StoryScapes101 - Introduction to the StoryScapes platform

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This course curriculum includes 6 modules and an Instructor Guide to support anyone tasked with delivering the StoryScapes101 course.

To utilize the course, download the PDF version of the Modules available in this repository.

Course Modules & Lessons

Each lesson follows a two-part sequence: Listen, then do. This methodology moves learners through a process of hearing or reading new concepts to putting them into practice.

Each course module ends with a series of discussion questions that participants should reflect on individually or in conversation with colleagues before continuing on to the next Module.

Course Outline

• Module 1 - Conveying Intelligence with StoryScapes
  • Lesson 1: Build a Profile
  • Lesson 2: Search and Share
  • Lesson 3: Present with StoryScapes
• Module 2 - Composing StoryScapes 1.0
  • Lesson 1: Setting Up a StoryScape
  • Lesson 2: Adding and Styling StoryLayers
  • Lesson 3: Adding simple StoryPins and StoryFrames
• Module 3 - Collecting StoryLayer Data
  • Lesson 1: Importing point StoryLayers
  • Lesson 2: Importing polygon StoryLayers
  • Lesson 3: Writing High-Quality Metadata
• Module 4 - Curating StoryLayer Data
  • Lesson 1: Peer Reviewing StoryLayers
  • Lessson2: Editing StoryLayer geometries
  • Lesson 3: Editing StoryLayer attributes
• Module 5 - Composing StoryScapes 2.0
  • Lesson 1: Using Choropleth and Graduated styling for StoryLayers
  • Lesson 2: Using Icons Commons for point Storylayers
  • Lesson 3: Adding StoryPins with Media
• Module 6 - Collaboration & Community Building with StoryScapes
  • Lesson 1: Organizing Community Initiatives
  • Lesson 2: Managing Organization Accounts

Course Goals

This course was designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the StoryScapes platform to geoint professionals. Those who complete the course should feel comfortable integrating StoryScapes into a range of geoint tasks, from managing and curating spatio-temporal data to publishing data-rich spatial narratives that support decision-making.

Course Architecture

Since StoryScapes is a platform that is constantly improving and dedicated to openness and collaboration, this course was also designed with these attributes in mind.

Course modules are updated regularly using a simple markdown syntax and hosted on Github. PDF versions of the Modules are rendered using PanDocand made available for download at the StoryScapes Get Started page, where video tutorials complimenting the Modules are also available.

This Course architecture has a number of benefits, including:

• Course instructors can run a course with no software dependencies. All an instructor or course participant needs is a laptop and internet connection.
• New StoryScapes users who don't have access to a formal in-person course can follow a self-taught model by working through Modules and video tutorials on the StoryScapes Get Started page.
• Course writers can quickly and easily make updates to Modules as the StoryScapes platform evolves. The widely used Markdown syntax is easy to use, enabling new course writers to quickly get up to speed to make contributions.
• Markdown is a language that can easily be transformed into other formats.
• Course participants and instructors can easily provide feedback using Github issues.

Module Design

Module 0 provides a guide for someone who will be teaching the course to others. Learners participating in an in-person class can proceed to Module 1.

Each of the six course Modules have three lessons. The course as eighteen individual lessons in all.

Each course lesson follows a two-part sequence: Listen, then do. The methodology moves learners through a process of hearing or reading new concepts, which they retain bits of, to applying concepts in the practice themselves, which they retain even more of.

Each course Module ends with a series of discussion questions that participants should reflect on individually or in conversation with colleagues before continuing on to the next Module.

Course Style Guide

Each lesson within the module begins with the Course Title.

• The Course Title has Header 1 # Course Title and is the only size Header 1 in the Module document.

The Module Name is next and usses Header 2 ## Module Title

Next, a Module version and an attribution block is included, since we always want to give proper attribution.

Next, an Introduction using Header 2 explains the Learning Objectives for the Module as well as the three Lessons included in the Module.

Next, content for each of the Lessons is provided. Lesson headers use Header 2 Lesson Title

Within each Lesson are sections for Objective Lecture, Demonstration, and Task. These sections use Header 3 Section Title

The last two sections of the Module are Conclusion and Questions. Both of these us Header 2.

When an image is placed in the Module document, the image is never provided a number, instead, it is referred to by its relative placement to the referring text (ex. refer to image below). *All images should be placed within the 'images' folder in the same directory as the Markdown document.

License: Creative Commons 3.0 License

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.F

Note: We are grateful to the GeoAcademy project for inspiring our open course design using Markdown.