Tourism
Representatives of this area are Digital Virtual Educational Trails, built on virtual points, which are the stopping places within each educational trail. These points are defined by their GPS coordinates, and in older Digital Virtual Educational Trails by means of a QR code at the given point
The aim of Digital Virtual Educatioal Trails is to make the locality / municipality more attractive, attract tourists (users), and offer them additional paid services of a local character (refreshments, accommodation, parking, etc.).
Digital virtual educational trails have relatively low acquisition and operating costs and, from the point of view of nature conservation and / or heritage protection, they are non-invasive. They therefore do not require any building permit. Thanks to the digital solution, they allow easy updating of content. Their only condition thus remains the availability of a mobile data network.
Best Digital Virtual Educational Trails products are:
CloudGuide: A global application with official content, suitable in cities, institutions, and important monuments around the world. Launch via GPS and QR codes, possibility to buy tickets, quizzes.
SmartGuide: Combines community content with official content, automated GPS-based guiding, usable also on trips abroad, often with offline content.
WalkIS: A unique combination of movement in the fresh air with education and activity. It independently motivates users to walk along the route, with automatic launching of content on site via GPS. So far, DVET only in the Czech Republic.
TalkIS: The offline version of the WalkIS application. The user can use navigation at www.mapy.cz and manually start the narration upon reaching the given point of the educational trail. WalkIS and TalkIS are sister applications and are interconnected. They also support older launch methods such as a QR code.
TourStories: Czechia/Europe, offline function, stories often from local people, focused on trails and interesting places, including smaller communities.
Outdooractive: Priority on planning and recording activities in nature, hiking/cycling routes, offline maps, less guiding in the sense of stories.
Example of Digital Virtual Educational Trails – the WalkIS
The WalkIS (Walk-In Stories) is built on virtual points, which are the stopping places within each educational trail. These points are defined by their GPS coordinates and by the radius of the circle drawn around those coordinates; in older DVETs, by means of a QR code at the given point.
The information content of a point (or the information board at that point) is downloaded on the basis of the current GPS position when the user is located within the defined virtual point. This content is created from several sources:
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author-created information, which is prepared by the author when creating the DVET. It is in the form of narration by a virtual guide.
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public text sources, such as publicly available information on websites such as Wikipedia.
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public audiovisual sources, such as videos of other visitors published in the public space with the right to view them (e.g. YouTube)
Information boards of educational trails are localizable, and therefore users download only information that in some way relates to the given place.
Picture: left - Digital Virtual Educational Trails in Landek park, Ostrava and right - a sample offer
Why Digital Virtual Educational Trails?
A simple answer. Users, even in a time when everything (or almost everything) can be downloaded from the web, from Google or from other sources, are motivated to move. It is more than useful when DVET information can be obtained only in the place to which it relates.
It is necessary to physically reach the given point of the educational trail!
This connects pleasant movement in the fresh air with informal and enjoyable “education”.
Digital Virtual Educational Trails may also exist in places where, for various reasons, it would not be possible to install a classic information board – for example, at important protected monuments.
Digital Virtual Educational Trails can therefore operate almost anywhere, in publicly accessible space, without any permits, with marked flexibility of its content.
The implementation of Digital Virtual Educational Trails is significantly better in terms of time and cost. And it is a step toward a modern solution.
The WalkIS application (Walk-In Stories, or Walks into Stories) is a mobile application that detects GPS location and, on that basis, plays “story narration” that relates to the given place.
The application allows a choice of up to 4 language versions and practically any updating of content over time.
The application is free of charge for the user.
(The user’s only costs are the mobile data that are used.)
is completely separate from the presentation tool and takes place at the audio level with the support of static images (up to the level of a slide show).
The reason is to provide narration about what the user sees in the real environment around them, while the images serve only to refine orientation. The result is very economical use of mobile data and thus high accessibility for all target groups.
The public may also collaborate in content creation through their involvement (and by becoming familiar with the use of modern technologies such as AI).
(The costs of content creation may be covered by subsidy titles, for example by municipalities, interest organizations, institutions, non-profit organizations, etc.)
To create a new virtual educational trail, no permit is required and the trail is fully functional within a matter of days.
The same applies to updating the content of individual stops. For example, in nature the interpretation may differ in different seasons.
The limitation concerns only non-public spaces (simply put, it is not possible without consent to build such a trail in a place that is accessible only upon payment of admission).
On the other hand, virtual educational trails can also be built in places where it otherwise would not be possible (e.g. Charles Bridge in Prague).
| Jewish Stories in Prague |
Walk will take you through the Prague Jewish quarter, Josefov. We will stop at 10 places and tell Jewish stories – that is, we will recall stories from the Old Testament, just as we surely know them from our visits to various castles, chateaux, churches and exhibitions of works of art.
Walk includes ten stories at the locations you can see on the map or in the picture. :
Jewish Museum in Prague (CZ langueage)
Jewish Cemetery (CZ langueage)
We believe you will enjoy the walk and thank you for your attention.