Mapwing

**Mapwing**

Description
[|Mapwing] allows users to create and share virtual tours using digital images, comments and maps. It is a free web-based tool in which users create a map of an area, building, object, etc., add place marks, and upload their images into the viewing window. Viewers are able to view the images in one window with comments and use the map as a guide in the other. The place marks serve to “pan” in four, 90-degree angles as an option, giving a panoramic, 360-degree effect; however, for the free version, users are allowed a maximum upload of 20 images. Once created, users are able to share their virtual tours globally via URL or embed it into a blog  or Web site.

Following registration for a free account (users must be [|age 13+] ), users are able to create a virtual tour by following a series of steps. The first step is to either upload a “map” (schematics/blueprints/layout in a document or an image); otherwise, the user may draw directly into [|Mapwing].

Next, the user chooses “points” or places markers on the map and at each point uploads images according to the direction of the image - North, East, South and West. The user may opt to upload 1-4 images for each point. Once the images are uploaded, the user has the option at each point to add comments to as many images pertinent to the user.

History
While [|Mapwing] is fairly new (Nov. 2006), co-founders, [|Andrew Hagenbuch] and [|Nathan Hoover]  of [|Redbug Technologies, Inc. (2004)]  developed Mapwing in order to build, share and explore virtual tours for free. Mapwing runs in [|Adobe Flash Player 9] and is therefore a cross-platform application. As co-founder Hagenbuch states, “We like to think of it as the Flickr or YouTube  of virtual tours.”

[|VR Panorama] (VR for Virtual Reality) has been in the cyberspace realm for a while, providing service for real estate companies and the like, primarily for profit purposes. VR Panoramas are panoramic images that envelope the viewer with a 360-degree environment. This VR panorama application is evident in [|Quicktime VR] and although [|Quicktime VR]  serves as a plugin for [|Quicktime player], there are ample [|authoring software programs]  available to those who opt to create their own virtual tours. Like [|Wayfaring] or [|Google My Maps], Mapwing allows users to create personalized maps but intensifies the map experience with the addition of virtual tours.

Impact on Teaching and Learning
Teachers will be able to develop Mapwing-based projects for essentially any subject. Some projects currently available for viewers to explore include having students create a storyboard, [|coral reef science projects], animal anatomy exploration, or even explaining the whereabouts of a [|fish consumed by a ribbon snake].

Students would also be able to better explain a recent field trip experience for those who are unfamiliar with the area. For example, social studies projects based on a student’s particular ahupua’a or geographic region can be better explained using a map with 360-degree imagery, which allows viewers an enhanced visualization of the uploaded images.

Mapwing allows students to specify locations of the images and garners directional orientation skills, which most students can benefit from. Thus, using the features of an interactive map and adding comments may be more suitable for classroom project presentation than simply displaying images in a traditional slideshow. Students can then link or embed their Mapwing into a blog or Web site and share their virtual tours with partnering schools, while also exploring existing virtual tours in the Mapwing community.

**Skills for the classroom:**

 * //Directional orientation//
 * //Organization//
 * //Augments/enhances current presentation modes// (PowerPoint, [|Impress] - an Open Document )

**Tools needed:**

 * //Camera// (preferably digital for image uploading)
 * //Tripod// (optional but great for stable angle shots)
 * //Internet//

Practical Applications
Practical applications include, but are not limited to:


 * //Corporate/Business sector regarding real estate// - http://www.mapwing.com/explore/view_tour.php?t=llSlbS0ClAvA88
 * //Leisure// - http://www.mapwing.com/explore/view_tour.php?t=llS00PDbS8v8b

Practical Applications primarily for educational/training purposes and in addition to the above fore-mentioned "Impact on Teaching & Learning:"
 * //Math application// - http://www.mapwing.com/explore/view_tour.php?t=llSlbS0ClAvA88
 * //Astronomy// - http://www.mapwing.com/explore/view_tour.php?t=IIwsLNaYENLIEI3
 * //Institutional Tours// - http://www.mapwing.com/explore/view_tour.php?t=llPDbPDSDPvSv

Examples or Demonstrations
While this example illustrates the ease in which a personal virtual tour can be created, the idea of "fishing spots" along O'ahu's shoreline was also a fun process. //*Note: Using a tripod is essential.//

media type="custom" key="2066988" //Virtual tour created in 10 minutes after image upload -// http://www.mapwing.com/explore/view_tour.php?t=IEEEBBLw33LYYNI

Created by a Mapwing user, this virtual tour explores [|Apple's corporate campus] media type="custom" key="2052002" //Virtual tours explored for free -// http://www.mapwing.com/explore/view_tour.php?t=llcl0cec0JFrJ

Criticisms & Drawbacks
Given that Mapwing is free for users, some drawbacks based on the purchased program include:
 * //Quality of Mapwing's interface is apparent as a beta version//
 * //Cost to upgrade is unreasonable for those who want more than the basic package//

Some drawbacks on the free version include:
 * //Inability to make virtual tours private//
 * //Actual file is hosted by their site and isn’t owned by the creator which means less bandwidth & dependency on provider (unstable hosting)//

Authorship
Claire Borengasser * Graduate Student * [|University of Hawai'i at Manoa] - [|Educational Technology]