Cardboard Goggles Help Potential Students Visit Campus Virtually

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 03/06/15

Using smartphones and virtual reality headsets, thousands of students worldwide are getting a virtual feel for a Georgia-based school. The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is in the process of shipping out 10,000 pairs of the specially designed cardboard goggles to recruit and engage potential and current students. Eventually, the college hopes to use the technology to pull its multiple locations and online learning program closer together by allowing users to participate virtually in events at campuses other than their own.

The college has developed a microsite that takes students through virtual tours of its locations in Savannah, Atlanta, Hong Kong and Lacoste, France. Users are able to move through the facilities to view each program.

Eventually SCAD expects to create "spherical videos" that capture the experience of attending events, galleries and exhibitions in 360-degree immersion. That content will work with internal sensors in the smartphone to create a unique view for each person. The college is working with virtual reality company YouVisit on the project.

The first batch of people to receive the headsets are students already admitted for study at SCAD who may not have made up their minds yet about which school to attend. However, anyone with access to a virtual reality headset, including those from Oculus and Samsung, can view the content.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Two autonomous AI figures performing tasks in a tech environment; one interacts with floating holographic screens, while the other manipulates digital components

    Agentic AI Named Top Tech Trend for 2025

    Agentic AI will be the top tech trend for 2025, according to research firm Gartner. The term describes autonomous machine "agents" that move beyond query-and-response generative chatbots to do enterprise-related tasks without human guidance.

  • sleek fishing hook with a translucent email icon hanging from it

    Report Identifies Rise in Phishing-as-a-Service Attacks

    Cybersecurity researchers at Trustwave are warning about a surge in malicious e-mail campaigns leveraging Rockstar 2FA, a phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) toolkit designed to steal Microsoft 365 credentials.

  • person signing a bill at a desk with a faint glow around the document. A tablet and laptop are subtly visible in the background, with soft colors and minimal digital elements

    California Governor Signs AI Content Safeguards into Law

    California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed off on a series of landmark artificial intelligence bills, signaling the state’s latest efforts to regulate the burgeoning technology, particularly in response to the misuse of sexually explicit deepfakes. The legislation is aimed at mitigating the risks posed by AI-generated content, as concerns grow over the technology's potential to manipulate images, videos, and voices in ways that could cause significant harm.

  • abstract technology icons connected by lines and dots

    Digital Layers and Human Ties: Navigating the CIO's Dilemma in Higher Education

    As technology permeates every aspect of life on campus, efficiency and convenience may come at the cost of human connection and professional identity.