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ELP 384R School, Family, Community Engagement

Google Map Basics

Building Your Base Map

  1. Start at Google "My Maps"
  2. Choose "Create a new map"
  3. Click "Untitled Map" and rename your map
  4. Zoom into the area you will be mapping
  5. Click on the three vertical dots and select "Set default view"
  6. Click "Add Layer" 4 times or until you have 5 layers displayed.
  7. Name them in this order: 1) Schools 2) Places of Worship 3) Health & Social Services 4) Public Services & Organizations 5) Businesses
  8. Optional: Use the "draw a line" feature (under the keyword search bar) to outline the approximate are of the census tracts you'll be working with

 

Adding Places of Interest to Your Map

  1. Click on the layer you will be adding to.  For example, if you're adding a school, make sure that layer is highlighted with a blue bar along the left.
  2. Search for the place you want to add, by name or address.
  3. When the place pops up, click on the pin and choose the "add to map" link.  It should be saved to the highlighted layer of your map.
  4. By clicking on the places saved on your map, you'll see an option to edit the name of that location, add descriptions of your choice, remove Google descriptions and add images.
  5. By click on the paint bucket next to each of the places listed along the left, you'll see an option to customize pins and colors for each layer.

Sharing Your Map

  1. Click on the "Share" icon under the map title
  2. Turn on "Anyone with this link can view"
  3. Turn off "Let others see your name..."
  4. Copy the URL there. This is the link you'll use to share your map with your school, professor and classmates.
  5. Click "Close"
  6. To embed the map in a website (school site, PTA, etc.), click on the three dots next to the map's title, and choose embed code. This is the script you'll need to make the map appear on a web site.

Video: Building your base map

Video: Adding community assets to your map

Video: Sharing your map

Help & Tutorials from Google

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