TECH-230: The Virtual Staff Report -- Using the Free Version of Google Earth

Purchase access to a video recording of this webinar, available on-demand.

This one-hour hands-on webinar will guide you through the process of preparing a Google Earth presentation for a Planning Commission meeting. Topics will include locating site photographs, georeferencing a site plan, creating a project tour and preparing for your presentation.

At the APA 2008 National Conference, Planetizen webinar instructor Chuck Donley and Durango, Colorado's Planning Director presented this session on the Virtual Staff Report. Over 500 attendees learned about Google Earth applications for planning professionals. Join the Planetizen webinar and learn how to integrate Google Earth into your next presentation.

You will be able to work concurrently on Google Earth throughout the session. The instructor will demonstrate each step twice – once while you watch the webinar, and a second time while you optionally perform the task yourself.

• Webinar Outline
• Date and Time
• About the Instructor
• Student Testimonials
• Prerequisites
• Additional Notes
• Video Recording
• Google Earth Webinar Series
• AICP Certification Maintenance (CM) Credits
• Purchasing Information

Webinar Outline

1. Overview of the Google Earth interface
2. Adding a placemark
3. Placing a photograph
4. Importing a site plan
5. Drawing a polygon
6. Setup a tour
7. Exporting an image for a PowerPoint
8. Presentation considerations
9. Google Earth Licensing considerations

• The webinar will be conducted using GoToWebinar.
• You will need Internet access, a web browser, and access to a telephone to call into the audio portion of the webinar.
• The registration details will be emailed to you 48 hour prior to the webinar start date and time.
• Please login to the webinar 10 minutes prior to the planned start time to ensure that you are able to access GoToWebinar and download the required plugins. (You can attend GoToWebinars using both MacOS and Windows.)

About the Instructor

Charles A. Donley, AICP is an urban planner who specializes in applying technology to planning issues. Chuck is president of Donley & Associates, where he has worked on projects nationally and internationally. Chuck brings 25 years of experience in public and private sector planning, working on current and long range processes. As Technical Director for CommunityViz, he guided training, professional services, technical support, and software development.

Student Testimonials

"Excellent presentation. Lots of good tools, and well presented."
--Joyce Kelso, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Code Enforcement Officer

"This was a great seminar, a brief introduction into the tremendous possibilities and applications of Google Earth."
--John Hargreaves, Research and Planning Analyst

Prerequisites

In order to gain the most from this webinar, you must meet the following pre-requisites, and perform the following activities at least one day prior to the webinar.

• Google Earth must be installed on your computer. In the demonstration, we will be using the current version 4.3. If you prefer to use an earlier version, you can, but you will be responsible for knowing your own controls. You can download the application from http://earth.google.com.
• You must have a working knowledge of the Google Earth interface (navigation, place search and layer controls). In order to ensure that you do, please perform the following tasks:
• Launch Google Earth
• Locate the following address: Hwy 160 & Co 141, 81303 (or an address of your choice).
• Zoom, pan and tilt using the Google Earth controls.
• You must download the following three files, which are the course materials. Save them in a folder on your desktop called Tech230.
1. Virtual StaffReport1.kmz (52 KB)
2. TwinButteSERidge.jpg (238 KB)
3. Twin ButteSite.jpg (405 KB)
• Ensure that the computer you are using to participate in the webinar has Internet access.
• Ensure that the computer you are using meets or exceeds the following recommended system requirements for running Google Earth:

Windows
Recommended:
- Operating System: Windows XP or Windows Vista
- CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz+ or AMD 2400xp+
- System Memory (RAM): 512MB
- Hard Disk: 2GB free space
- Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec
- Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM
- Screen: 1280x1024, "32-bit True Color"
Source: http://earth.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=20701

Mac OS
Recommended:
- Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5.2
- CPU: G4 1.2Ghz
- System Memory (RAM): 512MB
- Hard Disk: 2GB free space
- Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec
- Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM
- Screen: 1280x1024, "Millions of Colors"
Source: http://earth.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en-uk&answer=32347

Additional Notes

• This course assumes that you are comfortable using a computer and web browser. If you don’t feel confident using a computer, this course is not for you.
• The course will be conducted in a hands-on format where you will first watch the instructor perform a task in the webinar, then switch to Google Earth and perform the same task. If you have difficulty performing a task on your own, the instructor will be unable to assist you personally. Instead, simply watch the instructor perform the task a second time.
• We try to accommodate different learning styles. Toward this end, we will provide a detailed, step-by-step script of the hands-on exercises 48 hours prior to the webinar start time.
• Cancellations must be made three days prior to the webinar. Cancellations made within 72 hours of the webinar start time will forfeit the course registration fee.
• If you require a certificate of completion, we will (a) evaluate performance based on your participation in the full webinar (as audited by GoToWebinar); and, (b) your satisfactory completion of the course activities, as demonstrated by a screen shot from Google Earth upon conclusion of the hands-on activities. Please request your certificate of completion following the webinar by sending an email to editor@planetizen.com. Include the telephone number from which you accessed the course, and a screen shot of the completed siteplan from Google Earth.

Video Notes

A video recording of this live webinar is also available. This video is a screen and audio recording of a live webinar delivered in December 2008, covering all the topics mentioned above. This video can be viewed at any time, irrespective of the next scheduled webinar.

Registration for this video course is $34.95.

Google Earth Webinar Series

TECH-230 is just one of three webinars that teach how to use Google Earth in planning. Learn more about each of the other webinars, or sign up for the whole series and receive a 10% discount!

• TECH-130: Google Earth for Planners -- An Introduction guides you through the basics of Google Earth. The session will explore basic tasks for using Google Earth in planning. Topics will include finding places, moving around them, taking pictures of a site, saving a location and visualizing a site plan.
• TECH-330: The Virtual Staff Report -- Advanced Google Earth for Planners shows you how to use Google Earth Pro for planning analysis. Topics will include applying a GIS shape file to the terrain, coloring the legend for that layer, locating address points automatically, exporting from CommunityViz and ArcGIS, and upgrading a tour.

AICP Certification Maintenance

This course has been approved to provide 1 credit for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Certification Maintenance program.

To claim your CM credits, review the Guide to Claiming AICP CM Credits for Planetizen Courses.

Purchasing Information

Option 1: Live Webinar - $49.95

This option includes access to the next scheduled live webinar session.

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Option 2: Video Course - $34.95

This option includes access for 30 days to the video recording of this session.

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Option 3: Webinar and Video Package - $69.95

This option includes both the next scheduled live webinar and access for 30 days to the video recording.

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Please note that you must be a registered Planetizen user to purchase this course. If you are not a registered user, please take a few seconds and register for free.