{"id":1798,"date":"2024-09-03T22:30:16","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T22:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/?p=1798"},"modified":"2024-09-03T22:30:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T22:30:16","slug":"finding-your-way-around-campus-just-got-easier-austin-community-college-enhances-campus-wayfinding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/finding-your-way-around-campus-just-got-easier-austin-community-college-enhances-campus-wayfinding\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Your Way Around Campus Just Got Easier: Austin Community College Enhances Campus Wayfinding"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Meet

Meet the Facilities Information Systems (FIS) Team:
Desiree, Calyne, Renae, Deborah, Holly, Beth, Andrew, Molly, and Ryan (Jae, Weatherly, Andrea not pictured)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Digital Solution for a Human Problem<\/b><\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve all been there\u2014wandering the labyrinth of campus buildings, desperately searching for that elusive classroom or office, feeling a little lost and a lot more frustrated.\u00a0 Luckily, that feeling is a thing of the past thanks to the hard work of the FIS team!\u00a0 Austin Community College (ACC) campuses are now equipped with a high-tech solution that\u2019s going to make getting from point A to point B as smooth as a stroll in the park.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the Digital Wayfinding Solution<\/b><\/h2>\n

The <\/span>digital campus wayfinding application<\/span><\/a> allows campus visitors to navigate through every campus floorplan in an easy-to-use interface.\u00a0 Visitors can search for specific classroom or office numbers, toggle through every floor of the building, and navigate to any campus in the ACC district.\u00a0 Visitors now have the opportunity to confirm their parking location and final room destination before setting foot on campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a faculty member of ACC, I have a long history of meeting my students at landmarks around campus, such as the large Banana Split installation ( ACC Highland Campus pays homage to its shopping mall history by displaying food court nostalgia), instead of in my office.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Finding my office within almost 1 million square feet of interior space at Highland Campus was too much to ask of my students.\u00a0 Not anymore!\u00a0 Now, I can share my specific room location through a custom URL displaying a marker on the floor plan – a dream come true!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Elgin

Meet the Solution: An interactive map of campus floorplans with custom tools allows visitors to find their way<\/p><\/div>\n

About the Campus Wayfinding Project<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Team:<\/b> One of the best parts of this project?\u00a0 Every single member of the FIS team is a proud ACC alum who once experienced that same sense of disorientation on our campuses.\u00a0 The FIS team is a dynamic crew with two former ACC GIS Department students, Beth and Holly, leading the charge. They\u2019re backed by five GIS student interns and three CAD student interns, who\u2019ve worked tirelessly on converting floor plans and verifying room locations. It\u2019s worth noting that the CAD student interns have been instrumental in ensuring accuracy in every detail.\u00a0 They\u2019ve channeled their own navigational struggles into creating a solution that\u2019s both practical and innovative.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Timeline: <\/b>Since Fall 2021, the dedicated Facilities Information Systems (FIS) team has been exploring the world of digital wayfinding, starting with a free trial of <\/span>ESRI ArcGIS Indoors<\/span><\/a>. After testing the abilities of the technology against the needs of the district, it was clear this innovation could be a game-changer for every campus. By January 2024, the project officially kicked off, thanks to enthusiastic support and funding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Campuses: <\/b>From the cozy confines of ACC\u2019s smallest campus, Elgin, which spans 95,000 sq ft across three buildings, to the sprawling expanse of ACC\u2019s Highland Campus, our largest campus at 982,000 sq ft across four buildings (a former shopping mall), Austin Community College has 11 campuses spreading from the northern San Gabriel Campus in Leander to the southern Hays Campus in Kyle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ACC

ACC Campuses within the Service Area<\/p><\/div>\n

The Installations<\/b>:\u00a0 The team worked diligently to tailor the wayfinding kiosks to meet the diverse needs of every campus.\u00a0 They have rolled out 46 kiosks and nine large touchscreen TVs across ACC campuses, with at least one kiosk at every location. This ensures that whether you\u2019re at Elgin or Highland, help is always at hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Meet

Meet the Digital Wayfinding Kiosk: ACC Highland Campus Building 1000 Classroom 2403 Navigation In Action<\/p><\/div>\n

Campus Management:<\/b> But why stop at just being practical? The ESRI ArcGIS Indoors platform has been pivotal in this transformation. As Esri highlights, \u201cOur work environments have undergone significant changes recently. Indoor mapping and location intelligence have become crucial in managing these spaces effectively, making our digital wayfinding kiosks not just a nice-to-have, but a must-have in modern campus management.\u201d\u00a4<\/span><\/p>\n

Student Passion Leads to an Innovative Solution<\/b><\/h2>\n

The team\u2019s passion for this project is palpable. Having once navigated the same winding corridors and tricky layouts, they\u2019re intimately connected to the challenges faced by our current faculty, staff, and students. The result is a user-friendly wayfinding system designed to make campus life easier and more enjoyable.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re thrilled to share this exciting development with our campus community and beyond. Our goal is simple: to help you find your way with ease, allowing you to focus on what truly matters\u2014whether that\u2019s engaging in academic pursuits, collaborating with colleagues, or simply enjoying the vibrant campus life.<\/span><\/p>\n

So next time you\u2019re on campus and feeling a bit turned around, remember: our wayfinding kiosks have got your back. Navigate your way with confidence and embrace the future of campus convenience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Explore. Discover. Navigate. Welcome to the new wayfinding experience!<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a4Esri (2021, January 28). Mapping the Future of Facilities and Workplaces with ArcGIS Indoors. ArcGIS Blog. Retrieved September 1, 2024, from <\/span>https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-indoors\/3d-gis\/mapping-the-future-of-facilities-and-workplaces-with-arcgis-indoors\/<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  A Digital Solution for a Human Problem We\u2019ve all been there\u2014wandering the labyrinth of campus buildings, desperately searching for that elusive classroom or office, feeling a little lost and a lot more frustrated.\u00a0 Luckily, that feeling is a thing of the past thanks to the hard work of the FIS team!\u00a0 Austin Community College […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-updates"],"acf":{"\n\t\t\t\tfeatured_banner\t\t":null},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmcat.austincc.edu\/gis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}