J

Visit website

Simple Google tool puts kids at the helm of creating VR experiences

Subjects & skills

Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's
determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.

3–12

Great for:

Media Literacy Creating Media Assessment Presentation

Common Sense says (See details)

Teachers say (0)

Not yet reviewed

Privacy rating (How we rate)

Not yet rated

Price: Free Platforms: Website

Take a look inside

5 images

Students can explore different cultures and impart their learning.

Beginning a new tour

Adding a point-of-interest photo to a scene

At the dashboard, students can see what they've finished and what they're working on.

Tour Creator has several great views from around the world, such as this one overlooking New York City.

Students can explore different cultures and impart their learning.

Beginning a new tour

1
2

Pros: Useful features to add narration, ambient audio, and 360-degree photos.

Cons: No built-in audio recording capability or initial tutorial.

Bottom Line: Allows teachers and students to create compelling tours for viewing in VR or on a web
browser.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers can use Tour Creator to create a VR field trip for their students, or, better yet, have students
create them for each other and the world. Students studying their local community can create a guided
tour of important buildings and landmarks. Older students could get permission to take their own 360-
degree photos and record audio at specific locations or building interiors, adding those to their tours.
Students studying different countries and cultures can create tours centered around places that show
certain aspects of that culture. Learners could also make a tour tracing a historical figure's life, adding
narration at specific geographical locations to explain their importance. Tour Creator could be used in
creative writing, where students chart the journey of a character they created through the world. After a
real-world field trip, students can re-create the experience in VR, reflecting on their experience and
explaining what they've learned.

With tools like these, students often like to add their home address to a tour, which is personal
information that shouldn't be made public. Tours can be published unlisted or publicly, so teachers have
some choices to help protect student privacy. Take the opportunity to discuss this important part of
digital citizenship with your students.

Show less

Put this tool into practice:

3 Ways to Build Empathy with Digital Tools 3 Ways to Build Empathy with Digital Tools

Tip Sheet: Turning Students' Empathy Into Action With Digital Tools Tip Sheet: Turning Students'
Empathy Into Action With Digital Tools

What Is It?
Tour Creator is a website by Google that allows teachers and students to create tours for VR (virtual
reality) or in a web browser. After logging in with a Google account, Tour Creator will ask for a title,
description, and cover photo for the tour. Students can then type a specific address or search for the
desired location. Tour Creator will load Google Street View's photos alongside a panel that allows
students to add a description, credits, and points of interest, and upload narration or ambient
(background) audio. Points of interest are tiny circular graphics that will draw the viewer's attention.
Each can have a description, narration, and even photos, allowing students to explain specific aspects of
each scene; the credits field lets students cite sources as well. Students and teachers can click "add
scene" until they've added all of the desired scenes. When the tour is complete, students can publish it
as unlisted or public. Unlisted will only work for people who have the link, while the public option will
leave the tour findable by anyone.

Currently, only Android devices running Google Expeditions support custom-made tours, though iOS
support is coming at some point. By default, a tour is only viewable in VR on Google Expeditions from
the account in which it was created. However, if students send peers and teachers the link to their tour,
they can share it to their own Expeditions account, simplifying the sharing process.

Is It Good for Learning?

Google's Tour Creator is a useful content creation tool that helps move VR from a passive to an active
experience. If it's used in ways mentioned in this review, such as exploring a local community or charting
the journey of a historical or fictional figure, teachers will find student-created tours useful for assessing
student learning.

One glaring issue is that audio cannot be recorded within the tool itself. Students need to use a different
app or website to record audio, and then upload that recording to each scene. While this is by no means
a deal-breaker, the workflow of Tour Creator would be significantly improved if it could handle its own
narration recording.

Rating Details

OVERALL RATING

ENGAGEMENT IS THE PRODUCT STIMULATING, ENTERTAINING, AND ENGROSSING? WILL KIDS WANT TO
RETURN?

Students and teachers will enjoy using virtual tours to showcase learning; opportunities to add narration
and students' own 360-degree photos help to personalize the experience.
PEDAGOGY IS LEARNING CONTENT SEAMLESSLY BAKED-IN, AND DO KIDS BUILD CONCEPTUAL
UNDERSTANDING? IS THE PRODUCT ADAPTABLE AND EMPOWERING? WILL SKILLS TRANSFER?

Student-created virtual tours can be useful for assessing student learning, and the ability to add your
own photos means Tour Creator can find a place in any teacher's curriculum.

SUPPORT DOES THE PRODUCT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT LEARNERS OF VARYING ABILITIES, SKILL LEVELS,
AND LEARNING STYLES? DOES IT ADDRESS BOTH STRUGGLING AND ADVANCED STUDENTS?

While Tour Creator is simple to use, there are no getting started tips or tutorials, making the first-time
use a bit of trial and error.

Common Sense Reviewer

Shaun Langevin

Technology coordinator

About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Teacher Reviews

There aren't any teacher reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool.

Write a review

Privacy Rating

This tool has not yet been rated by our privacy team. Learn more about how we rate

Explore Our Favorite Tools

Apps and Sites for Storytelling

Help students find their voices with these vibrant apps.

GRADES PRE-K - 12

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION

Top Tech for Digital Annotation

Mark up media to give students a digital voice.

GRADES K - 12

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

CRITICAL THINKING

Best Tech-Creation Tools

Tools for making, creating, demonstrating, and inventing.

GRADES K - 12

CREATIVITY

Get weekly updates on the latest digital tools and teaching strategies.

See our privacy policy.

Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids
and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to
thrive in the 21st century.

Learn More

Our Programs
Get Involved

Follow Common Sense Education

Search Common Sense Education

Subscribe to our newsletters

Privacy Terms of service Community guidelines

© Common Sense Media. All rights reserved.

Common Sense and other associated names and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN: 41-2024986).