Working with Omeka

Initially when I downloaded Omeka to take a quick look at it for how to make our site, I was worried that I would not be able to actually use it.  All I could see was folders after folders with php files, jscripts, and various other kinds of files that could break everything if touched wrong.  After seeing it actually work on the web though, it looks similar to WordPress and incredibly easy to use.  With its ability to have collections and items, and its item types including images and sounds, it looks like Omeka should be an optimal tool for my group’s project.  At this point, all I really need to learn is how to format all of the data so that it looks nice to the user.

My main reason for posting about this is because this was my main worry with the project as a whole.  I thought I would have to spend several weeks learning how to use Omeka and post all of the digitized letters, pictures, and everything else we would do all in one large bunch.  Since I know that will not be the case now, I am much more relaxed with this project knowing that I can work at a slower pace by uploading everything as they come to me and designing the final site throughout the semester.  Of course, that does not mean I can slack off and not work on the project at all.  I still have a team that is counting on me to do my share, and that share I will do.

HCC Project Update

Recently, we met with Kyle Allwine from Admissions to discuss the ways we could bring traffic to our future site. The talk went swimmingly as we constantly threw ideas at each other. We talked about putting up billboards around campus to encourage students and faculty test out the various technology within the building. We also came up with the idea of having QR codes around that would send anyone to our site, so they check out the rooms and services for themselves.

After a group discussion, we decided to to keep the option of video interviews open to everyone, but we believe that we have to video interview President Hurley since the building has his name. We have fourteen possible candidates to interview and it would be great if we could get to them all, but if worst comes to worst, I believe 7 or 8 should be enough input on the building  and their involvement. We plan  to split up and do the interviews in order to get them all.

Before I conclude this small update, I would like to talk about the group’s plan for this week. We each will be doing our own research on the Convergence Center while also trying to the perfect WordPress theme for our site. We need to make sure that it works on both mobile and desktops if we plan on doing the QR codes mentioned earlier. Part of that research requires us to take a small tour around the building to make sure we understand everything ourselves. Once we do that, our next step is to put together the timeline for the building.

Group Update

Prior to writing the group contract, I felt slightly overwhelmed at the volume of work that our website was nonetheless going to necessitate.  However, now that we have divided the tasks and set milestones for their completion, I feel much more confident about the direction of our project.  Our contract divides the work evenly among our four group members, and everyone’s tasks are spread out throughout the semester, meaning that one or two people will not become overwhelmed by constantly having a looming due date.  Currently, our first milestone is to finish scanning Slaughter’s and Murray’s letters, scanning the typed transcriptions of Murray’s letters, and typing the handwritten transcriptions of Slaughter’s letters.  It is essential that we get this done soon as our subsequent tasks for the construction of the website revolve around their digitization, which include creating online exhibits for the letters.  I also think that when it comes time to create our digital exhibits, Omeka will be very helpful.  My group created our site last class, and when you click on “Add an Item,” Omeka prompts you to enter the appropriate metadata for the document or other primary source you are uploading.  This will help keep our website consistent, as all group members will be reporting the same kinds of information to describe each letter.

The one difficulty that I could potentially see my group running into is finding sufficient information on Montgomery Slaughter and George Murray so that their introductory blurbs will give site visitors a solid context with which to read the letters.  However, the National Park Service has already helped with this, as a basic biographical sketch on Murray’s activities during the Civil War were delivered to UMW along with his letters and transcriptions.  Additionally, when we make our visit to the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center and Museum to look at George Murray’s possessions, we can speak with Ms. Luisa Dispenzirie, the museum curator, so she can give us more information about these two men.

Building an Audience

As we have discussed in class, an audience is key to a successful web site because if no one visits the site then there is not much of a point in making it. When I stated to think about building an audience I thought about how I am part of the audience of the sites I visit. When I enter a site it is usually from a link or from the results of me googling a certain term. Occasionally I hear about a site from other people or via social media such as Facebook. I tend to use sites that are organized and easy to navigate. Keeping my personal interaction with the internet in mind I think that creating a digital project that uses frequently searched terms and using social media to spread the word that the web site exists will ensure its success. For our Civil War diaries project we are planning to make a site that is easy to navigate whether you enter from the main screen or a specific dairy page. Since we are working mostly with primary sources it is important that we make the site easy to follow and not too complicated so the visitor can find what they are looking for. My group and I believe our main audience for the site will be scholars and educators that will use it for academic and educational proposes. We anticipate that many other people will visit our site such as people interested in the Civil War and visitors to the National Park Service. The main goal for our website is to educate our visitors about Steven Gordon and the importance of primary sources.

Building an Audience

As we have discussed in class, an audience is key to a successful web site because if no one visits the site then there is not much of a point in making it. When I stated to think about building an audience I thought about how I am part of the audience of the sites I visit. When I enter a site it is usually from a link or from the results of me googling a certain term. Occasionally I hear about a site from other people or via social media such as Facebook. I tend to use sites that are organized and easy to navigate. Keeping my personal interaction with the internet in mind I think that creating a digital project that uses frequently searched terms and using social media to spread the word that the web site exists will ensure its success. For our Civil War diaries project we are planning to make a site that is easy to navigate whether you enter from the main screen or a specific dairy page. Since we are working mostly with primary sources it is important that we make the site easy to follow and not too complicated so the visitor can find what they are looking for. My group and I believe our main audience for the site will be scholars and educators that will use it for academic and educational proposes. We anticipate that many other people will visit our site such as people interested in the Civil War and visitors to the National Park Service. The main goal for our website is to educate our visitors about Steven Gordon and the importance of primary sources.

Week #4: 3-D Scanner, James Monroe Museum, and DKC

This week my fellow group memebers and I attended three meetings that were crucial for the future success of our project.

First, on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016, we went to Trinkle Hall for our first meeting with Dr. Meadows. During this meeting Dr. Meadows showed us four 3D scanner options that will be available for us to use to scan the objects at the museum into our SketchFab site. He was very knowledgeable about the scanners capabilities including their accuracy, the maximum object size that can be scanned, the portability, and other specifics about each of the four devices. At the end of the meeting my group members and I concluded that a few of the 3D scanners would be sufficient for our projects needs.

Next, on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016, my group members and I met Jarod Kearney,the curator at the James Monroe Museum, to update him on our progress with the project so far and to discuss which objects from the museum would be best to scan. After talking as a group for half an hour and looking at the physical museum objects to determine if they would be ideal to scan, we decided on five specific objects to be scanned.

Lastly, on Thursday, February 4th, 2016, we went to the DKC for a scheduled appointment with a tutor. During the appointment we searched the Omeka website to find a pug-in that would allow us to upload 3D image files to our future website and determined that there was no such option available. We were not discouraged through, because after a little bit of internet browsing, the tutor found a website called SketchFab which we will use in conjunction with Omeka to create a website that not only provides internet users and researchers with detailed information about each museum object, but that also allows them to manipulate 3D objects.

I fell like my group has been very productive and focused this week and I think we are off to a great start to our project!

Project Progress

My group has been assigned to digitize the letters of Montgomery Slaughter and George Murray, and so far, I think we are making pretty good progress on that front. The members assigned to scanning the documents are doing well, and we are experimenting with how to make the site, do an introductory video, and handling other details. I think the question of audience is very important to our group, not because of any confusion as to who might be in that group, but just because that might be a very broad audience we’ll attempt to reach. Historians, teachers, students, and tourists are all groups that we would definitely want to reach through our project.

I think there’s a variety of things we could do to increase traffic for the website once it exists in a completed form. The most obvious of course, is to make sure we use plenty of tags and terms that will cause the website to come up quickly in google searches. What we can also do is contact various Civil War groups to try and promote the site, as well as use our own social media accounts to drum up interest that way. Another thing that might be worth trying is making flyers or something of that nature to distribute to local visitor centers and tourist sites.

One easy way to deal with site maintenance after the semester is over would be to simply hand the log-in information for the site over to the National Park Service; as it will be linked to their site, I would imagine they might take responsibility for occasionally checking in on the site to make sure it is at least functional.

Progress and Thoughts on the Laser Scanning Project

My group members and I have held several meetings to learn about UMW’s 3D laser scanners, objects at the James Monroe Museum, and digital tools to make our website. We learned that UMW has a variety of laser scanners including a portable scanner that attaches to an iPad, a portable scanner with a turntable for small objects, and a larger scanner capable of scanning a person. In our consultation with the James Monroe Museum, we decided that we are going to try to scan five objects including one of Monroe’s outfits, his hat, dueling pistols, a shoe, and a chair associated with Lafayette.

At the moment, one of our greatest concerns is finding ways to present the scans of the objects online. Because the museum prefers the Dublin Core system, we plan on creating a website for the project using Omeka. However, Omeka does not have a plugin for displaying 3D files. After consulting with the DKC, we think we might create a SketchFab account to host the 3D files, linking the pages to our Omeka website. Using SketchFab would also present new opportunities for attracting an audience. Our descriptions of the objects on SketchFab would be aimed at educating a broader audience and encouraging them to visit the James Monroe Museum, while our Omeka site would have a scholarly research orientation.

Thoughts On The HCC/ITCC Project

I have to say that I am pretty excited to begin working on this Convergence Center project. We will begin immediately next week by talking to admissions and doing some thorough research on the building’s history and its primary uses. In class today, we briefly discussed as a group what we wanted to do for the future interviews. Should we record video or just record a short audio interview? The latter would reduce the risk of losing footage, but we decided to leave it in the proposal just in case we do decide to use video for the interviews.

If we were to do video interviews, we would use a format similar to that of the show 60 Minutes. For now, we will focus on the research and setting up the future interviews with the people involved with the planning stages and others that we need to meet with in order to make the final product what we imagine it to be.

The more we discuss the future of the HCC website, the more I realize how important it is for the school. We could potentially bring in more students and increase overall traffic to the building. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I can’t wait to begin, but there will always be that thought of messing up and not getting enough publicity,making it unappealing, etc. haunting me everyday until most of the hard work is complete.

One finall thought before I conclude this post. It would be great publicity for our website and even the other groups websites if we were able to advertise in The Blue and Gray Press, the town paper itself, and their online counterparts. I’m sure  they will bring in some early traffic once all of the websites are up and running!

Progress in Planning HCC Website

My group in Digital History has been assigned to document the history of the Convergence Center through the creation of a website. This week, my group had to discuss the mission and goals of our website, as well as the audience, tools we plan to use, and a relative timeline of when we want to accomplish certain goals by. So far, the organization of our project planning seems to be going smoothly, and we have a solid idea of what we want to accomplish. Our mission is as follows:

Part of this project involves introducing the building to new and prospective UMW students will likely be the primary audience. Secondary audience will include current students, faculty members, and members of the community. We would like to get a perspective on how the ITCC could potentially use this project, and how we change this project from a niche seminar grade, into a resource for the university as a whole.
For our website to gain publicity, we can partner with Admissions, and have them advertise our website. Additionally, we can share our page through social media, and have people we know share the page. We could also link our site to the official HCC website to gain more traffic. In order to sustain our website, we can hand over our site to admissions or permanent staff of the HCC. They can keep the website updated when it becomes outdated.

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