Learn how to use the free Google Earth Web platform to create and share engaging, interactive, multimedia stories that follow the footsteps of your ancestors. Although both the web and desktop versions have Google Earth in their name, they are very different. Learn how to navigate the platform interface, add multimedia content to your digital story, share your digital family history story, and preserve it. We will also discuss best practices for planning your Google Earth Web story. No coding skills needed!
In this dynamic webinar hosted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars, digital scholarship librarian and genealogist Colleen Robledo Greene demonstrates how Google Earth Web can transform genealogical research into visually engaging migration stories. Designed for researchers of all experience levels, the session explores how to map ancestral movements, connect historical context to place, and use modern digital tools to enhance family storytelling. Greene combines her expertise in technology and genealogy to show how geospatial visualization can make ancestors’ lives come alive through interactive storytelling.
Key Takeaways:
Transforming Data into Storytelling: Greene explains that genealogical data—such as census addresses, church locations, and migration routes—are inherently geospatial. By plotting these data points on Google Earth Web, researchers can create immersive, 3D narratives that trace family movements, illustrate social contexts, and reveal overlooked migration patterns.
Practical Tools and Workflow: The presentation walks attendees through the process of building a story from concept to completion, including project planning, data organization, and integration with Google Drive. Greene outlines how to navigate the Google Earth Web interface, manage images and citations, and collaborate with relatives or research partners. She also emphasizes using Google Chrome for full functionality and backing up work through KML exports and narrated video versions.
Engaging Family and Preserving History: Through the example of her own great-grandmother’s journey from Mexico to California, Greene showcases how digital storytelling brings genealogical findings to life for family audiences. The use of animations, Street View, historical maps, and multimedia makes it possible to “fly” through ancestral locations and experience family history in an interactive, shareable way.
This webinar offers practical insights and creative inspiration for genealogists eager to combine research accuracy with digital presentation. View the full session to see Greene’s detailed demonstrations, discover tips for managing multimedia within stories, and learn best practices for crafting geospatial narratives that captivate both researchers and relatives.
To deepen your skills, explore the supplementary resources in the webinar syllabus, which include step-by-step guides, recommended tools, and additional learning materials curated by Greene. These resources provide invaluable support for anyone ready to turn traditional genealogy into a rich, interactive storytelling experience.
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Syllabus
Wow! So much information! I’ll definitely need to watch this one again.
This was one of those webinars that was genuinely novel and eye-opening! I’ll definitely be rewatching; it was very informative and will be especially useful for me, since my family emigrated from northern Bulgarian villages that would be helpful to get more familiar with. Thanks!
The webinar was very informative. This is a great way to capture family tree info with my relatives being able to relate to more than just names and dates and places but actually visualize the locations and route from one locality to another along with flying to earth to follow the road. A modern day version of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz and the charaters she meets on her journey.
Outstanding presentation! Colleen did a great job explaining a very complex process in an understandable manner. Due to the limited time, it only scratched the surface but it gave me many pointers to follow up on. I can’t wait to try Google Earth Web on my own genealogy.
I am very glad to have attended this webinar! I think the instructions will be immediately useful to me for a number of projects I am working on! I very much appreciate the hands-on demonstration, even though the presentation went a bit long. I’m very glad to soon have the recorded webinar to review if need be.
Wonderful. Glad there is a syllabus to help me when I try implementing various parts of my project / projects. Thank you. Clara Lawver in NE.
Thanks Colleen for a wonderful informative webinar. I had no idea we could use Google Earth in the ways you have demonstrated. I will definitely need to go to the webinar again because it certainly is a complex method of research but it is fascinating.
She is well experienced on the topic.