SketchUp has incredible educational potential.  Using free tools available from Google, Disney has added a 3D layer over the entire Disney World property.  Every building, sidewalk and tree has been drawn in detail.  Above is a picture of the haunted house.  This is a must-see attraction at the Magic Kingdom.  As you enter the building, there are tombstones with funny names and one with a picture of a face with eyes that move.  Zoom in on Google Earth and you can see it below.  Click either picture for higher resolution images.

Think of the geography, mapping, history, architecture, engineering (the list is huge) projects that students could do with these free tools.  Students could recreate a 3D version of the local school, post office, court house and other significant government buildings.  Historical locations could also be added.

These locations would have to be researched.  Community officials would be interviewed.  Measurements would be taken.  Students would learn to use the construction tools available from Google and collaboratively place objects in correct locations.

Layers representing different time periods could be constructed.  Students could see what occupies spaces once used by historical buildings.  This could be a lot of fun… and a learning experience too.

John mentioned this mosaic program during EdTechWeekly last night.  AndreaMosaic is free.  You provide the program a directory of your pictures and one target image.  Above is something I created today.  I pointed AM to the folder with our pictures from Disney’s Magic Kingdom.  As the target, I found a GIF of Mickey Mouse.  The program went to work and in a few minutes created a collage (click picture for higher resolution) of our Disney pictures in the shape of that famous mouse.

The big question is whether or not my image is a violation of copyright law.  I know the image of Mickey Mouse is protected by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.  But what about my pictures arranged in the shape of Mickey?

I think you get pretty much the whole Disney experience online. Go to YouTube or Flickr and type:

disney world castle

disney world fireworks

disney world mgm

disney world tree of life

Here are links to the MGM Extreme Stunts act I was talking about before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfvhZzi7GGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d5F5YL_n18

It hasn’t been that bad.  I can plow through all the email in a day when I get home.  It is Christmas break, so there are not a lot of things that need done.

Socially it hasn’t been bad either.  We are doing things every waking minute and we aren’t sleeping much.  Quite honestly, even if an Internet connection were available to me, I probably wouldn’t be online most days.

By the time I get home, my cache will be empty and I will be ready to get back online.