What are the key features of this digital tool? How is this digital tool distinct from other ones similar to it?
Google Tour Builder uses Google Earth to allow people to chart their own journeys, or the journeys of others. Similar to StoryMap JS, Tour Builder uses a powerpoint-esque layout where each location and event is the equivalent of a slide. Events are connected linearly so that the user follows a line that connects the first event to the second, the second to the third, and so on.
What kinds of research questions might this digital tool help you answer?
This tool is most useful in complementing a journey with narrative. The “slides” provide ample space to contextualize each location and explain its significance.
What kind of documentation is available for this tool?
The site provides the user with an about page that answers many frequently asked questions about Tour Builder. There is also a gallery of previously made projects, and a place where users can submit feedback about their experience.
Is the digital tool free, or is there a cost to use it?
Google Tour Builder is free.
What kinds of data/input does the tool require?
The three main data concerns for Tour Builder are a location, and text and media that pertain to that location. One of the benefits of the tool is that a user can include up to twenty five photos or videos per slide. Tour Builder also allows the user to use google image search within the program, and any photos results are labelled commercial for reuse.
Are there any privacy concerns?
To use Google Tour Builder, a user has to sign in with their google account.
How difficult will this tool be to master? Does it require an outside expert or special technical skills, or can it be learned with practice?
Learning Tour Builder is easy to do and something that someone can learn without consulting an expert. The program itself provides some help for people who have not made a map before.
Could you use this digital tool for your project? Why or why not?
This sees like a good tool for more casual projects. However, if a project involved a high number of locations, or locations that were not connected linearly, Tour Builder may not be the best way to represent that data.
