Module 2 – Integrating & re-elaborating digital content – practice

Explorer level

Integrating and re-elaborating digital content

There are two nice platforms to create story maps using also maps.

ArcGIS Storymaps is part of ESRI, and offers thus the possibility to add easily into the story map surveys made with Survey123 (see 1.3) and maps made with ArcGIS online (see 3.3.1).

A gallery with examples can be found at Esri
A good manual is can be found here
Knight labs  is another way, adding slides in your story.

Explore the anatomy of a story

Another program to create an interactive story is Microsoft Sway.

For all platforms you must first answer these questions:

    • Who is the intended audience of the story map?
    • What type of data will be used  in the story map (maps, graphs, video, photo, …)?
    • How will do you see the script of your story map?

Once you have answer you can start to create the story map using your platform

Activity
Make a script for a story map
Create your story map
TOOLS DATA & RESOURCES NEEDED
TIME REQUIRED
  • make a script: 30 minutes
  • create the story map: 2 hours

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Creating e-books

An e-book is an electronic version of a printed book that can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device (tablet / smartphone). E-book format makes it possible to integrate digital content (video/ image/ poll) to the text and increase the interaction with the content.

The advantages of using e-books are focused on the increased interaction with the content as the reader can click on the digital content and leave a comment.  

Keep in mind that not every text can be considered as a e-book. E-book has a special format and structure: it should include content, introduction and other parts of printing materials. 

 E-library can be stored on the device in the cloud depending on the service. One of the system to manage e-books is Calibre. Calibre is a free tool to view and read books in different formats (pdf/ epub/ fb2)

There are different software tools that help you create an e-book, but most of them are not free.

Kitaboo is a very good platform that can be used online or as download software.They have a good step-by-step guide to create an e-book on https://kitaboo.com/create-interactive-ebook-with-kitaboo/

 Apple includes the functionality of its previous iBooks Author inside Pages. For a manual see https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-ebook-pages-mac/

You may create your e-book while transferring the pdf/ doc file to epub / fb2 format with special programs that let you convert the format. For educational purposes sharing your notes and lectures in e-book format lets students keep all the information in one direction and increases the engagement. 

Activity
Create a document with a written text as if it was a real book. Save it in doc/ pdf format. Go to the convert file website (https://ebook.online-convert.com/convert-to-epub) and change the format to epub. Now open it on your device and compare the viewing format of the new created file with the original one.

TOOLS DATA & RESOURCES NEEDED

–   Kitaboo: https://kitaboo.com/
–   Pages (for Apple computers)
–   Calibre https://calibre-ebook.com/dynamic/calibre-usage

TIME REQUIRED
  • 30 mins to adjust all settings and convert to the selected format

Expert level

Creating maps with ArcGIS & integrating them inside ArcGIS Storymaps

Ask a question and make your reader click on the map to find out more. This approach will increase the time spent on the article and will capture the attention. However, make the first layer sufficient as well so that the one who don’t have time will be able to understand the material and will be using the map to inform themselves on the topic. 

An example of a story map with an interactive map is https://arcg.is/0LaTyW: the map center can be moved, you can zoom in and out …

To start with the map:using ArcGIS Online: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/get-started/get-started.htm 

Get started with ArcGIS Online—ArcGIS Online Help | Documentation

To add the map in the storymap project: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-storymaps/author-and-share/add-maps.htm

Activity
Create a map and add explanatory comments to each dot to create a two-layer information

TOOLS DATA & RESOURCES NEEDED
TIME REQUIRED
  • 1-2 h depending on the topic

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Creating a blog

Digital publishing gives a variety of advantages. The writer is not limited with the number of lines and can share the article with the audience from different countries.   

There are different types of publishing and the most popular is a blog. A blog is a set of texts united by one topic. Are you an expert or are you interested in a specific topic that you feel like sharing with others? You may create a blog on a publishing platform and  to share the thoughts and ideas on the specific subject.

The key advantage of a blog is that you can  choose your publishing style: frequency, length, topic and other parameters. You can hide it or make it public. 

There are different platforms that let you create a blog:

Depending on the topic you might want to highlight different types of content and it is better to focus on the features of each platform. Would you like to highlight the layout and to arrange the content, it is better to go to Tilda. Tilda account has different templates but is limited. Take into account these limitations or choose another publishing platform. Would you prefer to publish text and let readers comment on it, opt for WordPress. Feel free to explore the benefits of the publishing platforms and choose the one that helps to spread the content. LiveJournal and Blogger are text oriented and are focused on community creation around your topic. 

Digital publishing platforms are designed to share your information based on specific algorithms. Take into consideration the importance of hashtags, key words and right titles. Don’t forget, that platforms are developed on algorithms that score your content. To increase the scoring point for a better visibility on the web, explore trending topics and see what popular bloggers are writing. This might bring your content on the top of the recommendation list. 

In order to create a follower base you need to promote your blog in different network groups and to follow the trending topics.  Guide the students to the preferable platform based on your goals and subject. 

A good step-by-step infographic on how to make a blog is https://www.business2community.com/infographics/4-simple-steps-starting-blog-next-10-minutes-infographic-01807393 

Activity
Create an account in one of the mentioned publishing platforms and make the first blog

TOOLS DATA & RESOURCES NEEDED

Internet connection
Account on the platform

TIME REQUIRED

30 min to publish a blog