Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators

Is the Tour Better in Person?

After you take a virtual tour of a place on the Internet, answer the following questions to see if the tour met your expectations.

Your name: Theresa Conlon

Date: April 21, 2013

Name of tour site: John F.Kennedy Presidential Library Virtual Tour

URL of tour site: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Exhibits/Interactive-Exhibits.aspx

  1. When you were on the tour, could you tell where you were at all times? Yes
  2. Throughout the tour, could you always get back to the beginning? Yes
  3. During the tour, could you go to any area that you wanted to, or did you have to visit places in a certain order? Yes
  4. Was there a map of the virtual tour site available for you to use for navigation? Yes
  5. While you were on the tour, could you use any type of virtual reality to view places in 3-D? Yes
  6. If there were photographs on the tour, were they easy to see? Yes
  7. When you first entered the tour, could you choose from different options or paths to take? Yes
  8. Was there a virtual guide to help you along the virtual tour? Yes
  9. Were there any links to other Internet resources that would better help you understand the subject matter of the tour? No
  10. Was there a place to ask questions or leave feedback about the tour? No
  11. Did the tour make you want to learn more about the topic? Yes
  12. Did the tour allow you to visit a place that you would never be able to visit in real life? No

In your own words, describe taking a virtual tour and compare it with a real tour you have taken.

I suppose this site was more of what I had in mind for how a virtual tour should be designed. The creators of this site really wanted to make an online experience similar to what one would experience when actually visiting the museum. It starts off with an exceprt from the introductory video that is shown at the museum. The site uses newsreel footage and speeches that Kennedy gave, so you get to hear him in his own words. The way the 3D video is set up, you really get a good sense for how the layout of the museum and how exhibits are arranged. When looking at an exhibit, you can click on blue info buttons to get more information for a particular object that is being displayed. Overall, this is a great site.