Initial Publication Date: August 11, 2011

Workshop on Google Earth and Teaching Geoscience

Hamilton College - August 14-16, 2011


Workshop Goals

This workshop is an outgrowth of a GSA Penrose Conference Google Earth: Visualizing the Possibilities for Geoscience Education and Research ( This site may be offline. ) that was held in January, 2011 at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA. The conveners of the Penrose Conference have teamed up with On the Cutting Edge to develop a comprehensive resource for those who wish to go beyond the basics in Google Earth. The purpose of this workshop is to kick-start the module development. Participants have been invited because of their expertise in using Google Earth creatively for both teaching and research. The workshop goals are:

  • To establish the overall structure of the resource.
  • To give teams time to outline their modules, with each person taking responsibility for a module but working with input from others at the workshop.
  • To have team leaders develop the initial modules and receive feedback before leaving the workshop.
  • To participate in workshop follow-up, which will include completing module drafts by September 15, reviewing at least one other module, and completing module revisions so that modules can go live by November 20.


Workshop Schedule

Sunday August 14


by 5:00 pm Travel to Clinton and check in at Bristol Campus Center (building 53 on campus map)

6:00 Dinner in Science Center Atrium (building 42 on campus map)

7:00-9:00 Workshop intro
  • The relationship between our pages and the existing pages about Google Earth on the Cutting Edge site: what duplication do we want, if any?
  • Brainstorming the overall module structure
  • Structuring the geologic maps and data module

Monday August 15


7:30 Breakfast in Science Center 1016

8:00-8:30 Introduction to the Cutting Edge Content Management System (CMS)

8:30-10:00 Work Session I
  • Initial work on the following modules - by the end of this session, you should have a bare-bones outline of the module structure, along with who will write which portions and what advice you'd like from the rest of us.
    • Geologic maps and data in Google Earth
      • Kyle and Steve Whit: field data organization, Google Earth and field work
      • Declan and Chuck: displaying geologic maps in Google Earth
      • Meg and Barb: ArcGIS to GE and vice versa; also photos in Google Earth
    • GigaPan: Ron and Dave
    • Google Venus: Vicki
    • Cross sections: Paul, Mladen, and Steven Wild
    • Useful kml scripts: John
10:30-12:00 Work Session II
  • Initial work on the following modules - by the end of this session, you should have a bare-bones outline of the module structure, along with who will write which portions and what advice you'd like from the rest of us.
    • Geologic maps and data in Google Earth: Kyle, Steve Whit, Paul (to interface the cross sections component), and Ron (or he and Dave can work more on GigaPan)
    • Thematic collections: Meg, Barb, and Vicki
    • Tours: Chuck and John
    • Enhancing Google Earth with Network Links, Javascript, PHP, and Fusion Tables: Declan, Mladen, and Steven Wild
12:00 Lunch

1:00-2:00 Reports on progress
  • What is your bare-bones module structure looking like?
  • What do you need advice on?
  • What resources can we help you find?
  • Who is going to do what?
2:00-5:00 Work Session III
  • Write!!
6:00 Dinner

7:00-9:00 Informal progress reports, problem-solving, ideas for making the modules into a coherent whole, general chewing the fat

Tuesday, August 16


7:30 Breakfast

8:00-9:30 Paired review and suggestions
  • ~30 minutes for each person to review one other module
  • Two 30-minute sessions for each person to give and receive feedback and suggestions
9:30-11:00 Work session IV
  • For sections you have not yet written, you should have pages, headers, subheaders, and some bare bones notes by the end of this session so that we can see where you're going
11:00-12:30 Live "walk-through" of web pages
  • Whole group review of pages developed
  • Suggestions for additional coverage
  • Create "to-do" lists to finish these pages
12:30 Lunch

1:30 Final work session
  • Individual work plan and "to do list" for finishing the pages
  • Discussion of remaining issues and ideas.

List of Participants

  • Barbara Tewksbury
    Hamilton College
  • Chuck Bailey
    College of William and Mary
  • John Bailey
    University of Alaska, Fairbanks
  • Declan De Paor
    Old Dominion University
  • Mladen Dordevic
    Old Dominion University
  • Vicki Hansen
    University of Minnesota, Duluth
  • Kyle House
    USGS, Flagstaff
  • Paul Karabinos
    Williams College
  • Ron Schott
    Outcrop.org
  • Meg Stewart
    Independent researcher
  • Dave Tewksbury
    Hamilton College
  • Steven Whitmeyer
    James Madison University
  • Steven Wild
    Old Dominion University


Corner graphic is Google Earth view near Nanzha, China the northern margin of the Taklamakan. Looking NNE from 39.731547N, 78.796463E toward the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains. Imagery from GeoEye.