Google’s been stirring the Maps pot with two busy hands lately. First they gave us indoor maps of airports and malls, then they mapped the CES convention center, and then they mapped out the labyrinthine hotels of Las Vegas for CES attendees. Now, they’re adding college campuses to their Street View feature.
The decision to include college campuses as part of the Street View is well-timed as it’s getting close to that time of year when high school seniors will begin finalizing their decisions on where to – if they must – attend college this coming fall. As much as visits to universities by prospective students is one of the mainstays of any campus landscape (I always delighted in seeing doe-eyed teenagers herded together so as to protect them from the coed wildlife), Google seems to think it’s a burden that could be easily alleviated if you could tour campuses from the comfort of your sofa. From today’s blog post:
Whether you’re a current student trying to familiarize yourself with campus, an applicant assessing your options or an alumnus feeling nostalgic, the Street View feature in Google Maps can be your tour guide without the backward walking. We recently added imagery of more university campuses to the existing special collections already available via Street View through our Partner Program.
One bonus for you future coeds: it’ll be a lot harder for your parents to embarrass you on campus tours if you’re doing it via Google Street View. FYI.
Google has included universities from around the world in their campus-touring Street View such as Sunderland University (Great Britain), Waseda University (Japan), McMaster University (Canada), Stanford University (U.S.), and Uniwersitet Warszawski (Poland). The full list is available here. Additionally, anyone interesting in virtual-touring a campus can visit the Street View gallery of university campuses. Since you’re here, though, why not go ahead and take a look-see around Dartmouth College:
No word yet on how long it’ll be until you can use Google Maps to attend your class in real-time. Sorry, kids.