Anyone can now take a look through the halls of Lethbridge College, from anywhere in the world, on any device. The college is pleased to announce that an interactive view through the campus is now available both through both Google Street View, and by a custom 360 virtual tour, hosted on the college’s website.
“We know that not everyone can make it to our campus for a visit,” says Justin Quintin, Lethbridge College’s Recruitment manager. “So, our hope is that this gives another option for people to explore our learning environments and amenities. We think it will be especially useful for potential students – particularly those from out-of-town or out of the country, or those who work full time, who aren’t always able to easily make it to campus for a tour.”
The college worked with Virtuo360, a Google Street View trusted agency, which sent a photographer to campus earlier this year to capture images of a significant portion of Lethbridge College. Those images were sent to Google to incorporate into its Street View platform. Virtuo360 then also used those images to assemble the virtual tour in its custom software.
The company was chosen as the vendor because of its award-winning specialization in Google 360 imagery, virtual reality production and custom virtual tours, as well as its experience with producing tours for large-scale properties, such as CrossIron Mills shopping centre near Calgary.
“The virtual tour we produced for Lethbridge College is one of the largest tours ever created for a post-secondary institution in the world,” says Jeffrey Han, president of Virtuo360. “The college was looking for a solution for its website, and we’re very pleased that our custom software, developed for projects just like this, was able to meet that need. We have found an increasing demand for this type of project from educational institutions.”
When the tour is launched, the viewer begins on the front steps of the college, outside of Centre Core, and can then wander throughout campus, with most major areas available in the tour. A drop-down menu also makes it easy to choose a location, and jump to a wide variety of college locations - from the renowned Hubbard Collection to the new trades and technologies facility to the offices of the fun-loving Lethbridge College Students’ Association, there is plenty to explore.
Street View also provides significant value for campus patrons. Any member of the public can share and embed locations and views from anywhere on the tour, allowing a real-world preview of a meeting room or classroom location, instead of just a location on a map.
“It is a really fun way to explore the campus,” says Quintin. “We hope that it appeals to a wide variety of viewers. From alumni to current and potential students to the general public, it is a really inviting way to see all of what the college can offer. Imagine the feeling of an international parent of a student, being able to see the classroom where their child learns - it’s incredible we can provide that.”
Many college programs and service areas have integrated the virtual tour into their pages on the college website. The platform is designed to be easily updated, so that the views can be modified as the campus changes and grows, including the opening of the second phase of the new trades and technologies facility in 2017.