I found it mainly user-friendly using ArcGIS Online, an online mapping tool that allows for interactive digital storytelling. Still, some aspects require a little bit of specialized knowledge to take full advantage of its features. Maps created with the ArcGIS mapping software provide a way to work and interact with geographic content organized as layers. You can pull these layers of data from the ArcGIS database, from a user’s files, or create it in the software itself. Moreover, each layer can be visible or invisible at the user’s discretion, allowing them to select what kinds of information they want to see.
Favorite Features
I enjoyed using the ‘map gallery’ feature, which enables a user to access a collection of maps publicized by other ArcGIS users in a database, which could be used in a user’s own work as a layer. The feature can help you generate new ideas or look to others for inspiration by seeing what maps others have created, which can then be used as a layer that can provide a deeper layer of meaning to your map. Another great feature was the ‘grouping of layers’ in which a user can create groups and re-arrange their map layers for a more user-friendly experience.
Beyond ArcGIS Online
I can see myself creating an interactive map using ArcGIS Online in the future. Moreover, ArcGIS Online can be shared as a map embedded in a web page with varying degrees of user control. Click here to see the map embedded in my personal WordPress site on the squirrel census data in New York.
I also really like the map gallery feature. It’s a good way to easily access data, and you might even find something you wouldn’t have expected to see! And while ArcGIS is pretty user friendly, I personally feel like if I stumbled on the website I would feel overwhelmed by the amount of options that you’re greeted by. But it’s definitely designed for a certain group in mind, and it may be different on the newer version.