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GE Teach

A Tour Maker for the new Google Earth

Last week we had a look at the new Voyager tours in the new Google Earth and suggested that Google create a tour maker or at least release instructions on how to create them. It turns out that, Josh of GE Teach, has managed to figure out how it is done and has released a simple tour maker for the new Google Earth. GE Teach is an excellent site we have covered a number of times in the past.

To use the tour maker simply go here and follow the instructions in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MgTmCtEjfs

The tour maker is fairly rudimentary at present, allowing you to create placemarks with photos that open in the new side bar. But it is easy to use and produces great results and we expect he will add more features in the future. In addition, if you are looking to create more complex tours, the above tour maker is a good place to start to see how the new Google Earth’s tour system works.

One important thing to note is that although the tours are KML they do not run well in Google Earth Classic. Hopefully, Google will update the classic version to handle some of the new features.

Looking into the created KML files it seems Google has added some new custom tags to KML such as <gx:displayMode> which can be set to ‘fullscreen’ or ‘panel’. We hope they update the KML documentation to include these extensions and how to use them.

Note that the GE Teach Tour Maker does not use the Tour features of KML, but instead creates a series of placemarks with links between them.

Where next after the Google Earth API?

With the end of the Google Earth API imminent we are having a look at what various sites that depend, or used to depend on the Google Earth API are doing about it. Earlier this year we did a showcase of sites that use the Google Earth API and we will have a look at a selection of those sites.

The first is Rally Navigator. It is a comprehensive online application for creating rally road books, which are a set of instructions used by rally drivers and their co-pilots to map out a course and know what is coming next at each turn of the road. Knowing that the Google Earth API was coming to an end, the developers of Rally Navigator redesigned it to use Google Maps instead. Although it now lacks 3D effects we do not believe it has lost any essential features as a result of the conversion and has gained more features with time. So if you are a rally driver (or co-pilot) then you should definitely check it out. It has both free and paid for versions.

Next up is GETeach. This site was converted to use Google Maps even before we reviewed it earlier this year, but they left the Google Earth version online and it can still be found here. GETeach is designed to use as much screen space as possible for the maps, which leaves very little space for menus or other information telling you what it does. So the first thing you should do is view the help page to get an idea of its features and how to access them.

We do feel that the loss of the Google Earth API in this case does mean the loss of a lot of useful features that simply cannot be replaced by Google Maps, notably the loss of historical imagery and 3D imagery. Although Google Maps does have 3D imagery, it is not accessible via the Google Maps API as is used for this site. Even with the loss of the Google Earth API, however, it is still a great site and would be very useful in the classroom, so be sure to check it out.

Next is Flightradar24, a flight tracking website that shows the live locations of flights around the globe. It used to have a 3D view, which used the Google Earth plugin to show a model of an aircraft in the correct location on its route. They currently have a message stating that due to the demise of the Google Earth plugin, they are currently working on a replacement 3D experience. We will have to wait till they are done to see how it compares to the old Google Earth API experience.

Last but not least is GEFS Online, a popular flight simulator based on the Google Earth API. As far as we can tell, no significant development work has been done on the site for quite some time, with the last blog entry being nearly two years old. We can only guess that there are no current plans to move to an alternative platform and that the site will die along with the Google Earth API.

Google Earth plugin showcase: GE Teach

This is the fifth post in our series showcasing the Google Earth plugin. Today we are looking at GE Teach, an excellent site that we have looked at a number of times in the past.

Created by geography teacher Josh Williams, the site allows you to compare two maps side by side with different settings. The maps can be kept in sync, similar to the Street Earth tool we looked at yesterday. For more details about the site and how it got started, see Mickey’s post from 2011.

Although the site has recently been converted to use Google Maps rather than the Google Earth plugin, the plugin version is still available here and Josh tells us that it will continue to be available until December 2015, when Google is planning to end support for the plugin.

Josh also pointed us to the YouTube video below that demonstrates using his site to look at the damage caused by the tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma. You can do the same for the tornados we looked at in Monday’s post, although it can be quite difficult to find the correct locations, as the search functionality is not very good. To help you find the locations, copy this url:
https://www.gearthblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MoorePilgerWessington-Springs.kml
then paste it in the ‘Fetch or Go to’ option at the bottom right of the plugin. Then turn on historical imagery in both panes via the ‘Earth Layers’ menus at the top. Next, select appropriate imagery dates for comparison.

Google Earth plugin gradually fading away

Due to the uncertain future of the Google Earth plugin, many prominent sites that used to use it have started to transition to other alternatives.

Here are three examples:

Ships 2 Career from PlanetInAction.com

Back in 2009 PlanetInAction.com released a fantastic free ship simulator using the Google Earth plugin. In 2011 it was upgraded to version 1.5.

However, the developer, Paul van Dinther, is now working on Ships 2 Career, which is entirely Google Maps based. Follow his progress on his Google+ page. We are sure that when it is released it will be an excellent game.

Ships 2 Career
Ships 2 Career will be entirely Google Maps based.

GE Teach

GE Teach, a site developed by 9th-grade geography teacher Josh Williams, received a Geographic Excellence in Media Award in 2012. The site, until now, has been making excellent use of the Google Earth plugin to show side by side comparison views of various maps.

However, the site is now transitioning to a new version based on Google Maps. Despite the lack of 3D, it still looks good and has a number of notable features, including drawing tools, access to Google Maps Gallery, and Street View.

GE Teach
GE Teach Google Maps version

YoubeQ

YoubeQ is a cross between a social network and a driving/flying simulator. It allows you to drive or fly a large number of different vehicles/aircraft around the globe while socializing with other people you meet on the way. When we featured it in June 2014, it had 13 vehicles and 3 languages. Until recently it was based on the Google Earth plugin. It has now been completely redone in WebGL using Cesium. Read more about it here. It now uses Bing Maps for the 3D portion and Google Maps for navigation.

YoubeQ
The new YoubeQ, using Cesium and Bing Maps.

Viewing the polar vortex in Google Earth

For those of you shivering in the United States, you may have read that a “polar vortex” is to blame for the shockingly low temperatures.  For a new look at that phenomenon, the folks at NOAA have released some amazing imagery of it.

polar-vortex

Josh Williams, who we’ve shown you before with the excellent GEteach.com site, has put the images into KMZ format so you can view them in Google Earth.  You can download his KMZ file here, or read a bit more on the NOAA Science on a Sphere Facebook page.

Great work, Josh!

(via +Josh Williams)