For this Vivero training, I was directed to utilize ArcGIS StoryMaps to create a website on some form of media (such as a book, film, TV show). It incorporates images, videos, and geospatial data. I scoured my memory for a movie option that would work for this project.
In lieu of Pope Francis’ recent death, I opted to do the project on The Two Popes (2019), a Netflix film adaptation / dramatization of Pope Benedict and the future Pope Francis. I remember watching the film a year or two ago with my family. I’ve heard that it had several historical inaccuracies and took several creative liberties. However, for a lay audience, I remember having a positive impression about it. Perhaps it’s worth revisiting some time. My StoryMap gives a basic run through of the movie’s premise and includes the Netflix trailer, some images, and a few maps using ArcGIS’s functionality. It was a good way to experience making a StoryMap.
The largest functionality of doing this with Esri’s ArcGIS and with StoryMaps is being able to use their built in geographic maps and geospatial data and visualizations. Without that feature, it feels like any other website builder– albeit more streamlined and “clean”. It is close to a standard “drag-and-drop” website builder, but with greater functionality and a better interface. Overall, I can think of many use cases of creating a StoryMap. For most organizations, this is all you need!
How would you feel about helping someone else learn how to use it? What are the benefits and limitations of this tool?
This seems like a fairly straightforward tool to use. The hardest part of helping someone else would be navigating the log-in and the institutional account portion. I appreciate how elegant the interface is and how easy it is to set up a functioning website for a person. The drawback, of course, is that the College has to pay for an (likely expensive) institutional license for the technology. I wonder what their policy is for transferring StoryMaps after a student graduates from Grinnell.
You can contrast that to having your own, personal, Domain of One’s Own, where you can run your personal domain and subdomains and your WordPress / Omeka / whatever websites.
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