Princess Leia offering a campus tour of the University of Tatooine to a prospective Jedi.

Princess Leia offering a campus tour of the University of Tatooine to a prospective Jedi.

I guess the only surprise is it didn’t happen earlier.  Yes, the first iPod campus tour is here and it’s being conducted by the College of Charleston. (H/T NACAC’s own Admitted blog)  Regular readers of this blog, you may remember a post last month where for a moment I was suckered into believing C of C was accepting applications by Twitter.  This time, C of C really is leading the way…

The application, titled “College of Charleston Tour,” is a free download for the iPhone and iPod Touch and is available at the Apple iTunes app store. It features Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) assistance, 18 videos of campus, and nearly 60 images of life at the College of Charleston.

Four College of Charleston students narrate and provide a unique perspective not currently offered by any other university application. Viewers will get an insider’s look at the College and see inside nearly every building, including the President’s House.

I’ve seen several self-guided campus tours that can be accompanied by podcasts (Marquette, Alabama, Columbia) but this is the first I’ve heard using GPS and video, a far more interactive format.  It certainly won’t be the last and definitely beats the pants off those crappy Xeroxed sheets of paper that many schools pass off as self-guided tours.  This kind of technology will never replace the richness (and awkwardness) of real student tour guides but will be a huge boons for those families who can only see a school on a weekend or over a holiday break.  Now, the wait is on for holograms!!!