What's the most interesting thing I've done?

This is actually a difficult prompt because I’m very proud of several accomplishments I’ve tackled. My proudest accomplishment is my commitment to uploading well-over 500 photospheres to Google Maps! I take my Insta360 One X with me wherever I travel. I’ve recently started targeting areas that aren’t well-documented on Google Maps as I truly believe my work can help shape the map and reveal the culture, landscape, and history of Southwest Wisconsin.

I’m still surprised at how several of my photos have been viewed so many times in bigger cities. This photo, taken at UW-Madison, has been viewed over 232,000 times! The second photo is of the famous courtyard by MingHin Cuisine in Chinatown, Chicago with almost 168,000 views.

In keeping with my pledge to Southwest Wisconsin, I’ve taken pride in adding photospheres of locations that haven’t been documented by the Google Streetcar (Southwest Wisconsin is considered the rural midwest, so there’s a lot of ground to travel!). This photo, of UW-Platteville, is my most viewed local photo at just under 80,000 views. I find this interesting because it’s just a space between two dorms. The streetcar, however, has never been in his area, and although it’s heavily traveled by students, it’s not well photographed.

As a teacher of educational technology in the school of education at the University of Wisconsin Platteville, I am committed to teaching the next wave of future teachers how to take 360 photograph, upload it to Google Maps, and then even use the photos to create custom VR tours in Google Tour Creator! Here are three samples that my students have made:

  1. UW Platteville Campus and City Historical sites by Tyler Matthews
  2. Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve by Julia Fischer
  3. My Farm Animals by Matthew Brogley (be sure to turn on narration – click the gear in the top right corner)

So, to answer the question – “What’s the most interesting thing I’ve done?” the answer is that I’ve pledged my life to photographing in 360, uploading the content to Google Maps, and then mashing that content for other purposes, like educational virtual tours.

I wish you truly understood how proud I am.

  • Jessica
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