This custom map annotation tool was developed for the course Major British Writers at NC State University. As the instructional designer, Ruth played a key role in identifying pedagogical needs and specifying interface components to support student engagement with historical context. Collaborating with a team of developers, she led the design of a platform that allows students to annotate a historical map of London, enriching their understanding of literary works from the period.
Ruth secured permission from the British Library to use a historical map from the 1660s and worked with developers to build the application using the Google Maps API. To meet instructional goals not supported by the base API, the team implemented several custom features: the ability to share videos without embed code, threaded comments within map markers, authentication via NC State’s WRAP system, and a toggle function to switch between instructor and student annotations.