A virtual Campus Tour proposal for the University of Washington
Overview：
A virtual tour is digital media tool which can showcase the outlook of a particular location. It is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a sequence of video images. They also include other multimedia elements, such as, voice over, background music, and text. Simply put, virtual tour makes the users experience almost the same thing as in the real world.
As the digital technology is growing fast, more and more universities are using the virtual campus tour projects. It is more like an online expedition that is close to real campus walking tour. Not only can it showcase the beauty of campus environment, it is also a useful reference for the new students or freshman who is not familiar with the campus and facilities.
To sum up: the Virtual Campus Tour is considered as one of the necessary applications for universities.
Key elements analysis
- Audience: the current and future students, the faculty at the University of Washington.
- The Present： Current UW virtual tour: http://admit.washington.edu/Visit/Virtual
- The Challenges:
Challenge 1) The current UW virtual campus tour only allows very limited audience to get the access. It needs a particular plug-in to view the tour, and most of computers do not have the application. It needs specific browser and flashed latest version to watch the tour.
Challenge 2) Time/speed
Viewing the current tour is slow, even the speed of downloading and installing the whole tour file takes a relatively long time. Some parts of the building tour is broken and needs to be fixed.
Challenge3) The function of the current UW virtual campus tour is concentrating on the map and directions, so the imagines are rather rough. It neglects showing the beauty of campus.
Solutions To Create A Virtual Tour
1) Video montage + voice over, combine with an interactive campus map
Film the UW campus with HD camera. Showcase each building and the inside. And then, add voice over as the description.
Estimated Price: Basic material expense, estimated no more than $100
2) 360 degree tour. Flash or other animation format
There are existing software could be used:
http://www.easypano.com/index.html
http://360dof.com/products/index.html
Example Showcase: http://www.easypano.com/showcase-list.html#
Estimated Price: varies according to the different software. Estimated price would be approximately $600
3) Ask a virtual tour production company to produce the entire project: http://www.virtually-anywhere.com/pricing/
Estimated Price: $500-$3000
1) Photo Slides + descriptions
Estimated Price: free
Recommendation
By comparing various solutions listed above, if funds permit, the most efficient and economical method would be the first one: video montage + voice over description + digital interactive map. The budget would be less than $1000, and the estimated time of completion would be around one academic quarter.
Technician personnel: video producer, photographer, IT specialist, along with communication staff.
Download option suggestion:
Not only the users can view UW campus online, it is also recommended to provide a whole content downloading option. All the virtual tour content is showed in one folder that could be downloaded to the wireless devices. Or, it can provide an e-magazine/e-brochure which can be easily downloaded.
As a conclusion: updating and rebuilding a new virtual campus tour is necessary and important to UW. It would not cost a lot of money and time, but it certainly can broaden the public awareness. I believe its outcomes would be very optimistic.
