Description: The Flash-based online tour of Arcadia University's campus is very different from other similar tours in its design and compactness. A large color-coded drawing in the middle of the screen can be viewed by quadrant, and visitors can choose a building to explore from a text menu or by clicking on a building in the drawing. Rotating images of the buildings are displayed when a facility is chosen.

Great site because:

• The futuristic look of the design contrasts nicely with the majestic, castle-like buildings; the diversity accentuates the fact that the campus is both old-fashioned but modern.
• Unlike similar tours, the buildings are easy to identify, since they enlarge when the name or building is rolled over. Despite the variety of elements, the page loads relatively quickly.

Bennington College

Description: The Bennington College site stands apart from other universities' sites in that it is Flash based (which could be an access issue for prospective or current students). Twelve major, well-organized links make navigation simple, and sub-categories appear when a main location is chosen to further aid in searching for appropriate information.

Great site because:

• The peach-and-green color scheme and images that depict the campus in both summer and winter help to get visitors immersed in the feel of the Vermont campus.
• The straightforward images of both people and the campus let visitors imagine life at Bennington College, a feature that often gets ignored in favor of text descriptions.

CampusTours

Description: CampusTours is a site devoted to all aspects of virtual college tours, such as webcams, maps, videos, and full tours. Reviewed sites and updates are prominently listed, and the site offers tour production services as well as links to college viewbooks and applications.

Great site because:

• Students who want to choose a college are often interested in the layout and surroundings of campuses, so this site is a great resource since it provides links to tours of colleges all across America.
• In addition to browsing featured and newly added schools, visitors can choose to locate colleges by name or by state.

Rhode Island School of Design

Description: The Rhode Island School of Design site is Flash based and could, therefore, make it difficult for some potential visitors with slower computers. The homepage features a large, rotating image of some aspect of college life, and major links scroll horizontally across the photo and are stopped and expanded when rolled over with the cursor.

Great site because:

• The approach to presenting links is innovative, although it might not be the most appropriate method of offering important information on a college site.
• Interior pages are all similar to the homepage in that they include a large photo depicting the area, but each also includes a small Flash movie that features the highlights of the section.

Yale University Online Tour

Description: The Yale University Online Tour is a highly interactive and quick-loading Flash environment that presents the campus through photos, activities, course catalogs, maps, and more. The navigation is intuitive, and the tour succeeds in presenting the feel of the campus through simple images and language.

Great site because:

• The tour is a one-stop location for most of the environmental information that prospective students want: images, comments from current students, a sampling of course offerings, and a map of Yale's buildings.
• Two sections particularly stand out: an interactive map that details the areas of a residential hall, and an overview of some of the most popular courses (including a sample of innovative assignments that have been turned in).

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