Lately, I’ve been in the market for a new home, and one of the first things I do before making an actual visit to the property is watch a virtual tour online. Sure standard photography is nice, but a virtual tour gives me a 360 degree view of the floor plan and establishes a sense of place. Students often do the same thing when it comes to shopping for a law school. Before even setting foot on the campus, they’ll let their fingers do the walking.

They’ll visit the website, check out the college’s Facebook page, and view the photo gallery. So why not add a virtual tour to the experience?

Our IT folks, along with graduate assistant Jerad Graham, decided to take on the challenge of creating an interactive tour of John Rogers Hall. Yesterday, they recruited some student volunteers to stage each area of the building.

Our actors had to be very still while 48 photos were taken that will soon be seamed together into a panoramic view.

It goes back to that sense of place. I know that from the moment I walked into JRH, I felt a good energy about being here. Having a virtual tour available on our website might capture that feeling while giving alumni and friends the opportunity to reminisce and watch as things change over the years. We think it’s just one more way that our friends and community can connect and virtually see everything we have to offer.

It will be a few weeks before the new high-resolution photos will be posted, but in the meantime, test-drive the beta version, and let us know what you think.