Alright folks – I need your help. I'm traveling to Tokyo next week to give a speech for 1000 Japanese primary and secondary school teachers. I want to show them some examples of interesting things people are doing with SketchUp in K-12 education. I know there's a ton of math, history, geography, architecture and other great stuff out there, but I don't meet enough teachers in person to collect it myself.
If you (or anyone you know) is an educator with something SketchUp-related that might be of interest to teachers, I'd love to see it. Lesson plans would be great, but images, SKP files, and brief explanatory paragraphs would work, too. I won't distribute or publish anything without asking permission, so please don't worry about that : )
Please send whatever you've got to sketchupblog@gmail.com by Friday of next week. Thanks!
Posted by Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Product Evangelist
Calling all teachers: Help!
Friday, July 24, 2009 1:27 PM
SketchUp goes to the Moon!
Monday, July 20, 2009 3:45 PM
With the launch of Moon in Google Earth today, you can now explore our nearest celestial neighbor from within Google Earth. Beginning in 1959, we began to send probes and landers to the lunar surface, and most of them remain there to this day.
Many of these objects have been modeled in Google SketchUp, and are based on drawings, photographs, and dimensions. One model that has a prolific presence on the Moon comes from Google 3D Warehouse model contributor, Pagan. This user modeled the Apollo Lunar Module and it is featured at each of the Apollo mission landing sites, as well as in the guided tours.
To view these models in Google Earth, first switch to Moon via the planetary drop-down menu at the top of the screen.
Next, expand the "Moon Gallery" in the left Layers panel.
From here you can virtually visit a variety of artifacts, spacecrafts, and mission landing sites by double-clicking on any of the models listed. Here are some examples of what you can find:
Apollo 11 Landing Site
Lunokhod 1 and Luna 17
Lunar Rover You can also view these models in SketchUp by downloading them from our Moon Objects collection in the Google 3D Warehouse. Happy exploring!
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Fly yourself to the moon
9:45 AM
(Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long blog)
On July 20, 1969, two human beings landed on the moon for the first time. Forty years later, that accomplishment still stands as an unmatched moment in the history of human exploration. It was a truly wondrous event that captured imaginations worldwide -- nearly a billion people (one quarter of the Earth's population at the time) followed it moment-by-moment on live TV or radio, around the globe.
Today, on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, Google is proud to announce the release of Moon in Google Earth, bringing you one step closer to understanding the experience of standing on the moon. It brings the Apollo stories out of the history books, recreating them in an immersive and interactive 3D environment.
To see for yourself, all you need is Google Earth 5.0 (if you already have it, no upgrade is required). Just click the planet button on the top toolbar of Google Earth, and choose Moon. You'll be flow to the Moon, at which point you have all the same usual Google Earth controls -- drag your mouse on the globe to fly around, and use the Layers panel in the lower-left corner to discover content. Double-click any Layers item to fly to it.
Each of the Apollo landing missions is chronicled in detail through pictures and stories. We've even embedded video footage from Spacecraft Films that covers the most well-known moments on the surface. There are also immersive lunar surface panoramas, composed of photos taken by the astronauts themselves, presented for the first time in a 3D "Street View" style interface:
The Human Artifacts layer contains locations and trivia on every robotic spacecraft that's ever landed on or crashed into the moon. Those that did land successfully are represented by 3D models, such as Luna 9 from the USSR:
You can turn on the Historical Maps layer to see maps that NASA itself used in the Apollo missions. Or just fly around and explore the 3D terrain:
If you get lost, that's no problem... just pull up the Guided Tours layer. There you'll find author Andrew Chaikin (A Man on the Moon) and Apollo 11 astronaut and author Buzz Aldrin (Magnificent Desolation) co-narrating an immersive fly-through tour of the Apollo 11 landing site. Harrison H. Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut and Fusion Technology Institute faculty member, is also on hand to describe his experience as the only geologist to have walked on the Moon.
The tours are like a movie, but better... when you pause, you can actually look around with the camera! See the Google Earth User Guide for more info.
Moon in Google Earth was made possible by Google's Space Act Agreement, which allowed NASA Ames researchers to help us develop much of its content. We're also grateful to JAXA, Japan's space agency, for donating a global terrain dataset of the Moon.
We hope that you enjoy Moon in Google Earth. Explore it today, in observation of the 40th anniversary of one of humanity's finest moments.
Michael Weiss-Malik, Product Manager, Moon in Google Earth
The results are in, and they are beautiful
Thursday, July 9, 2009 9:55 AM
Wow! We received some amazing entries for the Google SketchUp 2009 International Student Bridge Modeling Competition. Higher education students from over 65 countries registered for the competition, 42 collections were created in the Google 3D Warehouse, and 77 bridges were modeled from all over the world. The types of bridges range from historical to pedestrian, rail and highway - and they were all certainly impressive. Check out our winners page for details and comments from our illustrious panel of judges.
The winners are:
1st Place
Jason Wong
School of Architecture and Construction Management, Washington State University, US
2nd Place
Tobias Merk
School of Design, Hochschule Augsburg - University of Applied Sciences, Germany
3rd Place
Nicholas Falbo
Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning, Portland State University, US
Announcing the Design It Shelter Competition
Monday, June 8, 2009 6:00 AM
We teamed up with the folks at the Guggenheim Museum to create a design competition that's open to people everywhere. Design It: Shelter Competition challenges participants to create a simple shelter for a specific geographic location anywhere in the world. Entries are 3D models designed in Google SketchUp, geo-located in Google Earth and uploaded to the Google 3D Warehouse.
Visitors to the competition website are able to view images, animations and descriptions of entries all in one place. With the help of the Google Earth plug-in, the 3D models themselves are visible right on the page. For the first time, you won't need to download a model to be able to see it "in the round".
The inspiration for 'Design It' comes from Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic assignment for the apprentices at Taliesin, his architecture school in Arizona and Wisconsin. Students design and physically construct shelters – small, simple buildings – as part of their studies. Then they live in them.
This competition coincides with the Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward exhibition currently on view at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Also on display is Learning By Doing, which focuses specifically on the student-built shelters at Taliesin. If you're in the area, be sure to check them out.
This video talks about what you need to do to get started:
Submission
To enter the competition, you need to fill out the submission form on the Guggenheim website. You must provide:
- information about yourself (name, email, country, etc)
- a description of your shelter
- a link to your SketchUp model on the Google 3D Warehouse
- at least one, and as many as four, JPEG images of your shelter
- a link to a video of your shelter on YouTube (this is optional, but highly encouraged)
Competition entries should:
- provide a place for someone to study and sleep
- be sited anywhere on Earth
- have no more than 100 square feet (9.3 square meters) of enclosed space
- be no taller than 12 feet (3.6 meters) high
- not include water, gas or electricity
The competition starts today, June 8th – Frank Lloyd Wright's 142nd birthday. The deadline for submissions is August 23rd of this year. Two prizes will be awarded: the People's Prize, decided by public vote, and the Juried prize, selected by the members of a panel of architecture and design experts. Public voting for the winner of the People's Prize runs from September 7th to October 10th, and winners will be announced October 21st – the 50th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum.
Judging
The judges will consider entries in light of five major criteria:
- The relationship of the shelter to the built or natural environment around it
- Innovative design
- Thoughtful use of materials
- Adherence to the project specifications
- Quality of the SketchUp model
Two prizes will be awarded:
The People's Prize: Current students from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture will select ten shelters from among all of the entries. The public will choose one of these ten to receive the People's Prize by voting on the competition website.
The Juried Prize: A panel of architecture and design experts will choose the winner of the Juried Prize from among all competition entries.
Both prizes include:
- airfare and two nights' accommodation for two in New York City
- behind-the-scenes tours of both the Guggenheim Museum and the Google office in NYC
- complimentary admission to selected NYC museums
- a Google SketchUp Pro 7 license
Questions? Check out the competition FAQ. Good luck, and have fun.
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The Four R's: Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmatic, R-chitecture
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 4:30 PM
Earlier this year, Google exhibited at Channel 13's Celebration of Teaching and Learning in New York, NY. I had the opportunity to demo Google SketchUp and meet hundreds of enthusiastic educators - exactly the types of energetic, creative folks that you would want shaping your kids' minds. One of those teachers was Michele Macloud, Instructional Technology Coordinator at Prairieville Middle School in Ascension, Louisiana. Michele watched a demo of SketchUp for the first time and imagined gobs of possibilities. She left the booth assuring me that she would keep me posted. Well, last week I received an email from Michele telling the story of how Prairieville Middle School's 8th graders are using SketchUp to design a new school!
In the few months since I'd seen Michele in New York, Prairieville teacher Sandi Gautreau had been introducing SketchUp to her 8th grade math students. They took it in steps, starting by drawing a dimensionally-accurate model of the classroom. Sandi explained, "Once they learned what they could do and create, they sat and worked. They used trial and error, worked with each other. Students taught each other when they found features of the product. Students asked questions of each other. They were completely engrossed in the application." After developing their SketchUp chops, they began modeling an entire wing of the existing school.
In case you're thinking the students are getting off easy by playing with SketchUp instead of doing "real math", Sandi explains, "Measurement is always a weakness on standardized testing. Students actually went outside and took measurements. They drew objects in SketchUp and were able to compare the scale to the actual measurement."
At that point, the Principal, Ms. Diane Gautreau, and the District Demographics Application Specialist, Mr. Chad Lynch, met with the students. They discussed ideas for a new school, building codes, and what elements to consider to ensure a successful design. Mr. Lynch brought blueprints for an upcoming school to share with students. Armed with this information and their SketchUp skills, students went to work designing a new Prairieville Middle School. Each student chose a different part of the project to design. These parts will be brought together and presented to Principal Gautreau as a design recommendation for a new school.
It looks like Prairieville will have a pretty sweet gymnasium...
Of course, the final word in any classroom-experience belongs to the students. Devin says, "Using SketchUp made math class more interesting". Brittney concurs, "Before this project, math was stressful. It was hard." Kaylyn adds, "Now there is more to look forward to; what I do might be included in the plans for the new school."
And it sounds like Ms. Gautreau may have set Shelby on new a career path, "I learned how architects do their jobs, and it taught me that I could have a career in this field when I get older."
Eric Yam is my new favorite SketchUpper
Monday, May 11, 2009 8:58 AM
You can read all about Eric in this Globe and Mail article from last week. You can even download his report as a full-color PDF. Congratulations Eric – maybe this isn't as far off as most people think.
Strengths of autism continue to shine in 3D
Friday, April 24, 2009 10:27 AM
Back in November 2007, we announced the official launch of Project Spectrum. Because I know that readers of this blog are dedicated, never-miss-a-post-and-even-go-back-and-read-the-archived-stuff-that-was-posted-before-you-discovered-this-blog type folks, I won't bother to rehash my old post. Not too much, at least.
As you undoubtedly recall, Project Spectrum was launched after we happily discovered that people with autism are using Google SketchUp in unique and exciting ways. We learned that SketchUp plays to the visual and spatial strengths that so many people on the autism spectrum possess. During the year and a half since that last post, Googlers have been working with the autism community to introduce kids, teachers, parents and adults to SketchUp. These Googlers aren't limited to members of the SketchUp team - they work on all sorts of different Google products, and are spread across several offices (and even countries!). We've all been amazed, inspired, and touched by the results and decided it needed to be shared with the rest of the SketchUp community...
So, the Project Spectrum team is recognizing Autism Awareness Month by showing off the work of some of our star SketchUppers, spreading the Project Spectrum word, and introducing a new video tutorial. Don't miss the Project Spectrum Collection in the Google 3D Warehouse and while you're in there, be sure to check out the Astropolis models - concept art for a video game designed for autism research.
But the models are only part of the story. The kids' accomplishments on and off the computer are just as impressive. It's amazing what can be done with talent, determination, and a little 3D software...
- Casey just received the Temple Grandin Award in recognition of his accomplishments (including his role in the Astropolis Project and acting as a spokesperson for Project Spectrum).
- Rachel's creativity and artistic abilities have earned her multiple awards, as well as college credit. Rachel is beginning an internship in which she will be using her skills to do design work for the public.
- JP's enviable SketchUp talents have introduced him to design software which he will be using as he pursues a career in video game design.
Please join us in recognizing Autism Awareness Month as we tip our caps to the members of Project Spectrum and recognize their talents and accomplishments!
Tom Wyman, Project Spectrum Team Permalink | Links to this post |
Catch up on your SketchUp 7 reading
Thursday, April 23, 2009 10:24 PM
After several months of hard work (and little sleep), our longtime friend Bonnie Roskes has completed a new tutorial book on Google SketchUp 7. This time around, Bonnie has placed an extra emphasis on presentation, styles, scenes, and animation. You can also read about Dynamic Components and walk through the steps to create one of your own. Of course, the basic stuff is still completely covered: components, materials, digital images, Google Earth and Google 3D Warehouse tools, Sandbox - all with lots of new and rewritten content. You can get her books in both print and PDF on her new website, 3DVinci.
For educators and parents, Bonnie has also written classroom teaching-material for SketchUp. The Student Coursebook is a comprehensive SketchUp training course for college and high school levels. For younger students, the ModelMetricks books contain fun design projects for kids age 8-14, and the GeomeTricks books include geometry projects like mosaics, tiling, fractals, and symmetry. Bonnie's books should improve your SketchUp skills, whether you are a first-time modeler or a 3D veteran.
Posted by Tasha Danko, Product Marketing Team
Help model the world – one bridge at a time
Monday, March 16, 2009 4:20 PM
Are you in awe of the engineering that goes into designing a bridge? Do you have a favorite local, famous, or historical bridge you'd like to see in Google Earth? I'm pleased to announce the launch of the Google SketchUp 2009 International Student Bridge Modeling Competition. Now you have a chance to show off your modeling skills and make that dream a reality by entering the competition anytime before June 15, 2009.
Simply model your bridge in Google SketchUp, geo-reference it in Google Earth, and submit the bridge by uploading to the Google 3D Warehouse to earn eternal online glory and, if you win, a handsome prize. You can enter this competition if you're a student at a higher education institution almost anywhere in the world. Take a look at this 3D Warehouse collection to get inspired, and good luck!
Community modeling in Madison, NJ
Monday, March 2, 2009 6:22 PM
Madison, New Jersey took a big step towards becoming only the second town in the US to organize a community effort to develop a 3D model of their downtown for Google Earth.
It all started with Mayor Mary-Anna Holden attending the National Main Street Conference last year. This conference is attended by community leaders from around the country who want to learn about creative ways to promote their downtowns. Google attended the event and presented how McMinnville, Tennessee had used Google SketchUp to model their downtown.
Attendees, including Mayor Holden, saw the potential that such a model could have on their town and kept asking “How do we do this?".
In Mayor Holden’s case, the answer rested with the son of her neighbor, a young man by the name of Teddy Bogdanski. Mayor Holden approached Teddy, a Boy Scout, with an idea for an Eagle Scout project, which lead an effort to model Madison.
Soon after they spoke, I received an email from Teddy asking if Google would be willing to support the effort. How could I decline an Eagle Scout? I replied that we would. A date was established where my colleagues and I would travel to Madison and conduct a short training effort on the use of SketchUp to model for Google Earth.
With Googlers agreeing to visit his town, Teddy had work to do to ensure that his project was a success. His role was that of a coordinator & project manager, and he did a stupendous job.
We’d conducted product training before, but not an abbreviated one with a focus on creating textured models for Google Earth. While we did this, Teddy was hard at work collecting volunteers and approval to use his high school computer lab. I’m not sure who had the tougher job: Teddy or us... but I’m pretty sure it was Teddy.
When we walked into Madison High School early Saturday morning we were greeted by Teddy, his parents, teachers, and 25 volunteers eager to help. It was awesome. We got right to work.
Aidan Chopra, the author of SketchUp for Dummies, kicked the day off with a short lesson on the basics of SketchUp. Craig D’Andrea from our team followed with a demonstration and instruction on how to apply digital photos to 3D SketchUp models. Within an hour the mice were flying, the keyboards were clicking, and hands were being raised. The three of us spent the remainder of the day providing support to the group.
Models of downtown began to take shape, and within a few hours a number of models were already completed. Smiles were crossing the faces of those finishing models as they pointed at their screens with pride. Madison was quickly becoming a virtual city.
Teddy and his group of volunteers have scheduled two subsequent meetings to complete their downtown. We look forward to seeing their models in Google Earth very soon, and wish them the best in their efforts.
We would like to encourage other towns to follow the lead of these pioneers. If you have questions about how to proceed, please visit the Cities in 3D Program.
Don't let history pass you by!
Friday, January 16, 2009 10:53 AM
Back in November we launched the Ancient Rome in 3D Curriculum Competition alongside a brand-new Google Earth layer highlighting the historic city in breathtaking detail.
Whether you're putting the finishing touches on your submission or have yet to explore the new layer, you still have some time! Just be sure to register and upload your files no later than Monday, February 9th.
Bona Fortuna!
SketchUp visits the AIAS Forum
Friday, January 9, 2009 5:55 PM
The American Institute of Architecture Students welcomed the new year in Denver, Colorado for its annual AIAS FORUM. The event brought together over 600 students from various Architecture and Design programs in the US as well as representatives from chapters in Australia, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The AIAS FORUM offered students an opportunity to learn about both the experiences of professional architects and issues surrounding architecture education, while interacting with today's best architects and designers and meeting other students to exchange ideas.
Having attended the AIAS Forum in Boston a few years back, this year's event brought back lots of good memories. I remember the Expo from that Forum, and there was a certain excitement about finding the opportunities and tools needed to get us a real bona-fide spot in the architecture world. Lunch was pretty good, too.
Like in Boston, the Architecture College and Career Expo this year gave students and teachers an opportunity to grab some lunch and wander through an exhibition of colleges, architectural firms, building materials suppliers, and computer software tools. At our demo table, we answered lots of great questions, talked about the new features in SketchUp 7, and handed out some much appreciated souvenir Chapstick to the students who skied the day before.
It was great to meet the many students who had previous experience with SketchUp! Lots of them use SketchUp in their studio classes and arrived with specific how-to questions about tools, techniques, and plugins. Other students preparing to start SketchUp classes watched live demos of SketchUp and Google Earth. SketchUp has become a staple for architecture students, whether they are making massing models, detailed designs, analyzing energy performance, or designing t-shirts.
We also hosted a workshop called Mastering 3D Using SketchUp: Geomodeling Training. Attendees were taught the fundamentals of SketchUp and learned how to optimize models and geo-reference them in Google Earth. The room was filled to capacity, so there was certainly no shortage of interested and enthusiastic students. We had fun finding solutions to their personal SketchUp questions and sent them on their way with as many SketchUp tips as possible!
Catherine Moats, 3D Data Specialist, and Josh Reilly, SketchUp Trainer
See roman history come to life in 3D
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 8:35 PM
Were you someone who struggled to stay awake in ancient history class? If so, perhaps this was due to those uninspiring "artist renditions" in your textbook. Reading countless pages that described how a monument, building or city may have appeared can be a pretty difficult way for the average reader to form a mental picture.
Today we introduced a new approach to learning about ancient history – the ability to go back in time and explore Rome as it existed in 320 AD – in 3D!
All of this is possible through the new Ancient Rome 3D layer in Google Earth. To activate the layer, just open the "Gallery" folder in the "Layers" panel and select "Ancient Rome 3D." To load the terrain and buildings, click on any yellow icon and then click the links at the bottom of the bubble.
The new layer, produced by the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH) and based on its Rome Reborn model, contains over 6,000 3D buildings and 250 Google Earth placemarks where Google Earth explorers can learn about this fascinating period of history. Our SketchUp modeling team converted the original Rome Reborn model to SKP format, then optimized the data for display in Google Earth.
This is the first time that we have incorporated an ancient city in Google Earth. Going back in time presented some new challenges, such as how to handle the ancient terrain which was clearly different than it is today. We needed to ensure that modern-day imagery, terrain and buildings didn't interfere with the Ancient Rome model, so we opted for a simple overlay.
So go ahead – fly down to the Roman Forum and experience what it may have felt like to stand on the Rostra of Augusta to deliver a political speech. Or, if you've fantasized about being a gladiator in the Colosseum, go for it: Simply fly there in Google Earth, enter through the ground level door and envision the crowds cheering you on!
Omnes viae Romam ducunt.
Thinking in Pictures
Saturday, July 26, 2008 2:23 PM
A number of us from the Boulder and Kirkland Google offices recently attended the Autism Society of America's 2008 National Conference in Orlando, Florida. What a great experience!
On the first day of the conference, we gave a presentation about Project Spectrum (program that introduces people on the autism spectrum to Google SketchUp) to the ASA Chapter Presidents.
The rest of our time was spent in the exhibit hall introducing SketchUp to the conference attendees, including parents, educators and people with autism. One attendee, Cole, created a java-fied remodel of the University of Alaska Museum of the North. I think he's still waiting to hear whether or not it was approved!
Our fellow Coloradan, Temple Grandin, delivered the keynote speech. Temple touched on two themes we think are at the core of Project Spectrum: taking advantage of special gifts, like visual and spatial skills, and using those gifts to develop a life skill or career. 
A special thanks goes out to our vendors, Sparks and Eagle Management, for building our Project Spectrum booth and providing set-up and tear-down services at no charge. It's wonderful to see others excited by our program, and it helped to make this a great event.
SketchUp books for kids
Monday, July 14, 2008 11:35 AM
Posted by Tasha Danko, Marketing Functionary
Our long-time friend Bonnie Roskes, who's written books on SketchUp, is now writing SketchUp books for kids (which only makes sense, since she has a bunch of kids herself). Children learn SketchUp pretty quickly, but there isn’t much educational material out there just for them. Bonnie’s new “ModelMetricks” series includes 11 books with lots of fun and colorful projects that kids will love. Parents and teachers love them, too - how often do kids log quality hours on the computer? Bonnie’s site also has some free kids’ activities – great for keeping your kids off the streets during summer vacation.
For you K-12 educators out there (or if you happen to know any), Bonnie also has a Free Teacher Guide. It's full of suggested SketchUp projects for all ages in a variety of subjects. They make it easy for you to introduce SketchUp to your classes.
