Pennella,

BSU Edtech 503

Instructional Design Project: Final Draft

Instructor Guide:
Day 0:
Assign students the following:
1. Read Journalism Next by Mark Briggs, Chapter 9 Data Driven Journalism
2. Identify map based news story that you find interesting. Add link to our Google+
community forum entitled Map Based Storytelling
Be sure that you (as instructor) contribute a link as well.
3. Respond to short survey about state of childhood via link: http://tinyurl.com/m49nlxj

Note survey contains questions designed to support both map based and
infographics based visualization (subsequent module).

Be sure that you respond to survey as well.

Day 1:
Introduce topic of data driven storytelling and acknowledge incoming
mindset
Acknowledge reticence some learners may have about this module (given quantitative
and analytical bent).
Feel free to weigh in with own thoughts on the topic as appropriate.
Express belief that they will find data visualization to be more creative than expected
and the selected tools to be very journalist friendly.
Announce intention to start with an interesting example that was identified by one of
the learners in the initial learner surveys leading up to this topic.
Activity 1: Dialect quiz/heat map introduction
1. Post link on presentation screen: http://tinyurl.com/pke94a2
2. Ask learners to take 5 minutes or so to individually complete (using their
terminals) the 25-question survey created by the New York Times regarding
personal dialects. Complete survey along side learners.

Pennella, BSU Edtech 503

Instructional Design Project: Final Draft

Ask learners to take note of how the results are being visualized as they
complete the survey.
Note: with each question answered (as well as in total), a heat map will be
displayed that expresses the degree to which their answer is similar to other
respondents in different areas of the United States.
3. 10-15 minute discussion of this data visualization driven story. Topics:

Did you enjoy this activity?

Who originally identified this story?

Accuracy of results. Have they lived near the cities identified as being
most similar to their answers?

How is this working? IP address being captured and associated with

geography.

How would this have been presented differently ten years ago? (audience
participation, visualization, social media sharing, etc.)

Conclude discussion by identifying this as an example of a heat map.

And now to learn more about heat maps

4. As situation dictates/time allows, share this second heat map example from the
New York Times depicting baseball team fandom: http://tinyurl.com/mseuboy
Activity 2: Heat Map Hero Video
Introduce animated video regarding heat maps: http://tinyurl.com/ma2hxql
1. Watch video up until 2:50 mark (end of Step 1)
2. Summarize heat map concept idea substituting colors for values. Note how
they saw two different heat map types (the dialect quiz type and choropleths).
Going to explore example of latter
Activity 3: Election results reporting (choropleth example)
Show heat map of PA presidential results by county (or alternatively a heat map that you
have created): http://shar.es/Sr9pB

Note that this was created with the program mentioned in video Open
Heat Map

Pennella, BSU Edtech 503

Instructional Design Project: Final Draft

Note the distinct boundaries (county lines) between colors. This is what
makes it a choropleth as opposed to a traditional heat map.

Show how values show when counties are hovered over

Show how slider can be used to switch between years

Probe learners as to whether this information could have been

communicated equally well via table
o Too many counties, no sense of what counties are near what, etc.

Now if one looks closely at the data, one interesting story it tells is that Obama won PA
despite losing most of the counties. But this isnt obvious in original heat map.

Show an alternate version of same heat map, where the scale has been changed
(anything below 50% is now same color): http://shar.es/S5fVE

Note how this tells a more effective story and communicates faster.

IMPLICATION: need to determine what you want to communicate first with

your data. Then let that drive the visualization!

Talk about how students are going to get opportunity to create heat map in-class
with Open Heat Map in next class.

Note that a heat map is just one type of data driven map. The other is the more
traditional location driven map

Activity 4: Location driven maps

Show Google map that was created leveraging data (about site of favorite
childhood memory) from the state of your childhood survey.
o You will create the actually map yourself using the survey reply data and
the provided Google Map Engine Lite tutorial. Your map will not have
visuals initially. Just pinpoints. See example: https://goo.gl/maps/340IC
o Make sure share settings in created map allow for others to edit.
o Please communicate to learners that you created this map.
o Note that their homework will involve adding to this Google map.

Provide example of location map driven news story. Can use example below, but would
even better if drawn from learner identified resources.

Best sledding spots in NYC: http://tinyurl.com/o83drad

Pennella, BSU Edtech 503

Instructional Design Project: Final Draft

Note that this was created based on reader input

Ask what kind of map like this could be created for their area

Conclude with example of map driven story crossed with a photo/video story.

Note how this was created with free app Map Story JS

Make connection with the photo/video stories they have already done

Disappearance of Aljazeera flight example: http://tinyurl.com/n8zvdpc

Note that concluding module assignment will be to create a map driven story
using Map Story JS

Day 1 Homework

View Google Maps Engine Lite tutorial: http://tinyurl.com/mmgavn6

Add to class Google map

o Associate an image with the favorite childhood memory and birthplaces
that are already on map
o Add an additional location in a separate layer regarding the city and state
(or country) they would like to live in after graduation

Analyze your map driven story

Have learners amend their Google+ post to address the following?

o What type of map type is it?
o Why do you feel your example is effective in telling a data driven story?
o Do you have any ideas for improving this visualization? If not, what
additional map or visualization might this story have included?
Day 2:
Activity 1: Review Collaborative Google Map

Probe for any issues. See if everyone feels confident in being able to create from
scratch moving forward

Review a few of the entries

Activity 2: Discussion of learner identified map story

Review learner submissions in advance, select good examples to discuss

4

Pennella, BSU Edtech 503

Instructional Design Project: Final Draft

Make last example discussed be heat map related

Discuss keys to effective heat map creation (presentation)

o http://tinyurl.com/kjuc2mp

Activity 3: In-class heat map creation assignment (working in pairs)

View rest of Heat Map Hero video

Locate appropriate data set using sources discussed
Create a heat map with open heat map
Pair your heat map with an appropriate headline (plus a sentence or two as
needed) and post to Google+ Heat Map Assignment forum.

Day 2 Homework

Finish pairs heat map assignment (as needed)

o To be discussed in next class
o Be prepared to defend whether or not your heat map communicates
your story better than other potential visualizations.

Build a spreadsheet of data to power a location oriented map related story on

your semester long topic of interest
o 5 locations minimum
o Fields needed for each location:
Where? (Specific geographic definition depends on idea)
What? (Description of what happens/happened here)
When? (As relating to story)
Add who, how and why as separate fields as relevant
A relevant image or link

Day 2.5:
Activity 1: Review heat map & headline activity

Probe for any issues. See if everyone feels confident in being able to create heat
maps moving forward

Activity 2: Review collaborative class map that has now been moved into
Map Story JS

Get people excited about how much cooler this looks now that it has been
migrated from Google Maps Engine

Pennella, BSU Edtech 503

Instructional Design Project: Final Draft

Activity 3: Discuss map story assignment

Individual map driven story on your topic of interest using the data points you
have already collected

Discuss rubric

Use remaining class time to introduce next module on infographics.

Day 3+ (After learners have completed map story assignment):
Request learner feedback on lesson via survey: http://tinyurl.com/n5krfrd