Month: March 2016

Project update

This past week our website has really begun to take shape. Working with Omeka has been an experience. I think my biggest challenge has been assuming that editing the web interface would be as easy as in WordPress, and while I value the archival elements that Omeka has, I wish a better option existed that blended the best elements from the two platforms together.  So far my biggest issue with Omeka is getting the homepage configurations right. There seems to be some presets to the main tables on the page which I’m hoping to get around by possibly creating a new page and linking that as the new homepage instead of using the default option.

Another issue I’ve had this past week is sourcing images to highlight the content we already have. I was able to find a a great painting by Carl Rochling of the battle of Fredericksburg which I used as a backdrop and then layered a slightly transparent copy of one of Murray’s letters. I think this new banner gives a good sense of what our website contains, and the personal/ intimate feel that we’re going for. I also attempted to create an image of for our site introduction by combining both the Murray and Slaughter photographs, but I mistakenly forgot to account for the Union flag, which is incorrect in the image. I’m going to email our contact Luisa from the national park service and hopefully she can point me in the right direction as to picking a more accurate flag for the time.

This week my main goal will be completing/ revising page aesthetics and getting the skeleton of our website in order so that our group can organize our information in a clearer more definite way.

Week #10 Internet Use and Reading

The first article I read about how the internet has changed how we read and how we thing was very interesting and I agree with the conclusions wholeheartedly.  I have noticed myself being distracted or uninterested in reading a book for a long period of time, and even if an online news article  is long, I seomtimes don’t get through the whole think in one setting which is upsetting and frustrating. As a lover of books, literature, and libraries who has volunteered for years at the library in my hometown, I have also noticed that my peers do not visit the library often or read physical books for pleasure. When I am my the local library in Northern Virginia I often notice that the age group in libraries is ether young or old. There are children and caregivers or parents in the reading sections and there are older people using the computers for searching the internet, but there are a very few number of young adults in the library. I have read articles which talk about how elementary, middle and public high schools are getting rid or downsizing their libraries which makes me very sad. I’ve always loved the feeling of holding and reading a book new book. Additionally, I have never been a fan of electronic book technologies such as kindles, nooks, or iPads because they do not feel as confuting or as familiar as touching a real book or flipping real pages to read.

Group Update

At the moment, I am not concerned about my group being on track with our project.  We have successfully completed our first two big goals, which were (1) to finish digitizing the letters and their transcriptions and (2) to visit the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center and Confederate Cemetery to collect photos for our introductory video.  Currently, our next task is to upload all the letters and transcriptions to the site, but we are slightly behind on this for a few reasons.  Firstly, we are having to correct typos in the transcriptions of Murray’s letters.  Secondly, we have not yet decided on a file format to place the letter scans on the site.  Lastly, Slaughter’s letters have to be uploaded after Murray’s or else the collections will mix when site users click “next item.”  So, we have to finish uploading Murray’s letters before Slaughter can be completed, so this fact has set us back a bit.  We will also be beginning to work on the StoryMapJS to trace George Murray’s movements with the 114th PA during the war.  My main concern with this is whether we are able to work on it as you would a Google doc, with one group member creating the map and then sharing it so others are able to work on it when they have time.  If this is not possible, we may have to get together as a group and complete it.

Digital Resume

The last few days I’ve been working on revising both my resume and domain of one’s own to resemble more of a digital portfolio of my cumulative work at UMW thus far. Admittedly I  spent quite a lot of time on the aesthetics of the site itself. I’m a fan of  minimalist style but I also wanted my site to be customizable  so that I could include widgets like an “about me” and icon links to my other social media accounts. It was tough to find a layout that worked, but I’m happy with the current results, although I’m sure after my presentation today in class I will be tweaking a few things. I have already included a “projects” page which has a few selected digital media projects, unfortunately I don’t have anything substantial to show for my second German major yet, but that should change in the fall after I have completed my honors thesis. I have also included both a text and link to a copy of my resume / CV in the menu bar. I think I’ll continue to edit my resume since this assignment has given me the opportunity to really overhaul the information I previously had down. I’ll be planing to use my resume in the Fall and the university’s upcoming internship fair, so this updated website will also be a good asset to have for the near future.

Brief Update

In writing a brief update to Professor McClurken, I figured I could do the same for the weekly blog post.  The letters are currently being uploaded to the site and once this is done, the letters will be “digitized” and we will have finished the bare minimum required from us.  It has taken us longer than expected to get this far mainly because of the plugins (both implementation and testing) but we have been working on various other tasks that we have made for ourselves in the meantime.  To repeat what we covered last Tuesday, the bios are going well, transcriptions look good but may need to be looked at a second time for formatting or spelling, and the main concern I have now is creating two front pages for the collections and one front page for the site as a whole but that should not be too difficult.

Creating a Digital Resume

So I had some trouble with this assignment mainly with differentiating about what things should be included on a digital resume as opposed to a regular, paper resume. I understand the opportunities a digital resume presents such as being able to showcase digital works that you have worked on. My problem is that although I have made blogs for other pages, I personally do not think they are good enough for me to include on a portfolio that future employers (hopefully) will look at.

If you guys have any pointers, check out my link and let me know: resume.alexanderprivitt.org

Latest on the Laser Scanning

Over the course of the past two weeks, my group has scanned the bicorne hat, Elizabeth Monroe’s wedding shoe, the pistols, and James Monroe’s outfit. We hope to scan the White House chair next week. Additionally, we also recorded footage and two interviews with the curator about the pistols and the chair. We would have continued to interview the curator this week, but we were unable to check out a video recorder. Instead, we compiled and edited information from the object files to include with the 3D laser scans and interviews on the website.

My Digital Identity

The past few weeks have taught me how important digital identity is. It has become more important for me to be aware and in control of how my digital identity is portrayed. I have updated my website, adding my resume and Portfolio of Digital Works in order to showcase some of the academic work I’ve done, as well as some of the experiences I have had. After this semester ends, I will definitely be adding the HCC website to my portfolio of digital works.

Week 8: Digital Resume and Update

I created my resume with the idea that it could be used by potential employers to see my work in a professional and creative way. My site includes an about page, examples of my research, a resume timeline and a pdf version of my resume. The research projects I have included are focused around the study of the art and history of early modern Europe because I would like to pursue something related to that field. My resume timeline has pictures and information about my work and educational experience. I also have a slideshow with my photos from my travels. I chose my header photo (Hampton Court Palace) because I am a very interested in English Tudor and Stuart history. I chose the colors because I thought they matched the picture.

http://research.jamesstewartumw.org/

I started developing a bibliography for our site so that we can start working on how we want to cite our sources for our project. I am also using this information for the timeline as well as information we are finding about Steven Gordon. Are main goal for the next few weeks is to  upload the image files and enter metadata.

 

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