GOOGLE SKETCHUP

Mathematics and Computer Education, Fall 2007 by Clark, Paul

GOOGLE SKETCHUP

http://sketchup.google.com/

Google

600 Amphitheatre Parkway

Mountain View, CA 94043

650-253-0000

Google Sketchup 6 (Free), Google Sketchup 6 Pro ($495)

Software applications that allow students to be creative and visualize real-world situations in a new way can encourage them to think critically about geometry and its applications in the real world. Google Sketchup, a modeling program that allows the user to quickly fashion designs of a multitude of 3-dimensional objects, is an excellent example of just such an application. For this review, I used the free version of Google Sketchup, which can be freely downloaded from the Internet for either PC or Macintosh computers. The PC version requires at least Windows 2000/XP and the Macintosh version requires at least OS X version 10.3.9.

With Google Sketchup, a user can easily design geometric models of structures such as buildings, bridges, stadiums, or almost anything else that can be imagined. With just a couple of clicks, these objects can then be placed at any geographic location on the planet using Google Earth. These files can also be shared with colleagues or made public to the Sketchup community. Users of the program are not limited to designing buildings but can design just about any 3D object, including furniture, tools, electronic devices, etc. Students can work in teams to further represent physical, historical, or virtual locations. Models can be developed individually or designed collaboratively with others. Sketchup already has an extensive community of users who are developing models that they share freely on the Internet. Current examples available from the many objects already indexed on the website include cruise ships, the World Financial Center, a detailed model of the Empire State Building, and an iPod. These samples and many more can be downloaded from Sketchup's 3D Warehouse. Students can also contribute their own models to the 3D Warehouse, which is essentially a library of user designs.

Students can use Sketchup to examine the geometry of various objects without having to create their own models. Teachers can instead download existing models and then have students manipulate them to find measurements such as linear distances, surface area, and volume. Instructions or guiding questions can easily be imbedded into the model, to help students systematically examine the geometric features of a figure.

Sketchup's interface, a large central work area with a tool pallet at the top, is quite straightforward and uses various pull-down menus. The main menu bar can be customized to add or remove tools based on the sophistication needed. As students select a tool, a pop-up window appears to help guide them in the use ofthat particular tool.

With Sketchup, students can represent various "what if" kinds of situations that can help them visualize the size of very large objects. For example: How large is the Great Pyramid at Giza? How large is it compared to the Washington Monument? How much area does the Great Pyramid cover? I was able to quickly and easily answer these questions with Sketchup. After finding the dimensions of the Great Pyramid using Google Search, I was able to build a model of the Great Pyramid and place it on an 80-acre field near a small town in Nebraska. I was also able to search for and find a model of the Washington Monument that I inserted into my model. Then I was able to make a rough visual comparison of how large the Great Pyramid was as it stood next to the Washington Monument, at the same time comparing both of these large structures to a familiar geographical place. see Google Sketchup Model at right.

While Sketchup's modeling tools are generally intuitive to use, the program has some excellent help features, and the Sketchup website provides a series of excellent training videos to make learning the software relatively simple. In addition, the application's website provides an active discussion forum that allows educators to ask questions, share lessons, and collaboratively brainstorm ideas.

Overall, Google Sketchup is a program that would be useful in a variety of geometry-oriented courses or course activities. It is a flexible and interesting program. Having never used the program before, I was amazed at how quickly I was able to develop and place a model in Google Earth. I would strongly recommend downloading Sketchup and giving it a try. It is a program that is fun to use and also allows students to easily answer some geometric "what-if" types of questions and be creative at the same time.

Reviewed by Paul Clark

University of Nebraska at Omaha