Have you heard of Sketchup? It’s Google’s free 3-D modeling program although they now have a Pro version which you can pay for. It’s gaining popularity as a tool to create & teach environmentally friendly design and architecture… and a whole lot more.

Google recently held a competition for higher education titled ‘Model your Campus’. The winner’s can be found here and boy are they impressive results. You’ll need to download Google Earth to view the Winning Models.

Integrate your model with the Earth

Creating the 3-D model is just the beginning. You’re then able to deposit that building into Google Earth! A popular classroom project has been to re-create landmark buildings in the area then ‘drop’ them into the appropriate location. Here are some Brisbane building re-creations. Users are creating walk through models of actual buildings. We have map view, street view, satellite view.

How about this for a K-12 example?!

… There are any number of lessons – from learning about area and volume to studying building and community design …

… SketchUp is one of those products that will easily get kids learning – and thinking they’re just having fun, as your classes apply SketchUp to geography, social studies, history and industrial technology…

“… We’ve got a lot of different software packages in our applied technology lab, but SketchUp is by far superior to anything else in terms of ease of use.”
- Dan Zahner, Teacher, Boulder High School, Boulder, CO.

The above excerpts were taken from Google Sketchup for Educators.

Here’s an example I found on YouTube where a student displays a 3-D tour of his school. Head over to YouTube and do a search for Sketchup for some more amazing examples.

Further reading:

How do you think YOU could use this remarkable freebie?

Written by Brad Halcrow.
Brisbane Beyond Chalk Facilitator