Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner

Welcome to this Treasure Chest of Free Stuff.

Here’s another offering from Google that could just as well go on either the Content & Curriculum or the Productivity page. Try it out and you’ll probably see what I mean. I’m including it as a Productivity resource just because I have to put it somewhere. Google has done it again. This one is truly amazing!

Google Sketchup free (Downloadable Program) This is a remarkable free program that enables virtually anyone to do 3D modeling on the computer screen. You don’t have to be an artist or an engineer, and you don’t have to learn a complicated CAD program. The drawing tools in SketchUp are intuitive and easy to use. To make it even easier, Google has provided an excellent set of tutorials to help get you started. With a little learning and practice, you could use SketchUp to create a 3D model of almost anything–from a skyscraper to a dog house or from a giant space ship to a digital camera. You can use a variety of textures and shadows to add a sense of reality. Google has designed SketchUp to work with Google Earth so you can put buildings (or communities) you create into Google Earth. Google has also set up what they call 3D Warehouse, an online resource where you can store and share your models. From 3D Warehouse, you can also download objects created by others. To learn more or to download Google Sketchup, go to http://sketchup.google.com/.

This program is available for both Windows and Mac.