My Hit-and-Miss Journey with Virtual Tours
It took months into the pandemic before I came to the soul-crushing acceptance that we would not be traveling with students anytime soon. Like so many of my colleagues, (after crying) I took the opportunity to look deeply into the reasons behind why we travel and what we learn from travel to craft a plan of action for keeping Global “alive” without travel. And then it came to me, if we couldn’t travel in person, we should travel virtually! Genius! Or so I thought….
When I first searched online for a virtual tour experience, I found hundreds. So many tours weren’t anything like a “real” experience. Some were lovely photographic experiences of museums or natural wonders, but there was no one to explain what we were seeing. Other tours were very well-intentioned tour guides who were presenting Powerpoints with photos, often pre-recorded, complete with monotoned and meticulously detailed explanations – the last thing that would excite our Zoom-weary students. One especially depressing tour took me to Antarctica via Power Point where the two recorded guides informed me of how I would not be seeing a whale or a penguin colony since I was not actually in Antarctica. Thanks for reminding me…
I swallowed the bitter “you-are-not in-Antarctica” pill and decided to look closer to home. Miami Culinary Tours, a company I had worked with for an in-person birthday tour of Little Havana, referred me to Paul, a naturalist and former teacher who was conducting virtual tours of The Everglades. My Miami-loving city-mouse self was unsure about the value of a virtual tour of this natural area. I somewhat-reluctantly checked it out one Saturday morning with a few colleagues–and MIND BLOWN. Paul turned out to be not only a master teacher and scientist, but also a master photographer, videographer and Google Earth enthusiast. We were mesmerized. AND he asked us questions along the way – INTERACTIVE – just like a REAL tour! I was so excited and could not wait to include the Florida Everglades in our Global Week Line-Up of Virtual Activities.
My faith in the possibilities of virtual tours had been restored, and if we had something that awesome in the USA, there had to be something awesome internationally. Just like in real life, my attention turned to Brazil (who could blame me?), and I found what looked like a real possibility – A “Grand Tour” of Brazil featuring three different tour guides in distinct corners of Brazil. Just like in real-life Brazil, we could never have predicted the beauty, the joy, and the insanity of that tour. The first tour guide was “live” from Salvador’s marketplace downtown. Regretfully, she was using her phone, and we couldn’t hear or understand her over the traffic and wind—and the camera bounce made us dizzy. Later, we were off to the majestic Iguassu Falls with a jovial guide who was again drowned out, this time by the thunderous waterfalls. While she was talking to us, she ran into an old friend from high school and of course, had to stop talking to us to hug her friend and to have a little chat about all of their old school pals – while we sat there, confused at the relaxed atmosphere and feeling abandoned.
I was just about to abandon my hope of a Brazil virtual tour when Tati, the third guide in Rio, appeared. She was a vision – so cheerful, so colorful AND so professional! She wore a headset and was at her desk, not standing under a waterfall or any other loud location. She greeted us, asked us questions, and played a gorgeous introductory video of herself and of Rio de Janeiro. Tati is an artist, so she introduced us to some of the vibrant street art of Rio. She also took us for a snack and a break at a local market via carefully timed videos which she started and stopped as she narrated. We were able to ask questions along the way, and we learned not only about Rio but also about Tati who turns out to be multilingual (Portuguese, English Spanish AND Italian) and a master tour guide having lived and worked in both Brazil and Italy. I’ve been to Rio several times, but Tati introduced me to gardens, museums and neighborhoods that I had never experienced and frankly, she was enchanting. I knew my students would love her and I couldn’t wait to talk with her about customizing a tour for them!
Now with an excellent virtual Brazil tour and an excellent USA tour, my wheels were turning – If only I had this level of quality tour for all of the places we usually travel with our students…. And then, inspiration struck. How great would it be if I could have a tour created for us by one of our strongest partners?! I reached out to Agnes Kasule, a 2001 graduate of our school who was a student on the first student trip I ever chaperoned in 1999 to our sister school in China. Agnes has a compelling personal story as she was an orphan in Uganda who, through a series of divine interventions, had the opportunity to study at our school and in the US before returning home to Uganda as an adult, where she now has a tour company. As it happened, Agnes was stuck in New York for much of the pandemic, so it was easy for us to talk, and after taking the Everglade and Rio virtual tours herself, Agnes was ready to start creating her own virtual tour. Once Agnes was back in Uganda, she was able to collaborate with a filmmaker friend and develop one of the most colorful, multicultural virtual experiences I could ever imagine.
My quest for amazing online experiences continues, and I now better understand what makes a good virtual travel experience. I plan to use these virtual experiences even after we have emerged from the pandemic as I can bring travel experiences to a broader audience, give parents a preview of what students will experience, and connect students to local people and places before they step on a plane. Just like in the real world, my students and I have been enriched by these virtual journeys, and I hope others will come along in the future! Happy Travels!
Five guidelines for finding a great Virtual Tour
- Talk to the provider not just about what the participants will see, but also about what participants will learn about the place as a result of the tour.
- We want our students to connect with people, and this is possible virtually. Ask about the background of the tour guide/s, and look for guides who are willing to share their own personal stories, experiences, and passions.
- Interactivity is possible, and good tours use multiple approaches (i.e. videos, Q+A, live speaking, slides) in a single tour to keep the participants engaged.
- Working with professional virtual tour providers can minimize time spent on preparation, but you can also leverage your partnerships to develop virtual experiences for showing your students other places and ways of living.
- Just like scouting a travel location, take the virtual tour first yourself, and bring along colleagues, too!