Make it chronilogical order for the virtual tour. Starting from who built them to end of times, and current.
Create a Virtual Site Tour
Research the site.
Research the site to develop your idea. What site features/areas and interpretations do you want to highlight?
Site information is a VERY IMPORTANT part of the project as I am looking for you to show your knowledge of the site. Think about teaching the site to the observer. Your tour should include the following content:
- Geographic location – where is the site located?
- Archaeological culture – which past group of people/civilization, etc. is it associated with?
- Time range/chronological period/date of site
- Site discovery, if relevant
- Overview/summary of the site and its prominent features/areas
- Significant site interpretations/findings
A minimum of 3 sources must be used for the site information in your tour. Acceptable research sources include published books or articles (academic journals, magazines, newspapers) and reliable websites. Before you use a website — or any source — for an assignment, consider:
- Purpose: Why was it created?
- Authority: Who created this material? What are the authors credentials?
- Scope/Coverage: What does it include and leave out?
- Accuracy: Is the information provided correct?
- Currency: When was it created or last updated?
- Objectivity: What is the authors or sponsors point of view?
More information about evaluating websites for reliability may be found here: How to Evaluate Website Reliability
Choose your visual content.
Select the significant site features you want to highlight in your tour. Look for available images, maps, Google Street View, 3D reconstructions, animations, filmed footage, etc. that will help you visually portray the site information you will cover.
Make sure to record your media citations along the way (see Citations section below).
Note: You are not expected to include street-level walk-thru footage of the site, unless you can find it :). It is perfectly acceptable to incorporate one-dimensional images.
Write a script to accompany the visual content.
In addition to the visual content, your tour must also include verbal narrations. Start by writing out the script that you will narrate. Note: the script and your verbal narrations in the tour must match.
Your script will be submitted and scanned for plagiarism by Turnitin. Make sure to cite your sources (see Citation section below).
- Narration: the action or process of narrating a story.
- Script: a written version of the narrated information you will record.
Think of any captions you want to include.
A caption should not be lengthy. It is not intended to replace or replicate the narration. It may be used to include additional information, or to label what is depicted in an image or clip.
- Captions: a brief textbox or label that is embedded in an image or clip.
Add background music and/or sound effects.
These elements often heighten the experience for the audience.
Put it all together.
Build the visual part of the tour, record the narrations, add captions, and embed any background music or sound effects.
Production
You may create your virtual tour in a program of your choice – including video-maker software (ex. imovie, Powtoon, Visme, Adobe Spark, etc.), screen recorder software (ex. Screencast-o-matic), free virtual tour software (see examples (Links to an external site.)), slide presentation software (Prezi, Google Slides, etc.), or anything else you find to be suitable. The only requirement is that you must be able to submit your production in a CANVAS-friendly format, or host it somewhere (Google Drive, Dropbox, a website, etc.) and submit a URL link.
Note : If you use a slide presentation software, such as PowerPoint, note that animations must be used in order for the presentation to run as a single continuous clip. The goal is to create a film-like tour experience, not a traditional presentation with multiple slides one must click through.
- Learn more about submitting a media file here:
- https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10668-421254356
- Learn more about submitting a URL link here:
- https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-enter-a-URL-as-an-assignment-submission/ta-p/286 (Links to an external site.)
A few notes:
- You are tasked with designing an experience – with visual aids and narrated site information. This is different than a traditional slide-show presentation and will involve a bit more creativity.
- While the tour of Petra should serve as inspiration, I do not expect you to produce a professional-level tour.
- You are not expected to include street-level walk-thru footage of the site, unless you can find it :). It is perfectly acceptable to incorporate one-dimensional images.
Always Cite Your Sources
All sources and visual/media content must be cited. Create a References page and submit it along with your script.
Script Citations
Cite your sources both (1) within the text of the script, and (2) in a separate References page. Cite your sources every time you use words or ideas that are not your own. This includes:
- Direct quotes
- When you copy & paste someone’s exact words inside quotation marks.
- Paraphrased/summarized content
- When you put someone else’s ideas into your own words.
Media Citations
At the bottom of your References page, include a list of the media you used. This includes any photos, charts, maps, diagrams, illustrations, video clips, etc. that you did not create on your own. Since most will be from the internet, simply name the media item, and copy/paste its URL. For example:
Media
- Photo of Al Khaznah, The Treasury: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Al_Khazneh_(The_Treasury)_-_Petra,_Jordan_-_14_Oct._2009.jpg
- Footage of the landscape around Petra: https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/59531533-sightseers-and-donkey-riders-near-petra-jordan
- Map of Jordan: http://maps.canadiangeographic.ca/kingdom-of-jordan-interactive-map/
Note: you are not required to insert media citation captions into the tour, like you might do for an image used in a research paper. To simplify things, all that is needed is a media list in your References/Works Cited page.
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