Roots & migrants: a user-centered story map application for teaching and learning historical population dynamics in the United States

Teaching and learning United States history and its influence on the distribution and redistribution of people is very important. It helps us understand the current state of the country in terms of its social, economic, environmental and political environment. Roots & Migrants (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28934120) is a free-to-use story mapping tool designed to support history education. It combines multimedia elements such as images, pictures, videos, documents and maps to enable users explore U.S history and population changes. High school teachers and students helped shape the design and functionality of the tool by offering feedback on how it could best support classroom learning. Roots & Migrants is accessible to all users, even those without experience in mapping or data analysis. It supports learning by offering multiple ways to explore historical events, through maps, documents, videos, and visual narratives. Roots & Migrants helps students see how the past connects to the present—and shows where people lived and why they moved as an important part of the United States history.