Scenario
In addition to working on a consistent approach to our departmental inductions, the Science Digital Education team highlighted an area of the induction that we could develop; giving students the ability to see their main buildings and classrooms, internally and externally, before they arrived in the form of a 360 degree online tour. Hopefully, this will help relieve a portion of the anxiety that some students may feel when starting somewhere new.
Solution
While evaluating two different 360 degree cameras, on loan from DCAD, we decided to create a small 360 degree Interactive Tour of the main areas of each of our faculty buildings.
Using advice about the cameras and editing software, shared by the Digital Learning Developers from DCAD, we set off to take images outside the entrances to each building, inside the main foyers and lecture theatres. Using Articulate Storyline we added interactions to these images, giving us the ability to share more information about elements in that scene. For example, if there was a coffee shop we included links to the opening hours. Also, we added directions and explanations of how to access other parts of the buildings.
Care was taken when thinking of the aesthetics of the overall tour, using a Google Earth view of the campus, enabling the students to see the location of the buildings in relation to one another, and not simply the front/entrances to each.
Instructions were added on how to use the tour on the initial page, but for ease of use we kept the interactions and methods for navigating the tour simple and similar to other interactions the students would be familiar with.
In using this tour we hoped the students would become familiar with the campus pre-arrival and that in turn would relieve some of the anxiety they may have ahead of their imminent arrival.
The images for this interactive map were created using a Ricoh Theta and its supporting app with very little image editing, if any.
Our Collaboration and Development Process
We consulted with our DCAD Digital Learning Developer colleagues, who had already created 360 degree Photo Tours, to discover methods, hints, tips and good practice when taking 360 images and in using Articulate Storyline to create the final product.
We planned the areas we wanted to take our photographs, before attempting to take them all in the same day. This would ensure the same settings, lighting, and methods were used, to give a consistent appearance. Unfortunately, due to the weather, we were only able to take internal shots initially, and had to complete all the external shots on a drier day. Luckily, due to the time of year, the majority of the scenes were people-free, except when we didn’t manage to find a hiding place in the scene 🥸 (there may be a few outtakes 😉). If there was an occasion where people were in the scene we would have explained the purpose of the photo shoot, asked their permission to be included, explained the option to have their faces blurred, and if they replied yes, asked them to sign a photo release form.
The creation of the final tour web site was shared between two developers, by splitting the production into the buildings on Upper Mountjoy and those on Lower Mountjoy. This required a consensus of opinion on the design, to ensure a consistent experience no matter which building the audience was viewing. We had regular meetings to determine these factors, to update each other on progress, and to obtain feedback from each other, and the wider team.
The output was shared on each department’s Learn Ultra Induction Site.
Since completing this project we have discovered that the progress tracking option in Blackboard, if turned on in each site, would have enabled us to determine how much this tour, and other content on the induction sites, was being accessed. Including this information, alongside a feedback form, created in M365, will allow us to establish its success, whether there is justification to enhancing it for the following year or expanding the tour to the whole campus. Should we continue developing this tour, we will liaise with the various departments to determine what information and areas they would like to disseminate using this application.
Images of the Interactive Map
The first page of the interactive map below shows an aerial view of the Science Site with clickable pins on each building. Click the image to view it in more detail.
Maths and Computer Science Building (below). Here you can see the entrance to the Maths and Computer Science building with clickable information points on the image. Click the image to view it in more detail.
Engineering Building (below). This image shows an area inside the Engineering building with interactive elements leading to more information or allowing you to move to another area within the building. Click the image to view it in more detail.
Quick Tips for 360 Degree Photos
- Choose your camera placement carefully.
- Make sure your camera is on a level surface and centered within the intended space as much as possible.
- Be mindful of objects and subjects in your shot.
- Use a tripod.
- Make sure you are out of shot.
- Be aware of the sun/weather in general.
- Depending on the location of the photo you may find it best not to use a timer. In busy areas, someone might come into the shot while the timer is counting down.
Next Steps
If you would like to support us in developing this interactivity, whether offering feedback, suggestions or advising on content we could add to the scenes or if you have a scenario in mind using a 360 image/video, please contact us.