A story map is a useful tool that allows you to create a localized map containing information relevant to your learner's interests and everyday destinations. Mapbox is a free, easy-to-use platform for making story maps; it's a good resource to use especially if your learner is new to the area. This post will provide a brief overview of Mapbox, how to use it, and a sample map.
Many people move to a new area at least once during their lives, and it's usually the same story - you have to quickly locate the places that will be important to your everyday life and figure out the best ways to reach those places. The grocery store, the bank, Walmart, the Home Depot, the train station, the park, and the gas station are just a few examples of places that are often good to know about. That list changes based on who the person is and what their life looks like, and the beautiful thing about story maps is that they're fully customizable. If your learner has just moved to the Boston area or to a new neighborhood in the area, try using a story map to familiarize them with their new surroundings.
If you're wondering what a story map is, let me give you a quick summary. Creating a story map involves first finding a map (from Google maps, say) of a local area that is relevant to your learner's life. Maybe it's their neighborhood or town, or maybe a certain district of a city (Boston's waterfront, Chinatown, Government Center, etc).
I'm a student at Tufts University, so it would have been useful for me to make a map of the campus when I was a freshman. For the first few weeks, it wasn't always easy for me to find places like the dining halls, academic buildings, gym, and my friends' dorms. Your map should be pretty basic, showing street names, buildings, water, parks, and points of interest just like Google Maps or whatever program you use to search for places and get directions. It should also focus on the area of interest. The point is that learners who look at the map will be able to see points of interest, where they are in relation to the map as a whole, and some useful information about them.
This picture is a snapshot of a map I made of Tufts. I've focused on the President's Lawn, a widely visited spot on campus. I made the map using Mapbox, and it's a pretty standard map for the program. Mapbox is an online tool for creating interactive maps like story maps. It has both free and subscription options, but you can access all the basic functions and save your maps for free. At the Mapbox dashboard, you can start new projects and navigate around the site.
When you've started a project, you'll find that it's really simple and intuitive to create a map. You can name your map and mess with the colors, and with the free version, you'll be able to switch between "streets" view and "terrain". Your starting point is a huge map of the United States, and you can click and drag to move around the map, while scrolling the mouse wheel zooms in and out. These controls are similar to Google Maps'. Once you've reached the region you want to map out, you'll double click on a point to create a marker. Once you've got your new marker, you'll be able to name it, customize the marker image and color (tree for a park, burger for a restaurant, etc), and type a description. It's added to your list of place markers. When you're viewing your completed story map, you can click on a point and the description box pops up. I haven't found a way to put images in this box, but I'll update this post if I do. At the very least, you can paste a link to an online image in the box.
The best way to learn how to create a story map is to visit the site yourself, but if you're feeling unsure, here's a map of Tufts University that I made myself. It probably took me between 5 and 10 minutes. It's very simple, but it gives you an idea of how fluid and simple Mapbox is. With a bit of experimentation, you'll be able to make a fun, interactive way to introduce your learner to the area.
Happy tutoring!
Kris
Kristofer Pieper
Programs and Social Media Intern, English At Large
Tufts University, Class of 2016
ENGLISH AT LARGE
Literacy and Learning for Life
Join the conversation
Many people move to a new area at least once during their lives, and it's usually the same story - you have to quickly locate the places that will be important to your everyday life and figure out the best ways to reach those places. The grocery store, the bank, Walmart, the Home Depot, the train station, the park, and the gas station are just a few examples of places that are often good to know about. That list changes based on who the person is and what their life looks like, and the beautiful thing about story maps is that they're fully customizable. If your learner has just moved to the Boston area or to a new neighborhood in the area, try using a story map to familiarize them with their new surroundings.
If you're wondering what a story map is, let me give you a quick summary. Creating a story map involves first finding a map (from Google maps, say) of a local area that is relevant to your learner's life. Maybe it's their neighborhood or town, or maybe a certain district of a city (Boston's waterfront, Chinatown, Government Center, etc).
I'm a student at Tufts University, so it would have been useful for me to make a map of the campus when I was a freshman. For the first few weeks, it wasn't always easy for me to find places like the dining halls, academic buildings, gym, and my friends' dorms. Your map should be pretty basic, showing street names, buildings, water, parks, and points of interest just like Google Maps or whatever program you use to search for places and get directions. It should also focus on the area of interest. The point is that learners who look at the map will be able to see points of interest, where they are in relation to the map as a whole, and some useful information about them.
This picture is a snapshot of a map I made of Tufts. I've focused on the President's Lawn, a widely visited spot on campus. I made the map using Mapbox, and it's a pretty standard map for the program. Mapbox is an online tool for creating interactive maps like story maps. It has both free and subscription options, but you can access all the basic functions and save your maps for free. At the Mapbox dashboard, you can start new projects and navigate around the site.
When you've started a project, you'll find that it's really simple and intuitive to create a map. You can name your map and mess with the colors, and with the free version, you'll be able to switch between "streets" view and "terrain". Your starting point is a huge map of the United States, and you can click and drag to move around the map, while scrolling the mouse wheel zooms in and out. These controls are similar to Google Maps'. Once you've reached the region you want to map out, you'll double click on a point to create a marker. Once you've got your new marker, you'll be able to name it, customize the marker image and color (tree for a park, burger for a restaurant, etc), and type a description. It's added to your list of place markers. When you're viewing your completed story map, you can click on a point and the description box pops up. I haven't found a way to put images in this box, but I'll update this post if I do. At the very least, you can paste a link to an online image in the box.
The best way to learn how to create a story map is to visit the site yourself, but if you're feeling unsure, here's a map of Tufts University that I made myself. It probably took me between 5 and 10 minutes. It's very simple, but it gives you an idea of how fluid and simple Mapbox is. With a bit of experimentation, you'll be able to make a fun, interactive way to introduce your learner to the area.
Happy tutoring!
Kris
Kristofer Pieper
Programs and Social Media Intern, English At Large
Tufts University, Class of 2016
ENGLISH AT LARGE
Literacy and Learning for Life
Join the conversation
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