SRU’s web communications team recently released a new campus map with new interactive and accessible features, pictures and updated information.
According to Chase Wickerham, assistant director of web communication and development, the previous map was built off of Flash, which is not supported on many newer mobile devices.
“Most people weren’t actually seeing the map at all,” Wickerham, who led the process of creating the interactive map, said. “So just given that, it was about that time for budgets to be worked out on administration and such.”
After searching for vendors to create a new map, the web communications team opted to create the map in-house instead.
“After comparing and looking at the pricing a lot of them were offering, we weren’t really happy with what they were offering value-wise, so we decided to go with the in-house solution,” Wickerham said.
On the map, which can be accessed on any web browser, users can select one of 65 locations to view a description of that location’s history. The address for each building is listed, and users can get directions to each location via GPS by selecting the car icon. The new map also features updated pictures, including 360-degree and drone views of each building.
The map is also available in a version compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This text-based version is compatible with screen-reading software for individuals with vision impairments. Users can also scroll or tab through the different locations without navigating through the interactive features of the original map.
“For the first time, we’re making sure that our website and the map are accessible to people of all needs and all kinds of backgrounds,” Wickerham said.
Various departments on campus have also contributed by providing feedback and pictures for the map after its initial release.
“It’s been kind of a cooperative effort,” Wickerham said. “It’s only whenever you take on a project like this that people get the idea that ‘I want to do this, I want to do that,’ then you bring it all together.”
The updated campus map is available at http://rockpride.sru.edu/map/.
