Supporting student orientation: experiments with Google Maps
We took advantage of new students arriving for the start of term to explore how they plan for visiting somewhere they’d never been before and understand how we can better meet their needs. Join us on Monday 20 October for an online event where we will share what we learned and how Google Maps can support prospective student decision making.
The University has helped showcase the campus and the city to students considering Edinburgh for the past five years with its Virtual Visit platform. However, this service is being retired as it’s at technical end-of-life.
Before we looked at potential alternatives, we wanted to better understand what prospective students’ priorities were; both when deciding if Edinburgh was right for them and then later as they prepared to arrive.
Google Maps is the world’s most popular mapping service, with the most extensive available street view footage.
About the session
In our upcoming session open to all University of Edinburgh staff involved in web publishing and student recruitment, we will:
- Frame the current situation with the Virtual Visit and web publishing practices in this area
- Outline what we learned through several rounds of pop-up user research with newly arrived students during International Student Check-in and Welcome Week
- Share the results of our experiments with Google Maps
- What the platform is good for, and things to be mindful of
- How students responded to a prototype we build in collaboration with the School of Chemistry
- Provide some recommendations for better meeting prospective and new student needs in this area.
Book a place
What: A summary of user research and recommendations for supporting students with Google Maps
When: Monday 20 October, 11:00 – 12:00
Where: Online via Microsoft Teams
Book a place (University login needed)
