In my Digital Media class the past two weeks, we’ve been talking about multimedia graphics and maps. Today, we were making annotated maps with Google Maps and we wanted to test putting in a walking map without signing in to my maps on Google.

So here it is. It’s a map to walk from the Journalism School at KU to Fraser Hall.

A second, more detailed map

And here’s a map of campus that I annotated on Google Maps with three walks, from Stauffer-Flint Hall to Fraser Hall, from Wescoe Hall to the Kansas Union and from Wescoe Hall to the DeBruce Center.

I made this map after signing in. The custom icons all have additional information not in this text. (Check out the video on the Stauffer-Flint icon.)

If you click on the links and markers, you’ll find photos, info about the buildings, a video, distances of the walks and other information.

The purpose of this test was to show the class that you can easily (and cheaply) do an interactive map that can be embedded almost anywhere. If you click on the second map, and click on any icon, you’ll see additional information and graphics/photos. So you can put background in the map, in an easily accessible way, without having to put it in the story.

If I was working on a story on a major campus construction, say, I’d prepare a map like this and put a lot of the information on sidewalk closing, news buildings, rehab plans, etc. in the map, and keep the main story to the construction plan information.