Panoramic Global Windows:
Millennials Tour the World
AS I SEE “IT”
By Kimberley Ketterer
Kimberley Ketterer,
PhD, is the instructional
technology coordinator
in Eugene SD 4J. She
oversees professional development, pilot projects,
technology planning,
and leadership envisioning. She teaches in the
College of Education at
the University of Oregon
and serves as a volunteer
columnist for L&L.
As gas prices rise and continually uctuate, anytime, anywhere, and most educational
the teachers you work with are probably ones are free.
nding that eld trips for students are in For virtual immersive tours no money
some cases no longer cost e ective, but rather, needs to be raised or collected and no buses,
cost prohibitive. On one hand this can be dis- planes, or trains need to be scheduled. How-
tressing since our students, “the millennials,” are ever, a projector (preferably high resolution)
learners who need experiences that engage their and a computer with an Internet connection
senses. On the other hand, today’s students have is a must. Also, for sites that are enhanced
more opportunities for real-time, cross-curricular with the natural sound of the environment,
eldtrips, via the Internet, without ever leaving external speakers are also recommended.
their classrooms. Pre-teaching is necessary. First, students
Since my early days of teaching, nding a vi- need to learn how to navigate once at a tour
sual resource to illuminate the topic has changed destination (e.g., keystrokes for zooming in
dramatically! We’ve progressed from passing a and out, up, down, etc.). Secondly, much of the
3 x 5 photo around the room, to projecting a large content is licensed under a Creative Commons
screen image on an overhead, to projecting digi- license. is is di erent than the traditional
tal still images (traditional and panoramic) via a copyright so a discussion of what that means
computer and LCD projector, to where we are to- and how it di ers would be appropriate.
day, taking students on immersive virtual tours. is state-of-the-art cubic photography, gives
With immersive panoramic photography, students students a multitude of panoramic windows to
are engaged in a 360° cubic (spherical) immersive explore their global world. And, as the saying
panoramic photography experience. is technology goes, “It’s the next best thing to being there.”
has the ability to evoke more senses by allowing
Resources
students to interact and experience a “live” view of Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
their surroundings. ey have the sense of being by-nc-nd/3.0/
there as they view things from one spot. Simply Fullscreen 360: www.fullscreen360.com/
by looking up or down, zooming in or out, and Mountain Visions: www.mountainvisions.com/
listening to natural sounds around them, stu- gallerys/ immersivepans.html
e New 7 Wonders: www.panoramas.dk/7-wonders/
dents can have a truly engaging and memorable
e White House Tours: www.whitehouse.gov/
learning experience. history/whtour/ 360index.html
As in any type of field trip, teachers need UNESCO World Heritage Tour: www.world-heritage-tour.
to gather necessary materials as well as pre- org/africa/north-africa/egypt/nubia/philae-temple-
teach some concepts for the experience to run colonnade/sphere- ash-full-page.html
UNESCO World Heritage Tour earth map: www.world-
smoothly and integrate well into learning objec- heritage-tour.org/earth/map.html
tives. This is true for immersive virtual tours, United States Panoramas: www.mountainvisions.com/
but the added bonus is that they are available QTVR/otherpans/ otherpans.html
