Interactive Information Portal developed through TeachingCity Oshawa’s City Idea Lab encourages exploration along Oshawa’s portion of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail
TeachingCity Oshawa is proud to announce the launch of new interactive experience to encourage the community to get out, explore and learn!
Now people walking along the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail in Oshawa can use their smartphone cameras to scan Quick Response (QR) codes placed on signage, to learn about the various parks, points of interest and amenities on the Trail, while also using a navigation guide to link you to other points of interest along the way.
Durham College (DC) students in the School of Media, Art and Design researched, designed and created the interactive information portal that includes a wayfinding tool as part of a City Idea Lab course through TeachingCity Oshawa. After the academic year ended, DC student Karan Bhanwra worked directly with faculty member, Linda Cheng to finalize these technologies through the RBC Student Leader Award.
The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail stretches 3,600 km along the Canadian shores of the Great Lakes region, and connects 155 communities, including those of the First Nations. Oshawa’s portion of the Trail stretches 11 km along the shoreline between the borders of Whitby and Clarington. This portal helps guide and inform exploration of the trail, parks, natural areas and points of interest along the way.
Learn more about TeachingCity at www.teachingcityoshawa.ca and follow #OshTeachingCity on Twitter and Instagram.
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For more about the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail: https://waterfronttrail.org/
About City Idea Lab
City Idea Lab is an innovative curriculum-based program that provides post-secondary students the opportunity to work directly with faculty and City staff to co-design solutions to local issues through knowledge transfer, dialogue and experimentation.
The experiential framework of City Idea Lab supports knowledge-building, hands-on skills and civic engagement opportunities for students.
City Idea Lab has been generously supported by RBC Futures Launch.
About TeachingCity
TeachingCity brings together the City of Oshawa and its education and research partners – Canadian Urban Institute, Durham College, Trent University Durham Greater Toronto Area, Ontario Tech University, and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.
The partners address Oshawa’s urban issues through innovation, collaboration, applied research and shared experiential learning opportunities with the aim to position Oshawa as a local, national and global community of urban research and learning.
Quotes:
“This is another example of the how TeachingCity initiatives are advancing the City of Oshawa as a leading city of urban research and learning. The creativity and resourcefulness of this interactive information portal has created a fun and inventive way for our families and visitors to explore the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail in Oshawa. I look forward to seeing it more across our city,” said Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter.
“This TeachingCity initiative is a great example of how innovative experiential learning opportunities can be used to enhance our community,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “Our students were able to use the skills and knowledge acquired in their programs and apply them in the real world, bringing concepts and constructs to life in a meaningful and creative way. I hope community members walking along the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail enjoy the results of the students’ hard work.”
“It’s so inspiring to see how students came together, with mentors and coaches, to create this new app to explore the beautiful Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.” said Glen Dormody, Regional Vice President of RBC’s Kawartha Durham market. “City Idea Lab in Oshawa – supported by RBC Future Launch – is a great example of how students can help resolve complex issues that are meaningful to their community while developing critical skills to prepare them for the future of work.”