Google Earth and GoogleTour Builder

Google Earth

Prior to Spring 2017, Google Earth was a program that needed to be installed on a machine.  As a result, the platform was not accessible to Chromebooks.  In April of 2017, Google announced that Google Earth would become a web based platform... meaning, it works on Chromebooks!

If you haven't already done so, go check out Google Earth! You might be amazed at the graphics and potential of this platform!  Did I mention they brought in a 3D graphics engine, so you can view some cities in 3D?!

Google Tour Builder

You may or may not have already about about Google Lit trips. They are pre-packaged programs that take users on a tour of Google Earth with various stops along the way, complete with customized and specific information about that stop.  What an interesting way to show the path someone took in history, or the path of a specific character in a story (think Esperanza in Esperanza Rising.

While there were a TON of lit trips curated by a non-profit, many of those will not work in the new web based version of Google Earth.  Enter Google Tour Builder!

Google Tour Builder is a super simple way for you and your students to create packages trips!  Check out the video below for a more in-depth explanation.