Virtual Globes

by: Steven Wood

Dept of Science

Wheeler School

Virtual Globes• A virtual globe is a 3D software model or

representation of the Earth or another world.

Image

Draped over digital Topography

Projected on a Globe

What A Virtual Globe Can Do For You!– You can look at the globe from different

perspectives.

What A Virtual Globe Can Do For You!

You can drape the globe with different images and data, and change what is displayed at the push of a button

Why Are Virtual Globes Useful In the Classroom

• Its is a VISUAL learning tool. Allowing students to visualize concepts that we often teach them verbally.

• It is an INTERACTIVE program which the student can freely access and easily manipulate, allowing them to formulate there own questions on a concept and search out the answers to them

• It creates an ENGAGING learning environment, bringing elements commonly used to attract students to video games into use in attracting them to explore and learn

Examples Of Virtual Globes

• NASA World Wind- educational focus, open source, Measuring tools, lots of layers.

• Google Earth- commercial focus, high resolution-most recent data, widely used, linked with other google tools

• Microsoft Virtual-Earth- Wants to compete with Google earth

• ARC-GIS Explorer- GIS on a virtual Globe

Two Versions of World Wind

– World Wind .net• Original version of World Wind• Runs only on PC• Most flexible version• Has lots of layers• Has many options and add-ons

– World Wind Java• Still in development• Works across platforms (Mac or

PC)• Can be imbedded in web pages• World-Wind versions customized

to your use can be produced.

Important Websites for World Wind

• World Wind Home- http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/• Download-

http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/download.htmlhttp://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/java/index.html

• Community- http://www.worldwindcentral.com/wiki/Main_Page

• Add-ons - http://www.worldwindcentral.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=100

• My Website –hhtp://www.worldwindclassroom.com

How to Drive in World Wind

Holding down left mouse button and moving

mouse moves screen

Forward/Back and Left and

Right

Holding Down the right mouse

button and moving mouse tilts the view

(Up/down) and rotates view (left/right)

Scroll button (or click both left and right) zooms view in and out

To select or change layers

Select icon representing layer on toolbar

Or select from the list of layers in the layer manager

Turn on or off place names or boundaries here

Basic Layers In World WindImage Set Resolution Coverage Color Comments

Blue Marble 1km Global Yes Images for all 12 months of 2004

NLT Landsat 30m Global Yes (true and pseudo)

I Cubed 15M Global Yes (true) Well processed seemly landsat Mosaic- most realistic Landsat set

Geocover 1990 and 2000

30m and 15m

Global Yes (Pseudo) Two similar data sets taken 10 years apart

USGS Ortho 1m U.S. Only No

USGS TOPO 1m U.S. Only yes

Urban High Res- Zoom it

1m-.25m Selected cities and states

Yes Coverage includes Massachusetts and Rhode Island

What makes World Wind Unique

• Open Source- The code for the program is publicaly available and can be altered.– Many useful add-ons have been created for the

program by users– You do not need to worry about copywrite issues– You can alter the program yourself (xml)

• Educational Focus- Program was created with education in mind.– Lots of different layers– Lots of connection to NASA educational resources– Easy to use interface (designed like a computer

game)

Using World-Wind In The Classroom

• As a visualization tool in the class lecture, presentation or discussion - Show students imagery or data from World Wind to illustrate concepts or pose questions.

• Used to create images for power points or assignments

• Students can work with program itself to explore concepts or answer question in a computer lab or for homework.

Uses For World Wind

Find your house and understand your local geography (Urban Area image of The Athenian

School California)

Boundaries and Place NamesB

lue

Mar

ble

(with

bou

ndar

ies

and

labe

ls)-

Sou

th A

fric

a

Rapid Fire ModisDaily Satellite imagery capturing ecological and

geological events

Mod

is im

age

of H

urric

ane

Kat

rina

Web Mapping ServerAllows global environmental datasets to be displayed

Lewis and Clark Trail

Shows path explorers took with stop points that link to web pages describing the

journey

Katrina Add-On

Add-on has aerial photography of New Orleans and Mississippi before and after Hurricane

THE END