Mapping the role of schools in community 

A public education does not typically include learning about the local history of school neighborhoods and communities.

This project supports Alcoa High School, Maryville High School, and Maryville College students to investigate their local histories to develop digital, historical maps of the area for open use.

​We intend these maps to be used by residents, visitors, teachers, and students.

We are now recruiting student participants!
​Go to Get Involved if interested!

/ Digital Story-telling
/ Archival Research
/ Public Charettes

If you are an interested student, parent of a student, or resident with a story you think students should learn about, please reach out via the Get Involved Page.

Digital Storytelling 

Archival Research

Students will participate in several walking tours with local historians and experts, collecting digital photos, annotations, and video along the way. Students will use these data as a starting point for selecting and further researching histories and then building digital stories that will appear in a mobile application. 

Students will use library archives to further research local histories they found inspiring from the walking tours. They will combine data collected on walking tours with historical research to build spatial narratives in an open source geographic information system (GIS). Student created spatial narratives will be the content for the mobile application.

Public Charrettes 

Community stakeholders will have a chance to view, experience, and comment on students' digital histories in a series of public meetings, hosted by the Blount County Public Library. Stay tuned for dates. Expect students to share their digital maps and then revise them based on input from meeting attendees. 

Sponsors