Digital Story Mapping to Advance Educational Atlas Design and Enable Student Engagement

Margo Berendsen,Gerald Webster,Jeffrey Hamerlinck

doi:10.3390/ijgi7030125

Margo Berendsen, Gerald Webster + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi7030125

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Abstract

Storytelling is recognized as a valid and important method of communicating information and knowledge gleaned from volumes of ever-accumulating data. Practices of data-driven storytelling in journalism and geovisual analytics have contributed to the development of geovisual stories; also called story maps. The benefits of student-focused multi-thematic atlases and digital storytelling methods in education can also be realized in story maps. An online, interactive version of the original paper version of the Wyoming Student Atlas was developed using story mapping technology. Studies on best practices for data-driven storytelling and web map interaction were used to inform the transition of the atlas from a traditional paper format to a collection of story maps. Evaluation of the atlas story maps for educational purposes was conducted by observing students from multiple classrooms as they used the story maps in a lesson. The students and educators responded to a survey after using the story maps. Results of the survey show positive responses to the atlas story maps, including ease of use and preference over a traditional paper atlas. However, certain types of interaction with the map resulted in increased negative or uncertain responses from students concerning their perception of the atlas story maps.

Highlights

The ability to process data, extract value from it and communicate the results in a meaningful way is extremely important in data journalism [1], geovisual analytics [2], geomarketing [3], and many scientific fields
This study focuses on digital story mapping to advance educational atlas design and enable student engagement
We focused on three criteria for choosing a story map provider: (1) an option to share maps and data as well as stories; (2) high quality web cartography with the ability to re-create the wide range of symbols and thematic techniques used in the paper version of the atlas; and (3) ability to build and customize maps and story maps without programming, so that more time could be focused on content instead of delivery

Summary

Introduction

The ability to process data, extract value from it and communicate the results in a meaningful way is extremely important in data journalism [1], geovisual analytics [2], geomarketing [3], and many scientific fields. In the field of journalism, the best way to relay stories with a spatial component is often through the use of maps [5]; in geovisual analytics, the maps and supporting visualizations used to describe multivariate data are sometimes best understood through a story telling process [2]. Data journalism and geovisual analytics have contributed to the rise of geovisual stories or story maps, a type of data storytelling using maps, texts, photos, and graphs [6,7,8]. The Voyager platform will eventually be made available to the public for building custom story maps, with the aim of bringing a storytelling aspect to Google’s popular mapping service [9]

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