Google Universe

Recently I had the students in my classroom design their own "Dream Homes" for a mathematics measurement unit. After we had completed the project one of the boys in my class suggested that we create the homes on Google SketchUp. I spent some time testing the product out before we spent a morning as a class using the product. It is a really amazing product which allows you to design a 3-D home and even upload furniture into the home. It is fairly easy to use but it does take some practice. One of the biggest problems with the product was using the measuring tape. We wanted to be able to use the same measurements that we had on our blueprints and build our 3-D models to scale. The measuring tape is not very well designed and creates many challegnes. The picture here is a home someone has designed on Google SketchUp; what is incredible is that you can go inside the home and tour around! Would I recommend the product to friends and colleagues? Yes, it is a lot of fun and could be useful if you're trying to decide where to place furniture in a space in your home or how to design a space in your home. For fans of "The Sims" well, you could spend hours designing your dream home!