NU Update Online Campus Maps

In University website rebuild by Gregg BanseLeave a Comment

For the past year my team and I have been working on replacing our outdated static campus map. On Friday April 4, 2014 we made our new online campus map available. This doesn’t sound quite as sexy as I’d like but it will mean a whole lot to the University over the next 5 years.

Map Platform Requirements

I dislike buzzwords for their lack of clarity so let me tell you what I mean by map platform. A mapping platform is both a data repository and a tool. As a database, the platform stores geographic data in a format that allows for building relationships between data, includes coordinates for location, and meta data – fancy word for more data and content associated with the coordinate we’re looking at. As a tool, a map platform allows us to add the data, build relationships to other data, add meta data and to attach visual elements that help a user visualize the data in an easy to consume fashion. Here were our requirements for the map platform.

  1. The user interface on the public side must be intuitive and use responsive design.
  2. Tools for the administrators must be easy to understand and use.
  3. It must allow us to create layers of data we and the user could turn on or off.
  4. It must allow us to use “pins” to identify the landmark and when clicked, provide more details.
  5. It must provide flexibility in the visual elements we use, the graphics, the colors, and font selection.
  6. It must allow us to add copy, images, video, links, and other online media to the landmark details.
  7. Allow us to make edits and even develop new layers and content hidden from public view and then to publish them when we’re ready to release them.
  8. It must allow us to export our data so we could port it to another platform if we wished.

Project Goals

We have multiple goals for this project. I use the word have because this project is on-going. Our current goals are:

  • Primary goal: help visitors find buildings and landmarks on our campus and ideally be a part of a much larger map that allows visitors to navigate to our campus from much further away.
  • Develop virtual walking tours that will lead a user(s) around our campus and provide information in a sequential order.
  • Share the rich history of Norwich University and what we refer to as the Norwich Experience with our visitors using images, video, and augmented reality.

The Map Platform

We reviewed many map software providers but ultimately settled on a product called CampusBird (from concept3D). CampusBird met our requirements and while I knew the company was relatively young, seemed to be growing in the right direction. Time will tell if they can manage their growth and maintain the quality of their products and services but I’ve been very happy with my rep Mary Margaret Little and the team at concept3D.

One of most appealing aspects of CampusBird is that it uses Google Maps and Google Earth. Google has the most widely adopted and utilized mapping platform online. The flexibility of their product allows for innovators like concept3D to build tools that make it easier for busy University webmasters like me to do what I need to do NOW! Granted it’s taken almost a year to publish this project but that has more to do with the number of projects I’ve been working on. It was largely done 7 months ago.

What’s Next

The initial version of the Norwich University campus map just barely covers the basics. It was released on the eve of a large event weekend where we hope to register many students for the fall semester. We’ve been short-handed for 3 weeks now (closing in on final selection for a senior web editor) but I managed to tidy up data enough to release it. The maps will lie dormant for a bit while we wait for the new web editor to arrive but then, oh the fun will begin!

What’s coming will create multiple layers of content for our campus maps. Norwich University will turn 200 years old in 2019 and planning and building systems in support of what will ultimately be a huge party year are already underway.  The campus maps will be leveraged to their full extent in support of the occasion.  Here’s a brief taste of what we’re planning to add beyond the typical landmark information:

  • Virtual campus tours. Literally a point to point walk around campus and on our recreational trails on Paine Mountain which has several scenic overlooks back on the campus and surrounding community.
  • Historical layer(s) that allow a user to choose a time period and see what landmarks existed and sets the stage/tells the story of what it was like to be on campus at that time.
  • Augmented reality videos. Using the Aurasma app for mobile phones, videos and photos of key landmarks, a user can walk up to a landmark, and with the app started, simply point their camera at the landmark and watch as a video starts and delivers any message we wish. It could be a history of the object or instructions on how to use it.

I’ll post more as these projects unfold. I expect the pace will pick up over the summer.

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