How to Create Image Overlays in Google Earth

Google Earth is one of my favorite tools to use in history and geography lessons. Google Earth enables students to see and explore places in ways that printed maps and images never could. One of the features of Google Earth that I love to use in history lessons is the image overlay function.

In the following video I demonstrate how to create image overlays in Google Earth.


Applications for Education
Image overlays in Google Earth let students make comparisons of historical maps with current maps. Image overlays can also be used to overlay different map types on top of the default Google Earth imagery.

The Library of Congress has a great collection of nearly 40,000 historical maps that students can download and reuse for free. That's where I got the image for this blog post as well as the image overlaid in the video above.

Google Earth can be used for a lot more than just social studies lessons. In fact, I have a Practical Ed Tech on-demand webinar about that topic.

Update About the Practical Ed Tech Creativity Conference

Last month I announced the free Practical Ed Tech Creativity Conference that I'm hosting in December. The presenters have been chosen and in the next few days the final schedule of presentations will be announced. There are going to be presentations that are appropriate for teachers of students of all ages. Some of the topics to be covered include coding, drones, 3D printing, video reflections, and assistive technology.

The Practical Ed Tech Creativity Conference is a free, online event that will happen on December 10th, 11th, and 12th. You can register for the conference right here.

Submit Questions for The Practical Ed Tech Podcast

Later this week I'll publish the nineteenth episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast. That's beaten the law averages when it comes to podfading. Except for the episodes that have guests, every episode follows the same pattern. That pattern is an opening with news and notes from the week in ed tech, followed by some thoughts from classroom, and the episodes conclude with me answering a handful of questions from readers and listeners like you. If you have a question that you would like me to answer on the podcast (I usually answer them in direct email too), please put it in the short form that is embedded below.

How to Schedule Video Releases on YouTube

YouTube has a lot of helpful little features that are often overlooked. One of those features is the option to upload videos and schedule them to appear at a later time. This can be great if you have a YouTube channel that you want keep updated with a regular schedule of new releases, but only have one day every week or two to create new videos. Scheduling releases is also great if you are trying to build up anticipation for an event like a school talent show, a concert, or sporting event.

In the following video I demonstrate how to schedule video releases on your YouTube channel.

How to Create a Multimedia Timeline Through Google Sheets

Timeline JS is one of my all-time favorite tools for use in history classes. It is always at the top of my list of tools for creating timelines. Timeline JS allows you to create a Google Sheet that then becomes a multimedia timeline. In your Google Sheet you can add links to pictures, maps, videos, and audio files. Of course, there is also plenty of space for writing in the timeline.

Five years ago I published a video tutorial on how to use Timeline JS. While that video is still good, there have been a few changes to Timeline JS over the last five years. Therefore, I created a new tutorial on how to use Timeline JS to create a multimedia timeline. That tutorial is embedded below.


Applications for Education
The obvious aspect of Timeline JS is the ability for students to create multimedia timelines to publish online. The thing that I often have to point out about Timeline JS is that because it does rely on Google Sheets, it can be a collaborative creation tool. Have one student start the spreadsheet then share it with his or her classmates. Similarly, you could start a timeline template for your students then distribute it as an assignment through Google Classroom.