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| Virtual tour bringing art to the outback |
Jennifer Foreshew, The Australian
 | | Brittany Wigg and Jayden Nicholls, of Chancellor State College on the Sunshine Coast, watch a virtual tour |
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Strolling through an art gallery is not a possibility for students in remote parts of Queensland, but a new virtual tour initiative is opening the doors of the art world to students in their classrooms.
The University of the Sunshine Coast's Art Gallery is allowing schools to view its exhibitions by taking a virtual tour that provides real-time interaction with students.
USC Art Gallery curator Dawn Oelrich said the virtual tours were streamed live to remote and regional schools, giving students the opportunity to ask questions and receive immediate responses.
The series of live virtual art gallery tours allows Ms Oelrich to present exhibitions to children from as far away as Thargomindah and Cunnamulla.
"It is not the same as going into an art gallery, but for students who are way out in remote and regional Queensland it is a chance for them to have some interaction with us," Ms Oelrich said.
Schools need a computer in their classroom with an internet connection. Teachers are advised to use a data projector to ensure maximum impact of the tour.
"Instead of sitting down and doing an art class on a Wednesday afternoon or a Friday morning, students tune into their computer and actually have a virtual tour of an art gallery, so it broadens their experience and
gives them an idea of what other sorts of things are available," Ms Oelrich said.
The program's co-developer, USC adjunct senior lecturer John Hunt, said the software from Melbourne-based Momentum Technologies Group that was used to facilitate the tours created a virtual streaming video server
on his laptop, which has a video camera connected to it.
Schools log in to a web address to connect to the tour.
"The whole notion is doing it live, and kids can ask questions not by voice but by text messages through a facility that is built into the software," said Mr Hunt, who has also been involved in a program that introduces a remote microscope to schools.
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