I had heard about Google earth
prior to this class but never used the program until now. I never knew how easy
it was to navigate all over the world and that you can even view locations in
3D.
With the assignment we did in
class, we were able to create a map of at least 5 different locational areas
that we wanted to point out. I chose to show a map of the campus at UML. I
focused on important points that would be beneficial for all students to know.
Such as, the campus recreation center, fox hall, suppa’s pizza and subs,
Falmouth hall, and the new England consortium.
It only took a matter of minutes to
create a map by plotting the necessary balloons to distinguish your travel
points. I could then immediately save my map and upload onto my blog.
I think Google earth has a lot of
potential and those who are unfamiliar with the program should take the time to
understand how it works and how it can be beneficial for them. Even if you are
not looking to make a map you can still look at all the different streets names
and buildings just like using an online GPS for directions.
I also found it interesting to read
about President Bush and his involvement with Google earth. He uses this
program to check on his home in Texas rather than other means which shows how
beneficial Google earth can have if you have the tools to utilize the program.
Here is an example of what Google
earth looks like from a computer:
We also discussed in class how
Google earth can affect how the world responds to natural disasters. The
example from our course web page discussed the massive earth quake that affect
japan in March of 2011. Google earth allowed its viewers to be able to research
and track the events that happened by looking at the map of Japan through this
program.
We also discussed that if a ship
was to change course we would be able to be notified and see the change through
Google earth. This would allow us to prevent potential dangers all over the
world.
Lastly, we watched a video of a
pilot controlling weaponry located in Afghanistan but he was actually sitting
in the United States making his adjustments that appeared right on a large
screen. Many videos have discussed how this technology can prevent threats on
the U.S. boarders.
Some people may think they can log
on to Google earth and search a location that they will see exactly what is
going on in that moment in time. However, that is incorrect since it is not
running on regular time. It use to take several years for the technology to update
that would eventually be shown through these Google earth images. Now they are
updated more often but not fast enough to be able to see what is going on while
you are sitting in front of the computer.
For example, I searched fox hall on
Google earth and I was able to see the parking lot next to the building and it
did not have nearly as many vehicles are it did during the time I looked it up.
Therefore, that image was taken from a previous date.
Overall, geo-spacial web
applications are leading technological breakthroughs that can help keep our
country safe but if it was to reach the hands of someone with the wrong
intentions the outcome could be very dangerous and threaten people’s privacy.
