For my geospatial analysis narrative map I wanted to do the story of someone who we have not talked about as much this semester compared to someone like Fredrick Douglass. By doing the project this way, I hoped to get more out of it, as it would require me to do some critical thinking rather than just completing this project in auto-pilot by regurgitating a story that I have already studied many times before. Thinking like this led me to research, read, and recount the life story of Sojourner Truth. When loading up the Story Map portal on Knight Lab, my immediate thought was to wonder how much open source (I think could be considered the correct term to apply here) freedom I would be allowed to manipulate the graphics and set up of the board I could. But then I had to stop myself and remember how we discussed the effect that graphics can have on a site earlier in the semester, and understanding that too many graphics can actually detract from the information that you are trying to present. While I kept the background theme to be a similar, if not the same, green that my blog is set up with, that way it can still be visually complimentary to my other work. One of the only things that disappointed me from the site is that there was not a selection of different map types that you could choose from in lieu of having to upload your own. Besides that, I really enjoyed using the Story Map site, I thought it was a nice change of pace as opposed to making a standard Powerpoint Presentation. As I was creating the different stops I tried to balance the amount of information I was including, trying to add enough that you could get a good understanding of Truth’s life story while at the same time trying not to intimidate those who dislike reading. One thing that I also payed special attention to was, making sure that my images were relevant to my story. Rather than using images of the cities being discussed that are recent, making sure to use an image from the time in which the story being discussed took place. Similarly, making sure to include an image of Truth taken later in life when discussing the end of her story. By making these cautious choices with a purpose I feel I was better able to get the information in my story across to the audience.

Story Map Link: