An Educator’s Look at the March 2022 Update to ArcGIS Online
ArcGIS Online updated this week (March 2022)! While it includes many great enhancements, we want to focus your attention on a subset that educators will find exciting.
- Add search results to sketch layers
- Change ownership of your own content
- Present with the new Exhibit app
- Upgrade of homepages to the new template
- Use new editing workflows
- Changes to the Map Viewer toolbar
- Organize your layers with nested group layers in Map Viewer
- A note on email verification
- Mimicking Classic StoryMaps in the new one
- One last thing to get you thinking applications in the classroom... flow renderer
For the full release information, see the blog What’s new in ArcGIS Online (March 2022) or read What’s new in the documentation. (Duplicating layers in Map Viewer! Keyboard shortcuts! More Instant App updates! A nice new way to place elements in dashboards! New Experience Builder widgets! Member categories! OK, I'll stop now.)
1. Add search results to sketch layers
Remember in Map Viewer Classic how you could search for something, and then add a map note at that location? It’s now supported in new Map Viewer. Do a search, and at the bottom of the result pop-up you’ll see options for adding it to a new or an existing sketch layer. Read how—Add search results to a sketch layer.
2. Change ownership of your own content
When working together in ArcGIS Online, we often recommend that one person works on the map, story, or another piece of content at a time. Once one author is done, the recommended workflow is to change the owner of the item to the next person who needs to work on it. Previously, the admin had to transfer the content to a new owner each time. Now, with appropriate permissions, anyone in the org can change the owner of their own content to another person. Learn more about transferring content between members in an org.
3. Present with the new Exhibit app
This is another place where something we’ve all loved in the past is back in a new way. Before, you could create a presentation in your map, and then play the slides to present your map. Now, wrap your map in an Instant app “Exhibit” and you can guide your audience through your map using interactive slides. See Build an interactive map presentation with Exhibit.
4. Upgrade of homepages to the new template
If you still have the old (legacy) home page and haven’t switched to the new home page yet, your home page has been automatically replaced with a default, new home page. You can further edit and configure your new home page. See the following blogs and help for details:
- Still using the legacy home page?
- Create a great homepage for your organization
- Fun with GIS 303: Spruce up your homepage (focused on K-12 educators)
- Configure home page
5. Use new editing workflows
Editing gets a big boost with this update. First, in new Map Viewer, snapping is here! And along with it is an enhanced editor pane. (Learn more about editing features in Map Viewer.)
In the Attachment Viewer Instant App, you can now edit the attributes when showing the attachments of an editable layer. (Learn more in What’s New in Instant Apps (March 2022).)
6. Changes to the Map Viewer toolbar
The new Map Viewer is still evolving, and with this release you’ll see some toolbar changes. On the light toolbar, you’ll find the map tools (Search, Directions, Measurement, and Location) are now grouped into a Map tools category. With the last release, the light toolbar was updated to only show options that work with the layer you have selected, so with both these enhancements the toolbar provides a cleaner experience.
7. Organize your layers with nested group layers in Map Viewer
A long-awaited feature is ready: Map Viewer now supports nested group layers, simplifying visualization and review of complex data.
8. A note on email verification
You might have seen that your ArcGIS login might start prompting you to verify your email address. And you might be worried about all the student accounts you have where you don’t want them prompted to do so. Don’t worry – while email verification might come up for default org admins, no other users in ArcGIS organizations for instructional use will be asked to do so. This includes Education subscriptions and site licenses, as well as ArcGIS for Schools.
9. Mimicking Classic Esri Story Maps in new ArcGIS StoryMaps
The Classic Story Map templates were great, and the StoryMaps team has put together a blog about how to recreate those experiences in the new ArcGIS StoryMaps experience! So if you still need Cascade, or Journal, or another classic template in your life, head over and see how to revive them!
10. One last thing to get you thinking of applications in the classroom... flow renderer
The animated flow renderer brings a new way to visualize magnitude and direction data in imagery layers. Check out how Jason sees using it in the classroom.