Teaching GIS in the Classroom: Story Maps as a Case Study

In this chapter, the author discusses the value of integrating the Esri Story Map app into STEM-based general education courses and provides a model for implementing the technology. The experience with an introductory spatial science class at the University of Southern California suggests that Story Maps can be success-fully introduced to students who have no prior experience with GIS software. With a minimum of instruction and support, students were able to design and create their own spatially oriented web applications. Students enjoyed the creative process, learned new skills, and generated a polished app that can be published on the web. This positive experience indicates that the versatile Story Map platform can be molded into a mapping platform that reaches across the natural sciences,social sciences, and humanities and fits the skill level and topic interest of almos tany course