Getting lost in the long, twisty, turning hallways is a common fear for many students at Durham College. It can take a while into the semester before a pattern develops for first years to learn the easiest route to each class.
Kierra Knight, who was visiting the school for the first time, said it did not take long for her to get lost. “I couldn’t find the Tim Hortons, and had to ask many people along the way how to get there. At least everyone was really nice and helpful,” she said.
Even past first year, trying to find something at an unheard of section at Durham College, the fear resurrects about getting lost.
Thankfully, Durham College has launched new interactive maps online. The maps allow users to easily navigate around the Whitby and Oshawa campus, with details about every major space in the buildings. They were made available just in time for the start of the 2016 school year.
The development of the interactive maps was led by James Myers, a 2015 graduate from Durham College. Myers is a junior web developer, and works with the Communications and Marketing department at Durham College.
Myers understands that it is important for students to get to class quickly. “When I was a student at Durham College I spent a lot of time rushing around between classes and I wanted to make it easier for students to get where they need to go,” said Myers.
After approximately five months of work, collaborating with other school employees as well as writers, multimedia specialists and designers, the site is up and running and ready for students, staff and visitors to use.
It is also very easy to operate for everyone. Users click on the location that they wish to go to and there is information on that location and a navigation tool. The navigation allows the users to enter their start location and their destination and the map will assist on their journey to get there with the quickest route possible. It will show the estimated amount of time to walk there and the distance.
The destinations include each building on campus, foods services, study areas, and transit stops. Icons for each location make it quick and easy to find exactly what the user is looking for without needing to know the name of each place.
The maps are available on the Durham College website, the information kiosk in the Gordon Willey building, and on the mobile app for Durham College.
