Thursday, April 2, 2015

Bring History to Life with Tour Builder


Tour Builder is a web-based tool that can enhance English, Social Studies, and more.  Teachers can design a tour by specifying a path, enhancing that path with links, photos, videos, etc.  The tool uses the Google Earth plugin and is currently compatible with specific browsers (read the details).  See what one History teacher is doing with Tour Builder.
  1. Go to https://tourbuilder.withgoogle.com, click the  button, and sign into your Google account
  2. If applicable, click TRUST on the following message:
  3. Click the  button to begin developing a tour
  4. Enter the TOUR NAME and the AUTHOR NAME into the LET'S GET STARTED window:
  5. Click the CREATE TOUR button
  6. Click the ADD A PHOTO link to add an introduction picture:
  7. Enter a summary into the TELL THE STORY section:
  8. Select the preferred type of story, path color, and advanced options
  9. Click the  button (repeat this step every few minutes)
  10. Click the  button
  11. Complete one of the following:
    - Search for a location by entering in an address or famous landmark, city, etc.
    - Click the DROP PLACEMARK button to manually add the placemark
  12. Click the ADD TO TOUR button
  13. Continue to enhance the story with photos, videos, dates, and information
  14. Add other locations using the ADD LOCATION button
  15. When the tour is complete, click the DONE EDITING button
  16. Click SHARE to change the share settings to specific people or anyone who has the link:
View Google's Tour Builder tutorial for further detailed instructions.