According to German economist Klaus Schwab, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to empower individuals and communities, as it creates new opportunities for economic, social, and personal development.
Werner du Toit, house parent of the Kgosi Dick Montshioa and Mbada student residences on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus, embraced this wholeheartedly.
He initiated the Google Maps Contribution project, aiming to make the Mahikeng Campus, and in particular the residences, accessible to prospective students and their parents through Google Maps.
“This will enable prospective students and their parents to ‘see’ student life and easily find their way around campus. Moreover, they will also have access to students’ residences through updated pictures and videos on Google Maps,” Werner says.
Tuelo Motloba, student coordinator and project leader of the residence vegetable gardens which forms part of the Green Campus Initiative, joined in by uploading pictures and videos of gardening activities at the Kgosi and Mbada residences.
Tuelo says this task has now turned into a hobby. “Besides adding the residences to Google Maps, I also noticed that many of the campus’ buildings and facilities were not available. I added the missing places and roads, and also uploaded wide-angle images of various buildings’ exterior and interior features. These include the Animal Health Centre garden, the Molelwane research farm, the old and new science buildings, and the Centre for Teaching and Learning,” he says.
Tuelo says the NWU can use this to its advantage, as it enables prospective students to see the campus virtually, and contributes to the NWU’s online visibility.
“For example, prior to and after the recent Open Day on the campus, I’ve noticed an increase in views. This shows that prospective students did browse over the campus before their arrival, and some again after their actual attendance.
“Right now the only drawback is that students are not aware that they can actually become contributors. They can share their memories and highlight interesting things about the campus through visual media,” he adds.
Click here to view Tuelo’s profile on Google Maps
About Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets, indoor maps, real-time traffic conditions, and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bike, air and public transportation.
A screenshot of Tuelo’s contributions towards putting the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus on Google Maps.
