Students at Pikes Peak State College using new smartphone app to make finding classrooms easier
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A new student adjusting to life on a college campus has plenty of responsibilities, such as registering for classes, buying books, and checking on financial aid.
But the first day of the new semester may be the most hectic, as those new students try to find their classes — and with many speaking English as a second language.
Those thoughts ran through the mind of Moises Hinojosa, the director of accessibility services at Pikes Peak State College (PPSC) and its four campuses, with a total enrollment of 12,000.
It led him to attend a technology conference last fall, hoping to find ideas to improve students’ ability to navigate indoors.
Hinojosa said he watched a presentation about an indoor GPS app that helps people find gates at major airports and exhibit halls at museums.
He wondered if that same technology could be applied to indoor spaces on college campuses.
The result is GoodMaps, an indoor GPS app available for the start of the fall semester at PPSC last week.
Hinojosa said that the app releases usage data weekly, so we won’t know until sometime this week how many students are using it.
According to a PPSC release: The free GoodMaps app uses camera-based technology to identify a person’s location and provide precise directions through complex indoor spaces. Users can receive audio and visual guidance, select step-free routes, and navigate the platform in more than 25 languages.
It’s unknown how many campuses use GoodMaps, but one user is Michigan State University, with more than 51,000 students.
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