer.)

1. Google Street View App

2. Google Maps

3. Google Photos

4. Round.me

5. Facebook16

9 Ways to Share Photospheres

6. Twitter

7. Google+

8. Spinnable

9. Thinglink

PART 3

*

*

*

Can view images in VR on a smartphone!

*

2. Scroll down, tap on 360 you just took, then tap on “Add a place” and put an address here if you haven’t done so already.

3. If you want to share with others, tap on the photosphere, then “Publish to Google Maps”.

17

4. Tap “Publish” again.

1. Google Street View App

NOTE: If you don’t want to make your photosphere public this way,

choose a different method to share (go to slide 20)

1. Open app and tap on “Private” to see your photospheres (you may need to scroll across to the right to see this)

There’s no easy way to share 360s from the Google Street View app. But once you publish a 360 in this app, it’s easy to share from Google Maps on a desktop.

5. Tap on the back button.

18

6. Tap on “Profile”. Your photosphere should show here. NOTE: it’s a bit glitchy and might not appear right away.

7. If your photosphere never appears or it seems to have disappeared altogether, tap the + icon again and import the photosphere from your camera roll.

Then publish again.

19

1. If you published your photosphere in the Google Street View app, in means that it will now appear in Google.ca/maps on your desktop.

2. Google Maps

2. Tap the menu (3 bars top left hand corner) and scroll down to “Your Contributions”

3. Tap “Photos”. Scroll down and tap on the photosphere you want to share.

4. Copy the URL to share

NOTE: Photospheres are only viewable on a desktop this way, therefore, not viewable in VR.

Click here to see 20 cool Street Views on Google Maps by Matt Miller.

Click here to see Jeffery Heil’s photo spheres on Google Maps. Click here to see Jim Sills’.

3. Google Photos

20

- You need to download Google Photos to your desktop and mobile device before sharing this way. (Downloads: Desktop, iOS, Android)

- If you sync your iPhone photos to Google Photos, you can go to Google photos on your desktop and share from there. Simply copy the URL of the pano you want to share.

- Click here to learn how to sync your photos to Google Photos. WARNING: If this is the first time you sync your photos, it will take hours for them to sync. (I’m not sure how you just start syncing going forward!)

- Click here to see an example of a photosphere of my class on Google Photos, taken with Google Street View app. Click here to see a photosphere by Jeffery Heil, taken with his Ricoh Theta camera.

NOTE: Viewers cannot view photospheres in Virtual Reality this way.

21

4. Round.me

This website and app is an awesome way to share photospheres. In fact, it’s the way I most recommend. You can create an account from the website or from the app. (Need to be 13+ yrs old, so consider creating a class account for students. Click here for my students’. Click here for reference poster to hang up in room.) Once your account is created:

Upload photos:

1. Open the app on your phone/tablet2. Tap on the 3 bars

3. Tap on Create 4. Tap on a photosphere, then on the arrow

* Can view images in VR on a smartphone!

These instructions for iOS: Click here for Android instructions (by Kathy Schrock)

22

5. Title your photosphere, then tap the checkmark

6. Make sure this button is turned on to publish successfully 7. Then tap the checkmark

23

8. Tap the upload icon to post to different sites or to email photosphere.

NOTE 1: This is the easiest and best method to post a photosphere to Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

6. 7.

NOTE 2 : You can create hotspots on your photospheres from the desktop version of Round.me! Click here for an example by Kathy Schrock.

5.

NOTE 3: You can also get an embed code for your photosphere from the desktop site by clicking on the share icon on your photosphere.

Spinnable is like Instagram, but for 360° images and 15 sec. videos.

NOTE: Available only for iOS mobile devices at the moment.

1. Once you create an account, tap on the + sign at the bottom of your screen.

8. Spinnable

2. Tap Gallery Upload and choose a photosphere from your camera roll.

3. Give your photosphere a description and save.4. To view a photosphere in VR, tap on it, then tap the Cardboard icon.

Follow me! sylviaduckworth

NOTE: it is not possible to get a direct link to a photosphere for sharing.

* Can view images in VR on a smartphone!

9. ThingLink

25

1. Transfer your 360 to your desktop. (On a Mac, attach the Ricoh Theta camera to your laptop with the USB cord, then with Image Capture, save to desktop.)

2. Go to Thinglink.com and sign in.3. Tap +Create

4. Scroll down to

5. Upload your 360. 6. Tap on “Add tag” and start adding tags. (You can move the placement of your

tags after.)

NOTE: As of May, 2016, the 360 editor is in Beta, and you need to fill out this form to access.

Click here to see an example. Maximize screen for best effect. Click here for a video tutorial.

26

7. You have many options for hotspots (tags). Note that if you want to upload audio, you need to upload an image as well.

8. Use this model to add a URL (You have to upload an image with it for it to work):

Add some description:

[LINK TEXT](http://URL)

27

9. You can add one continuous audio track to your whole 360 by clicking on “Settings”:

Then upload audio:

Click here for an example by Michael Fricano ll. Click here for a tour of Helsinki by John Hart.

10. Currently, there is no way to add just text, but it’s supposed to be coming!11. To share, just copy the URL of your image and paste wherever you want.12. If you create a Flickr account and go to this page, you can download the 360s and re-upload to Thinglink (but don’t forget to credit the photographer)!

(Note: There is an option to view images in VR, but it doesn’t work very well as it is currently browser based. ThingLink has a VR app, but it’s not ready yet for users to upload their own images.)

28

Click here for a cool collaborative idea to do with students. (Made in Book Creator but would be cool to do with 360° images!)