ADH 5.0 – Page 17 – Digital History 2016

Creative Uses of the Tools and Review of the Digital History Websites

I have used Omeka before in some of my Art History and History classes and I have found it very useful. Some ideas that could be beneficial to this class are the ability to create online exhibitions using items from collections. For my groups project in particular I think if we used Omeka to create an online exhibition of the Civil War dairies it could be very useful for visitors and researches. The archive of items with metadata would provide transcriptions and metadata for researchers. We could use a tool to make the diaries display although the viewer was looking at a book. We could include maps and timelines of the battles that the solider was in. WordPress can also be used as a platform for online exhibitions with page building and including maps as well as timelines.

When exploring the digital history websites I found that most of them were very easy to navigate which I think is very important for a history website. The Valley of the Shadow website was particularly interesting to navigate because the creators made the site map look like a museum building with multiple rooms for the different topics. Although I find that idea very creative it probably would not work for the civil war diaries project. The French Revolution website seemed useful because of the ability to search and browse through the sources which could be useful for the diary project. However, the site would have been better if the list of images had a thumbnail and not just the title and if when you click on an image it would take you to the information on that work. The models on the Virtual Paul’s Cross Project website were very helpful for figuring out what the event looked like. Perhaps we could create models of the battle that the soldier was in for our project. Imaging the past was very easy to navigate with the large subject headings and the brief summaries of the various parts of the site. But I thought that all though the information was very useful it seemed a bit text heavy. The Molasses Flood website was very creative and the way the images came up when you click on a certain word was great. The only problem was when I brought up the images the screen seemed a little crowded.

Digital History on the Web

The way that Mapping the Republic of Letters was set up worked and was functional. However on their home sit I found it frustrating that their main image could not be zoomed in so that I could make sense of what it was or read the writing of it. The other frustrating point was that many of the links were out of date or nonfunctional in the publications section. The actual case studies though were incredibly interesting. Once I could get the map under the “visualization” button to work I was really impressed with how it plotted the data. Unfortunately my computer had a difficult time loading the visualizations.

I was impressed with the Digital Scholarship Lab’s different mapping projects. Each project was interactive and also presented the data in a cohesive manner. However on one of the projects when I tried to click into a video it immediately magnified to a point that made it unreadable on the screen.

The presentation of the Davis Diaries was an interesting set up. I think it worked well as a way to represent her original writing and the transcriptions. It was easy to navigate and presented a possible alternative way to display a digitized diary.

Digital History is interesting in how it displays many options within each content era without getting too over crowded. Some of the functions could be a tad confusing at first but overall the site was systematic in how it organized materials.

Map Scholar was another intriguing site to explore, mostly that I enjoyed. The only bad part is that when accessing the maps for a moment I thought that there was spam or advertisements on the right part of the screen, however they were actually just a list of resource links. Another issue was that some of the graphics were a tad jarring in their displays. Overall the tools were incredibly interesting.

From looking at these five websites I found that I had a more difficult discerning which platforms each of them ran. More then likely it was that I still do not know what lots of customized Omeka’s look like so I had trouble distinguishing them.

After going through these websites and others that were provided I tried to implement the task of creatively finding different uses for the tools we know. In the case of WordPress there are of course many options and uses that the platform offers. Businesses, communication networks, and research platforms are all potential uses for WordPress. In terms of Zotero I am having difficulty imaging how it operates outside of research and an individual or groups network. The curation of records by a group is as creative as I can currently envision for Zotero. In the case of Omeka, I also had issues trying to come up with creative ideas. I suppose that it could be used to organize visual works for artists or musicians looking for a way to “exhibit” their work in a new way.

Creative tool uses

(First, quick apology, I thought I linked the ADH category so I don’t know why my DGST 101 post appeared when I did not even link it. I’ll look into this later but it may end up reposted to ADH site.)

With various plugins, WordPress can be used as not just a personal reflection, but reflections of other various other things, such as commerce (Amazon or customer feedback) or a blog between many people (like the ADH site). I have never used Omeka before but after looking at the other sites, it looks like it can display timelines and annotations, map to other pages (inside the same domain and other sites such as Youtube), and Omeka sites can play avi files and different kinds of music.

My group will probably make use of the timelines and annotations and our project will probably be very similar to the Emile Davis Diaries site but we will find a way to personalize it and make it our own.

Digital History Websites

Valley of the Shadow:
Pros: Everything is organized very well, there are links all over the site that direct to pages that go more in depth about what was clicked on, and there is a title page detailing what the site is about before actually going into the details.
Cons: Some pages are very long, uninteresting font and no background, there is only one link to the title page but the graphic to the link is deceptively at the top of every page

Map Scholar:
Pros: Posts are organized chronologically and when viewing a post, one can click to the next and previous post. There is a sidebar that (almost) consistently displays the same information
Pro/con: There is an archive organizing every post made but dates are irregular and there may be only one post in one month.
Cons: Links look exactly like the rest of the text (not clear what is a link and what is not), some posts are just pictures with little/no information.

Emile Davies Diaries:
Pros: Every page has the same layout throughout the site, pop-up annotations appear for some additional details, two kinds of menus (drop down and scroll), scrolling menu does not change page, scans of diaries can be enlarged, and while scrolling down page, the menu at top of the screen stays at the top of the screen.
Cons: When “Davis” was searched, the “About this Site” post returned as a result and when clicking to enlarge picture, picture is not enlarged much (but it is good resolution).

Imagining the Past:
Pros: Timeline can be dragged and specific dates can be selected and menus at the top and bottom are consistent throughout the three main sections of the site.
Cons: Wasted white space on the sides (and bottom on some pages), drop down menu has space between options, menu suboptions appear before first option is highlighted, some subsections are completely empty, some pictures are not centered and waste space by all appearing on the left, broken links, the main sections of the sites are not connected to each other except for the home page, and it appears as though each main section was done by a different person and there was no editor to make each section look the same.

Virtual Paul’s Cross Project:
Pros: Everything is organized well, drop down menus are done well and consistent menu/picture at the top of each page.
Cons: Overview starts with a quote while it is not clear that it is a quote (I thought they misspelled “hours”), there is a map that lets me “choose a location” with some amount of people that does not do anything when I click an option, there is an ambient noise page that does not add anything to the site, urls do not show the menu option that was selected, and some links change the current tab while other links open new tabs.

Main takeaways: Consistency is important, annotations help to give additional details/clarification, clearly distinguish links from the rest of text, if something seems irrelevant, keep it out, make things easy for the user, make sure all links work, and display pages and transcription at same time but allow user to see larger picture of page.

Creative Uses For The Tools We Have Learned

We’ve only had three class periods so far, but all of these different tools make me want to go all out on the semester long project. A site like WordPress that is known for blogging could be used for larger projects like hosting tutorials, web comics, podcasts, and other various forms of media. It can even be used for archiving historical artifacts like Omeka, but I’m sure the latter does a better job at it after having the Omeka workshop.

Omeka is rather interesting. I forgot that I already used it in one of my previous Digital Study courses to map out the origin of the parts used to create an iPod. It would be great to do something similar for the HCC/ITCC and show where each material came from, but that would require us to break up the building or just simply find records of the materials they used to track down their origin. Making a timeline showing the creation of a place like the HCC/ITCC or historical events would definitely be great alternative way to use Omeka.

I already knew you could do some pretty cool things with WordPress using HTML and now that I know that you can do the same for Omeka, the possibilities seem endless if you know enough HTML. For example, I could have a WordPress with all of the information and have it link to or merge with an Omeka timeline or map, so everything won’t be as cluttered as it could be.

After looking at the the sites listed on the syllabus, I really like most of them. A few did look a bit outdated, but I really love The Valley of the Shadow site. I can imagine our group creating something similiar, but making it more like a virtual tour to appeal to incoming students. You can have them click a room and bring up an image with and a description of the room and what it could be use. I would personally like our final product to be rather clean and appealing to our audience or just about anyone who comes across the site. The Digital Scholarship Lab site appears to have a nice balance between images and text on the homepage. The site also has soft colors that are easy on the viewer’s eyes as well, so it’s perfect and it’s what I strive for our project to be. Comparing that site to the French Revolution site, the latter looks a bit outdated and a site like Emile Davis Diaries kind of throws you into it immediately instead of slowly working you into the information. Others may find them suitable, but I personally don’t think they would work well for what we envision for our project.

Intro post(?)

This post is being written for my DGST 101 class which wants me to introduce the blog I am using and my home page. As I have been using WordPress for over a year and a half, coupled with the fact that I am using WordPress in other classes at the same time, I will be sticking with it. In order to separate posts for this class from other posts, I have created a separate category for this class.

I have also made a change to the home page so that it now talks about me as opposed to displaying recent posts. I will post more using this category in the future but there is not much else for now.

Blog Post #2 – Creative Uses of Digital Tools and Commentary on Digital History Websites

Questions

1) Some creative uses of the tools we’ve learned about so far. [e.g., how might you use Zotero for something other than citation/research? What could a WordPress blog be used for other than personal reflection? What creative ways can you think of to use Omeka? How might you use these tools in combination with each other or with others you’ve used outside of class. [Be playful with your ideas here.]]

A good use for Zotero that I have found is that it is easy to share your research and your citations by exporting and importing them. I think this function could serve well on a project’s cite by including the download link of the citations you have accumulated during your research. Obviously, this feature would not replace a “Bibliography” or “Works Cited” page but it could contribute to a more interactive experience as well as allow visitors and other historians to easily access your citations if they use Zotero.

Besides personal reflection in a typical blog like manner, WordPress can be used as a form of an electronic portfolio or resume. It can be used as a single place in which an employer or school admission office can view the projects you have contributed to or writing samples you have written.

Omeka is still a very novel tool to me but I think it lends itself to a more interactive experience which contributes to projects that include more visual items or interactive maps or timelines.

These tools combined can cleanly and effectively layout a portfolio, complete with download links for your Zotero library or a timeline of a college career with works from each year in order to show the progress you have made throughout that timespan.

2) Based on your review of the Digital History websites above: Think about what you like about these websites as a whole, and what you don’t. What works and what doesn’t? What elements would you want to incorporate and which do you want to avoid in your own project?

Links to Example Websites I used

Valley of the Shadow:

Good Things: I like how the initial homepage gives a brief introduction of the whole website before you get into the meat of it all. Also, by clicking a link in order to “enter” the website, it gives the feeling of entering a museum or an exhibit which is a hard thing to capture with a website.

Bad Things: I do not at all like the layout of the navigation page. It is a cluttered web of links that is difficult to read and is hard to focus on what exactly you are clicking on and what you are going to get with each click.

Things I would Incorporate: I would definitely incorporate the home page and its role as a gateway to the website as a whole.

Gilded Age Murder:

Good Things: I really like the “Explore the City” feature and the “Interactive Map” that accompanied it. Being able to click on a building and getting a little bit of history about each one is really cool. The side bar next to the map does a good job of categorizing the buildings based on their function and highlights the corresponding building of buildings depending on what you clicked on.

Bad Things: I am not a big fan of the color scheme used. The brown is too in-your-face and the gold color for the font, although it contrasts well with the brown, is a bit too gimmicky in my opinion.

Things I would Incorporate: Although I would love to incorporate an interactive map of some sort, I am not sure my project caters too much to that and I do not think I have the time nor the technological prowess to accomplish something like this.

University of Houston’s Digital History Site (Omeka):

Good Things: I enjoyed the interactive timeline on the homepage and how the background images on the timeline corresponded to events that were prominent during the time periods that are presented. I also liked the presentation of the subsections below the map. It is spaced very well and lays out in a logical order topics or eras.

Bad Things: The layout of the timeline could be improved upon. Most notably, the font on the y-axis is hard to read because it crunches the font and forces the reader to tilt their head in order to read it.

Things I would Incorporate: I would incorporate the cleanliness of the subsection and its logical manner of laying out the topics and links.

Emile Davis Diaries (Omeka) – Really, really good:

Good Things: I really, really likes the overall layout of this site and I think it can serve as an excellent example for the diary project I am working on. The transcribed text directly next to an image of the actual diary page which can be clicked on and enlarged is perfect. At the top, the numbers are a clean way of showing the page numbers as well as the corresponding dates associated with each diary entry. The search function is also really good and is something that I toyed around with a little to test its functionality. The annotations that are scattered throughout the diary entries also give additional insight into names, dates, etc.

Bad Things: I would personally improve upon the “About this Site” section. The section is a too small for the necessary information for the rest of the site and the only way to expand it is to click the “Read More” link at the end of the paragraph. I think a menu heading detailing more what the project is about would be invaluable.

Things I would Incorporate: I will 100% incorporate the manner in which the transcribed diary entries accompany the actual diary entries and the “Annotations” function used to clarify and expand upon items presented in the entries.

Mapping the Republic of Letters (Omeka):

Good Things: I liked the graphic that accompanied scrolling over the various pictures or menu headings. It gives it a cool feeling and does a better job than just immediately giving whatever you are scrolling over a contrasting background.

Bad Things: This site has a lot wrong with it in my opinion. It takes way too long to load anything even on a top tier desktop. The large map on the homepage does not really serve a purpose. It was the first thing I clicked on when I got to the site. Not only did it stall up my computer for a second, but there is not function of it. The only thing clicking on it does is enlarge the picture but even after that, it is still difficult to read any of the details of the picture. In order to fully read it, you have to open it in another window in order to zoom in on it. This is not something the average computer user will know how to do. I also do not link the font used, both the color and the size. The light gray coupled with the small font makes it extremely difficult and strenuous to read.

Things I would Incorporate: I would like to incorporate the effect that came with scrolling over objects.

Creative Uses of Website Tools

Each website tool can be used creatively, and in ways that may not come to mind immediately. For example, I could see a use for Omeka, other than storage for digital library collections. Omeka was originally built for library and museum professionals to build digital collections, but I think Omeka could be useful for other professionals, such as artists. Artists could use the tool to store and display their artwork as an advertising means. Since the platform does not require much technical experience, an artist would not require a lot of technical skill to use it.

Additionally, if you think want to use multiple platforms to combine into one website, you could link the main site to another site that uses a different tool, but design each platform to look uniform so that a viewer would not recognize a difference. This would give your site more flexibility, considering more tools would be available.

Why I’m taking Digital History

I’m taking this class because I’m currently working on a communication and digital study’s major and this was one of the electives available this semester. In all my classes up to date I have yet to participate in a project like that of our group projects, particularly one involving civil war artifacts and research. I’ve always been interested in learning about new forms of media and how they can be applied to fields like history, the arts, business etc. I’ve also always been very interested in history and the humanities and regret not being able to take more of those types of classes so this class is a welcomed blend of both concentrations. It will also be a nice opportunity to finally apply concepts and digital tools to a project that could potentially be used beyond this class. After I graduate from UMW I am strongly considering grad school for communications, so I’m excited to make the most of any projects this semester that could help my application.

Why did Lila sign up for Hist 427: Digital History?

I signed up for HIST428: Digital History for three specific reasons:

I need to take a 300 or 400 level class for my major requirements in order to graduate this May
After graduating from UMW, I plan to pursue careers in Museum Studies and Library Science. The ability to manipulate digital information and search for data on multiple web based platforms is essential to my development as a professional researcher and curator.
Although I have used DoOO and WordPress for the past three semesters, I am still do not feel confident or comfortable when using them and I would like to become more confident when using them and other digital resources

To expand on reason #3, my relationship with digital technology and with the internet has always been a catch-22. While both digital technology and the internet have noteworthy advantages such as the availability of information and the low cost, both of them have been the source of frustration, confusion stress and anxiety.

In addition to my emotional struggles with digital technology and the internet, the internet in particular has also sparked my intellectual curiosity. I’ve always had questions about the internet that include: how did the internet originate, what was its original purpose, where is the information on the internet physically located(if there is any physical location for the internet at all), how people are able to know where you are and get personal information about you on the internet, why the internet and digital technology always have to be updated, and if there is such thing as a limit for the amount of information that can exist on the internet.