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Wiley Pathways Introduction to Google SketchUp

September 2007, ©2008
Wiley Pathways Introduction to Google SketchUp (EHEP000193) cover image

Considerably easier to use than other 3D software, Google SketchUp has found a niche in architecture, landscape design, real estate development, furniture building, and other design professions. This book provides an accessible approach that assumes no previous 3D modeling experience and explains the basic concepts involved in 3D modeling. Wiley Pathways SketchUp shows you how to build a 3D model, print it, share it, export it to another professional design package, export it to Google Earth, and create a 3D animated tour. The book will also help you harness the power of Google SketchUp so you can populate Google Earth with 3D buildings, monuments, and other sculptures.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Meeting Google SketchUp.

Chapter 2: Establishing the Modeling Mindset.

Chapter 3: Building Simple Models.

Chapter 4: Modeling Buildings.

Chapter 5: Keeping Your Model Organized.

Chapter 6: Creating Everyday Objects.

Chapter 7: Modeling with Photographs.

Chapter 8: Changing Your Model’s Appearance.

Chapter 9: Working with Light and Shadow.

Chapter 10: Presenting Your Model Inside SketchUp.

Chapter 11: Working with Google Earth and the 3D Warehouse.

Chapter 12: Printing Your Work.

Chapter 13: Exporting Images and Animations.

Chapter 14: Exporting to CAD, Illustration, and Other Modeling Software.

Chapter 15: Creating Presentation Documents with LayOut.

Chapter 16: Troubleshooting and Using Additional Resources.
Author Information
Aidan Chopra is the Product Evangelist at Google for SketchUp and Google Earth.  He writes and lectures about how SketchUp is used in design, and writes the SketchUpdate, a monthly email newsletter that reaches SketchUp users worldwide. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Rice University, and has taught architecture at the university level and, at Google, works on ways to mediate between power and usability.
Hallmark Features
Learning Aids
  • Clear, everyday language and clean format. Students can read each chapter without being intimidated by difficult language or overwhelmed by sidebars, textboxes, and other fillers that interrupt the flow of the writing.  
  • Modular format.  Instructors can reorder textbook content to suit the needs of a particular class. The text proceeds logically from the basics to more challenging material, and chapters are further organized into sections that are self-contained for maximum teaching and learning flexibility. 
  • Pre-test. This pre-reading assessment tool in multiple-choice format  introduces chapter material and the learning outcomes. By focusing students’ attention on what they do not know, the self-test provides a benchmark against which they can measure their own progress. 
  • What You’ll Learn in this Chapterand After Studying this Chapter. These bulleted lists tell students what they will be learning in this chapter and why it is significant. “What You’ll Learn…” lists focus on subject matter that will be taught. Each bullet in the list corresponds to a chapter section.  “After Studying This Chapter…” lists emphasize capabilities and skills students will learn.
  • Goals and Outcomes. These lists identify specific learner capabilities that will result from reading the chapter.  They set students up to synthesize and evaluate the chapter material, and relate it to the real world. 
  • “For Example” Boxes. Found within each section, these boxes tie section content to real-world organizations, scenarios, and applications.
  • Figures and tables. Line art and photos have been carefully chosen to be truly instructional rather than filler. Tables distill and present information in a way that is easy to identify, access, and understand, enhancing the focus of the text on essential ideas without distracting or overwhelming the reader.     
  • Self-Check. Related to the “What You’ll Learn” bullets and found at the end of each section, this battery of short answer questions emphasizes student understanding of concepts and mastery of section content. Each Self-Check question set includes a link to a section of the pre-test for further review and practice.
  • Key Terms and Glossary. To help students develop a professional vocabulary, key terms are bolded in the introduction, summary and when they first appear in the chapter.  A complete list of key terms with brief definitions appears at the end of each chapter and again in a glossary at the end of the book.  Knowledge of key terms is assessed by all assessment tools (see below). 
  • Summary. Each chapter concludes with a summary paragraph that reviews the major concepts in the chapter and links back to the “What You’ll Learn” list. 

Evaluation and Assessment Tools

  • Summary Questions. These help students summarize the chapter’s main points by asking a series of multiple choice and true/false questions that emphasize student understanding of concepts and mastery of chapter content. 
  • Review Questions. In short answer format, these questions review the major points in each chapter, prompting analysis while reinforcing and confirming student understanding of concepts, and encouraging mastery of chapter content. 
  • Applying this Chapter Questions. This feature is used to drive home key ideas by asking students to synthesize and apply chapter concepts to new, real-life situations and scenarios.
  • You Try It! Questions.   Designed to extend students’ thinking, these questions are ideal for discussion or writing assignments.  Using an open-ended format and sometimes based on Web sources, they encourage students to draw conclusions using chapter material applied to real-world situations, which fosters both mastery and independent learning. 
  • Post-test.   After students have completed the chapter they have the ability to take a post test. It includes all of the questions in the pre-test, so that students can see how their learning has progressed and improved. 
Related Websites
Google SketchUp websiteDeveloped for the conceptual stages of design, Google SketchUp is a powerful yet easy-to-learn 3D software tool that combines a simple, yet robust tool-set with an intelligent drawing system that streamlines and simplifies 3D design. From simple to complex, conceptual to realistic, Google SketchUp enables you to build and modify 3D models quickly and easily. If you use Google Earth, Google SketchUp allows you to place your models using real-world coordinates and share them with the world using the Google 3D Warehouse. Download free or Pro software here.

Available Versions

Wiley Pathways Introduction to Google SketchUp
by Aidan Chopra
with Laura Town
ISBN 978-0-470-17565-1
September 2007, ©2008
Paperback, 480 pages
US $71.95 Add to Cart
E-book
Wiley Pathways Introduction to Google SketchUp
by Aidan Chopra
with Laura Town
ISBN 978-0-470-47732-8
November 2008, ©2009
Wiley E-Text