Table of Contents
- What Is StoryMaps?
- Logging In
- Walkthrough
- Design
- Publishing and Sharing
- Deliverables
- Accessibility
- Resources
What Is StoryMaps?
Esri StoryMaps is a story authoring web-based application on the ArcGIS platform that enables you to share your maps in the context of narrative text and other multimedia content. Stories can include maps, narrative text, lists, images, videos, embedded items, and other media. Publish and share your stories with specific groups, with Grinnell College, or publicly.
StoryMaps is an Esri product, as is ArcGIS Online, and you can seamlessly integrate ArcGIS Online maps into a StoryMap.
Logging In
1. Log in to your ArcGIS Online account at https://grinnell.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html
2. Click the app launcher icon (nine-dot square) in the top level menu: 
3. Then click on the StoryMaps icon: 
Walkthrough
StoryMaps lets you build a sleek webpage/digital narrative using blocks of content of different types. Review Getting Started with ArcGIS StoryMaps for a more in-depth overview of building StoryMaps.
1. Click the plus button to add content.
2. Drag and drop content blocks using the handle.
3. Click into a content item to view content-specific editing options.
4. Some content items provide additional options to explore – for example, to add alt text to an image, you need to click the options button, then select the Accessibility tab and write your alt text in the text box.
5. Click the Preview button at the top to see what your StoryMap will look like to viewers – you can even test out how it will look on a phone or tablet.
Design
Once you’ve gotten some content on your StoryMap, it’s time to start thinking about your design. StoryMaps takes care of many design considerations for you, but there is some room for customization: simply click the Design button in the top-level menu to get started.
- Choose from different cover image styles for the top of your StoryMap.
- Toggle the buttons for Navigation (to turn your headers into a clickable table of contents) or Credits (for custom credits and attribution) to turn on these features.
- Choose from existing pre-set Themes to change your StoryMap colors and fonts – or browse other available themes, or even create your own.
Publishing and Sharing
When finished, click the Publish button in the top right corner to publish your StoryMap. Publishing your story will give you access to its sharing link and to embed code for embedding it elsewhere. From here, you can also choose your sharing settings, depending on your needs:
- owner: visible only to you, the creator
- organization: visible to all members in our organization, Grinnell College
- everyone (public): visible to the wider community outside of Grinnell College
You’ll get a pop-up message from ArcGIS if any of the resources you’ve included within your StoryMap (such as an embedded map) have more restrictive sharing permissions that might keep them from being visible for your viewers.
It is also possible to create a “shared update” group for sharing, which allows multiple people to work on the same map at once (similar to the collaborative editing features in Office 365). You are not able to create “shared update” groups on your own: this must be done by an admin. Put in a Help Desk ticket, or reach out to Tierney Steelberg or Mo Pelzel from DLAC.
It is possible to embed StoryMaps on a website (for example, several pages on the Mapping Islamophobia website are embedded StoryMaps, including this one on Muslim American Political Candidates). To be able to embed your StoryMap on an external website, you need to make sure it is set to the “public” sharing setting. Once you have done so, you can click the Embed in Website button to customize your embed settings.
Deliverables
For this training, you will be making your own StoryMap on a movie, TV show or book that you like. Please pick one that has some sort of real-world geographic element to it (scenes that occur in various places, characters or cast members from various places…).
You will want to include plenty of multimedia: make sure to use images licensed for re-use. You can search places like Wikimedia Commons, Flickr Creative Commons search, or Unsplash for such images. You can also feel free to embed multimedia from other sources (such as videos from YouTube). Ensure that your images have alt text and captions for accessibility purposes.
Create a StoryMap based on your media choice. Your StoryMap must include some written information about the media (like a summary), proper headings using the heading options in the text editor, images related to the media, a map (either an Express Map, Sidecar, Map Tour, or ArcGIS map) at least 3 of the following StoryMaps features:
- Audio
- Video
- Embed items
- Image gallery
- Code (only if applicable to the piece of media you are using)
- Table
- Swipe
- Timeline
Feel free to use other sources: just make sure to properly link and cite the sources you use.
Publish your story. For your reflection, please consider the following questions and include a link to your story:
- What are the benefits and limitations of this tool?
- What sort of accessibility concerns should you consider with this tool?
- Look at the StoryMap examples provided below. From what you can see, what makes a good StoryMaps? What is something to avoid?
- How to make an awful ArcGIS StoryMap by Allen Carroll, Esri StoryMaps team
- City of Irvine Great Park Framework Plan
- The Voices of Grand Canyon by The Grand Canyon Trust
- Segregation is Killing Us by Territorial Empathy
Accessibility
As you create StoryMaps, keep the following in mind:
- be thoughtful in your use of color and ensure appropriate color contrasts with text and backgrounds
- consider how you can avoid using color alone to convey meaning
- break up walls of text
- ensure appropriate typeface and font size when you are customizing
- provide links that make sense out of context (i.e., no “click here”)
- provide alt text for images
See Getting Started with Accessible Storytelling from Esri for more information and resources.
Resources
- Vivero Documentation site page on StoryMaps
- What Is ArcGIS StoryMaps?
- Getting Started with ArcGIS StoryMaps (a StoryMaps tutorial in the form of a StoryMap!)
