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This training module teaches how to use Google Maps. Google Maps is an excellent tool for
planning trips of any length—whether you are going across the country or to a new restaurant
down the street. This training module is for anyone who drives a car or walks around a
city. We will be exploring Google Maps in an Internet browser on a desktop computer.
Google Maps works in any browser, including Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox. By
the end of this module, learners will be able to look up directions on Google Maps, redirect
your route to take alternate paths, and print your directions and an accompanying map.
To get started, type maps.google.com into your browser.
You will see an empty box and a directions arrow. Click the arrow, which will bring up
two empty lines—one for starting location and one for your final destination.
For this module we will start at the Tuscaloosa Public Library, and our final destination
will be the Gorgas Library on campus, so we will enter these locations in the top and
bottom location boxes respectively.
Google Maps can give directions via several different modes of transportation. We are
going to walk, so we’ll click the walking person symbol at the top of the blue box.
Oftentimes we want to make another stop along the way to our final destination, and Google
Maps allows for additional specific stops. Simply click the plus symbol to add another
destination.
Once our starting and ending locations are set, and it knows our mode of transportation,
Google Maps shows two things: First, on the left of our screen, Google Maps displays the
route summary, including the distance of the total route and the estimated travel time.
Clicking on “details” brings us to a list of turn-by-turn directions. The distance under
each direction indicates how long we will be on that particular road before following
our next direction.
Click on a specific direction to see an actual view of that street.
The second part that Google Maps shows is a map of the route on the right side of our
screen. Notice that our route is highlighted with a blue dotted line.
Looking closely at the map, let’s say we don’t want to take a particular plotted
road. Maybe we prefer the view on 8th Street more than Bryant Drive. Just click on the blue
dotted line on the unwanted road, drag it to the desired road, and release the mouse.
Google Maps adjusts the route to our liking, and recalculates the estimated time and distance.
Since we won’t be taking our computer with us on our walk, Google Maps provides several
ways to send, share and save our directions, as indicated by these icons. We can send the
directions to a phone or tablet, we can copy and share a link to these directions, or we
can click the printer icon, print them out, and carry them the old fashioned way.
Here are a couple more tips for Google Maps: If we need to go back to our original location,
the Tuscaloosa Public Library, from our original destination, the Gorgas Library, we can reverse
our route by clicking the double arrows at the right of the blue box. This will recalculate
the directions to follow the reverse order.
Earlier we saw a street view of an individual direction, but if we want to see what our
entire route really looks like from above, click the satellite option.
There you go. Now you know how to look up directions on Google Maps, Change your route
to your liking, and print out your directions.