Virtual Campus Tour

Abstract

Virtual Campus Tour is an instructional design project, which delivers video campus tours for international students while they are still in their home countries. These students should be able to know the university’s facilities and services before their arrival on campus. Two pilot episodes of the Virtual Campus Tour have been designed and delivered using Blogger, YouTube, Google Docs, and Google Form, to allow new international students to take virtual campus tours of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa at their convenience. After one-on-one tests were conducted, a significant change was made to the feedback process: Google Forms replaced Survey Monkey as the tool used for the test questions and survey. Survey Monkey caused difficulties with module navigation, though Google Forms also had its drawbacks. Attitudes of international students toward the Virtual Campus Tours, and their difficulties viewing the blogs from different distant locations, were discussed and analyzed. Most participants found the module effective, and indicated an interest for more episodes. However, Internet connectivity issues from various locations caused some participants to have difficulty viewing the module.