It is understood that Storytelling is embedded in our everyday lives. Via narration, we are able to communicate with each other, share our views and understanding of the world as well as obtain new knowledge. The power of maps has already been acknowledged as a way to connect people, places, and ideas. Maps provide an overview of a certain topic or phenomenon via the visualization of geolocated data and information. This enables us in a user-friendly way to reason about what we see on the map, ask the right questions, gain new knowledge, and finally take action.

This is of high importance in the educational sector where the main goal is to teach students how to learn, meaning how to transform observations and data from their environment to new knowledge. By using map storytelling in the classroom, teachers and students benefit to the fullest from the advantages of narration, geo-located information and visualization facilitating the “connection of the dots” of the learning material in an interactive and playful manner.

This hands-on course guides you step by step through ArcGIS Storymaps — the online platform used in this module — from creating your first account to publishing and sharing a complete storymap with your class or the wider world. Through practical exercises and video walkthroughs, you will learn how to structure a storymap, add text and multimedia content, embed interactive maps, use powerful layout blocks like Map Tour and Sidecar, and share your work with different audiences.

No prior GIS or mapping experience is required. By the end of this course, you will be ready to create your first Map Storytelling project — and guide your students through the same process.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Navigate the ArcGIS Online platform and understand its main services and user roles
• Create a new Storymap and set up its three main structural sections (Cover, Content, Credits)
• Add and format different types of content blocks: text, images, video, audio, and maps
• Embed interactive maps into a Storymap using Express Maps, ArcGIS Online maps, and the Living Atlas
• Use the Map Tour block to create a dynamic, location-based narrative
• Share a Storymap with different audiences (private, organisation, public)
• Apply at least two advanced features such as Sidecar, Swipe, or collaborative editing