Google Earth: A Comprehensive Guide to Virtual Creation Tools and Tours

What is Google Earth and what makes it unique?

Google Earth is much more than a digital globe. It is a interactive geographic visualization platform which combines 3D imagery, aerial photography, custom maps, and contextual information to deliver an immersive exploration and learning experience. Available in web, desktop, and mobile apps, Google Earth brings together diverse sources of geospatial data, allowing you to see 3D images of cities, landscapes and monuments, consult historical details of each place and even travel back in time through archive images.

Main functions of Google Earth creation tools

Thanks to the constant evolution of its tools, Google Earth now allows you to:

• Create custom and interactive maps to tell stories or present visual projects.
• Design virtual tours (trips, routes, tours, exhibitions) with markers, lines, thematic routes, polygons and highlights.
• Enrich tours with multimedia content, adding descriptive texts, links, images, videos, slides and external links.
• Collaborate online in project creation, allowing group work, co-authoring, and shared updating of content.
• Share projects flexibly: Integration with Google Drive, export in KML/KMZ format, direct links or online presentations.
• Cross-platform viewing: Project creation is done online, but tours and itineraries can be viewed on computers, tablets, and smartphones without restrictions.

Virtual tour creation tools in Google Earth

Virtual tour creation options are at the heart of Google Earth's advanced functionality. These tools, integrated into the web version of the platform, provide a unprecedented flexibility to create immersive experiences.

How to create a virtual tour in Google Earth step by step

1. Access: Go into Google Earth Web from your favorite browser.
2. Start a projectClick “Projects” in the sidebar and select “New Project.” You can save it to Google Drive or your computer.
3. Customize the project: Add a title and a brief description.
4. Add elements:
   • Bookmarks: Locate any location on the map and place a pin. You can add personalized information, images, or videos to enhance the experience.
   • Lines and routes: Draw routes, paths, thematic itineraries, trajectories, or geographic boundaries to guide users through your story.
   • Polygons and areas: Highlight areas of interest, parks, neighborhoods, or specific regions.
   • Full screen slides: Insert introductory texts, presentations or explanations between tour points.
   • Image overlay: Overlay historical imagery, old maps, scientific layers, or any other relevant material over the Google Earth map.
5. Advanced customization: Within each marker or element you can:
   • Change the color, icon, and size of the marker.
   • Include external links, interactivity, and forms (e.g., for assessments or educational challenges).
6. collaborative editing: Invite other users to collaborate on your project, assign editing permissions, comment, and update content in real time, fostering teamwork.
7. Organize the narrative: Reorder the points in the tour according to the storyline you want. The tour can be presented using the "Present" button, allowing viewers to "fly" from location to location and follow the designed interactive story.
8. Save and share: The project can be saved to Google Drive, exported as a KML/KMZ file (ideal for integration into other platforms or for professional/GIS use), or presented via a direct link accessible from any device.

Google Earth Studio: Professional animations and videos from your browser

Google Earth Studio It is a powerful extension designed for advanced users who want to create Custom animations, videos, and professional-quality presentations using Google Earth images and 3D models. This tool is specifically designed for content creators, journalists, teachers, and communications professionals who require sequences with camera movements, virtual flights, and spectacular visual effects. All this is done directly from the browser, without the need to install additional software, and with the option of exporting high-quality videos for use in presentations, documentaries, or educational projects.

Google Earth Studio offers access to detailed documentation, pre-designed templates, and complete control over the motion design along any route, city or geographical area on the planet.

Recording and playing back trips in Google Earth (KML/KMZ)

An essential feature for users who want to record and share their explorations is the recording trips or toursThis is accomplished using the "Add Trip" feature, which allows you to record actions and movements performed in the 3D viewer, including panning, zooming, rotating, and interactive navigation.

1. Click “Add Trip” in the toolbar.
2. Press the “Record” button to start recording your movements and interactions.
3. Take the virtual tour: Fly over areas, stop at key points, explore camera angles, and highlight relevant details.
4. You can combine audio recording using the microphone icon to narrate the trip and make it more immersive.
5. When you're done, stop recording to save your trip and immediately play it back, review it, or edit it.
6. Save your trip in KML or KMZ format to store, share, or integrate with other GIS projects and platforms.

Creating and editing KML/KMZ files It allows for advanced actions such as manual editing of the tour, insertion of dynamic elements, incorporation of time-based animations (e.g., changing historical images or the evolution of geographic areas over time), and complete customization of the user experience.

Tips and tricks to optimize your virtual tours and projects in Google Earth

• Take advantage of historical images and time layers: Activate the historical images option to show the evolution of a place over time, ideal for educational, geographic or environmental projects.
• Use information balloons and custom styles: Turn each point, route, or area into an interactive tab by adjusting styles (color, icons, size) and adding pop-ups with contextual information.
• Organize all content into folders: Group the different elements of the tour into thematic folders for more intuitive navigation (for example, by stages of a trip, by thematic areas, etc.).
• Share links and collaborate in real timeCollaborative work is enhanced with native integration with Google Drive, allowing for immediate commenting, co-editing, and updates.
• Export and reuse your creationsDownload your tours for presentations, integration into educational platforms, or use in GIS. You can also update, delete, duplicate, or export them for reuse in other Google Earth projects or other compatible tools.

Google Voyager: Discover themed tours and projects created by experts

The program Google Earth Voyager It includes an impressive library of guided tours and interactive presentations created by researchers, scientists, educators, and educators from a variety of world-renowned organizations, including BBC Earth, Jane Goodall, Sesame Street, and NASA.

Through Voyager, you can explore themed experiences in nature, culture, history, science, educational trips, and much more. These tours include multimedia materials, quizzes, simulations, and activities that enrich users' learning and curiosity.

Practical Applications: Google Earth in Education, Business, and Leisure

The versatility of the Google Earth creation tools has facilitated its adoption in multiple areas:

• Education: Creation of historical routes, geographical studies, collaborative projects, character biographies, ecosystem exploration, museum itineraries, and classroom gamification.
• Business and tourism: Presentation of urban development projects, interactive tourist routes, destination promotion, market research.
• Environment and science: Visualization of temporal changes, monitoring of natural phenomena, biodiversity mapping, scientific dissemination.
• Communication and digital narrative: Visual storytelling, geographic journalism, multimedia documentaries, impactful presentations.

Google Earth is not only a visualization tool, but a powerful platform for active learning, digital creation and collaborative exploration.

Teaching methodology: Project-based learning with Google Earth

Using the creation tools in Google Earth promotes the active and collaborative learning methodologyThe design of virtual routes, the development of multimedia content, the integration of geographic data, and the ability to share and present projects foster the development of key skills:

• digital competence: Advanced use of ICT and collaborative tools in the cloud.
• Communicative competence: Writing texts, creating scripts, creating audiovisual presentations.
• STEM Competition: Application of geographic concepts, calculations of distances and areas, use of coordinates and visualization of scientific data.
• Social and civic competence: Group collaboration, networking, appreciation of geographical and cultural diversity.
• Entrepreneurial competence and creativity: Original project design, challenge solving, educational innovation and storytelling.
• Cultural and artistic competence: Attractive visual presentation, integration of artistic and cultural expressions in the tours.

Educational Use Case: How to Create a Project in Google Earth

1. Go to Google Earth web and start a new project from the “Projects” section.
2. Give it a title and a meaningful description.
3. Add elements:
   • Locations searched for using the search engine, adding markers with personalized information, images, or videos.
   • Custom bookmarks for special non-indexed places.
   • Lines for routes, itineraries or distance/area measurements.
   • Folders to organize thematic points or stages.
   • Full-screen slides for introductions, explanations, or closing.
   • Image overlay to enrich the visual experience in advanced or PRO options.
4. Edit each point to add multimedia, evaluation forms, or extension links.
5. Reorder, hide, or remove points according to the desired narrative.
6. Share your project (collaborative or individual) via Google Drive, export to KML/KMZ, or publish via a viewing link.
7. Enjoy the presentation in “Present” mode, flying from point to point in an interactive way.

Google Earth and Google Maps: synergies and social innovations

Google continues to innovate in the area of ​​"social features" within its ecosystem. In addition to the creation tools in Earth, features have been incorporated into Google Maps that allow users to discover places recommended by "Local Guides" and experts in several key cities around the world. This social integration aims to create a connected experience between virtual exploration and community recommendation in the discovery of new destinations.

Technical requirements and connectivity

• Web access: Project creation and editing is only available in the web version. Viewing is cross-platform.
• Google Drive Integration: All projects are easily stored and managed, allowing for automatic backup and management.
• Connectivity: A strong internet connection is essential for smooth operation on the platform, especially with large multimedia projects and animated walkthroughs.

Additional resources and documentation

• Official guide to recording and playing back trips in Google Earth
• Advanced tutorial for creating narrated journeys
• Google Earth Studio: Guide and Documentation
• Google Earth Spain: Explore 3D Images

The creation tools and virtual tours in Google Earth have democratized the development of geographic, educational and professional projects, allowing a unlimited creativity in the exploration of the planet. By integrating multimedia features, visual storytelling, collaborative work, and advanced exporting, the platform has established itself as an essential ally for learning, teaching, communicating, and discovering, whether in the classroom, at work, or in your personal life.