Campus Alliance for Sustainability and the Environment, Oakland University hosted a group of students from Literature and the Environment and Postcolonial Literature and Extraction (ENG 3681) who presented on Wednesday, 23 March about Environmental StoryMap projects.
The idea of creating a new world was first introduced two years ago. A campus community that is committed to sustainability and environmental justiceCASE-OU has over 100 faculty-scholars as well staff and students. They all work together to find more holistic and integrated solutions to climate-related issues.
These projects used theGeographic Information System (GIS), mapping softwareThis interactive storytelling tool combines spatial and verbal elements, narrative, geography, and geography to tell interactive stories about place, ecosystems, colonialism, and environmental exploitation.
The software is currently being used by hundreds of thousands in a variety fields of mapping. It allows for faster and more efficient communication, analysis, sharing information, and solving complex problems all over the world.
Professor of English Jeffrey Insko, coordinator of American Studies, and steering committee member of CASE-OU, created accounts and added students to a collaborative StoryMap. This allowed them to add information about five post-colonial countries (India, Ecuador Canada, Nigeria and Canada) on one map. Insko claims that this mapping software integrates shared Google Slides but has many more features.
I am so proud of all of you, Dr. Insko said at the end of the presentations. He teaches both ENG 3681 courses and 3800 courses. They all gave amazing presentations.
Eight presenters shared their research and findings about different countries and regions using mapping. These are the individual presenters and groups that were focusing on their country.
Sonja Wilhelm, Mariah and Josh McNeil (India).
Erika Head, Ethan Berent (Ecuador), and Alexandra LaBrecque
Erin Sorenson (Crawford County in MI)
Paige Therrian (South Higgins Lake MI)
Erika Head, a sophomore at OU who double-majored in Communication and English Secondary Ed, shared information about Ecuador together with Berent LaBrecque and LaBrecque. Her group’s goal was to raise awareness about post-colonial history and how oil extraction can lead to brutal living conditions and death for the citizens of Ecuador.
Head said that it is always gratifying to see our semester-long projects come to fruition. Mapping helped me to understand the differences between America, Ecuador, and other countries. Although they are both on the same side, their development, government and technology as well as their ways of living are very different.
She noted that multiple people cannot edit and publish their changes at the same time, which can be problematic for larger classes. Despite this drawback, she highlighted key features GIS mapping software offers.
Head stated that I am a visual learner so it was very helpful to plot points on a map and see where things are occurring around the world. You can also add external links to your explanations using this software. It is a great way for us to have many information, sources, photos, and links all in one website. I recommend the mapping to anyone who needs to create a visual representation and has the ability to add additional locations.
