Embedding a Map and other things

All someone has to say is "extra credit" and suddenly I find myself to be motivated to do almost anything.  It took a little work, but if you create a map with your Picasa web album, you can upload it to websites and, in this case your blogger account.  Here are some of my images and where I took them below.


View Digital History Album Map in a larger map

Another neat trick is that you can take all of those images and embed them as a slideshow as well.  The following are all images which can be found on the map above.

Week Four Digital History Post: Documenting the Present and (hopefully) Preserving it for the Future

Alright, we have a lot of ground to cover this week. As historians struggle to come to grips with what the information age means for their practice, the prospects are both exciting and daunting. A perfect example of this is The Commons on Flikr. Through this new project, Flikr has teamed up with a number of institutions, such as NASA, the Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library (to name just a few) to allow public access to the images stored in these archives. The archives aren't just making themselves available for viewing, however, but are actually allowing visitors to interact with the archives, through the time-honored Flikr tradition of tagging.

An image from Flikr.com 

 

 

 

 

This program really is a unique solution to the problem of collecting history online. The internet allows the archival to become a two way process, with the public being able to actively participate. Many tools, such as blogs, email, and even instant messaging have already come to be in common use. The creation of The Commons signifies the discovery of yet another creative use of the internet to collect archival information. In mining information in this way, it is in effect, as Newsweek puts it “bringing the mountain to Muhammad.” By putting these photos on a site which people visit everyday, they are inserting themselves into people's daily routines. The process is remarkable non-invasive. Many people may not even realize that they are participating. By partnering with an already well-traveled site, ie. Flikr, these institutions are able to create far more traffic for their project than they would have been able to otherwise. The fact that this project has a presence in the real world, through the brick-and-mortar archives which have elected to participate in it, lends it an air of legitimacy that it might otherwise lack. It is a wedding of the popular and academic, in a way that will hopefully make the academic more popular, and vice-versa.

Of course, this is far from being the first attempt at using the interactivity of the internet to collect historical information. Far from it. The accessibility of the internet has allowed all manner of web sites aimed at collecting people's information and stories to pop up. A perfect example of this is the bevy of sites which popped up in the hours and days after the September 11^th attacks. Professionals and amateurs alike set up shop and opened public venues for people to express the experiences and reactions, saving them for others to look at and hopefully even for posterity. Though efforts such as these may seem unconventional, they in fact are operating very closely with the spirit of some of the earliest historians. Heroditus, and Thucydidies after him, sought to document what was happening in the world around them for the benefit of later generations. They not only labored to preserve the past, but the present as well. The internet by its very nature encourages a return to this original focus.

A Polaroid of a floppy disk.  Irony.

The biggest question which haunts us is not whether or not we will be able to collect enough information. It is instead how to preserve it once collected. The medium which Heroditus entrusted his historical record to was, and is, proven to last. While perhaps it may not last forever, time has show that parchment and other more traditional mediums can withstand the test of time. What of the digital medium? When paper technology changes, legacy technologies such as vellum do no simply become unreadable. With digital sources, this is often the case. If you were to come across documents that you had saved on an old floppy disk, how would you access it? Furthermore, how can you be sure that the data on the floppy hasn't been compromised. While time can weather away parts of ancient texts recorded on rock and parchment, other parts still remain for historians to document. In the digital medium, a little damage can compromise an entire work, or even worse, a collection of works. What is to be done? There is no easy answer. If we are to save all of this information collected on sites like The Commons or wherewereyou.org, it is a wrinkle which will need to be ironed out.

Week Three Digital History Post: Dealing with Art, Science, and XML

 HE PRACTICE OF online history can be quite intimidating.  Much as the great painters of the Renaissance, historians who venture into out into the web must be versed in a number of different disciplines.  At the very least they must (as my teacher has repeatedly intoned) know enough to speak with the people who know about these different facets of web-work.  This week's reading began by covering two seemingly different topics, namely how to build a website (making it attractive, functional, etc) and how to build an audience.  Really, the former can be seen as part of the latter.  In both cases you are taking the necessary steps to ensure that people will not only visit your website, but also continue coming back.  To this end, there are numerous concerns which must be taken into account.  As an artist, you must know how to create a website which is visually appealing and doesn't simply drive away visitors within the first 30 seconds.  Though many may argue that historians must hold firm and not acquiesce to concerns of form over substance, there is the very real concern that, as with a cactus in the desert, the prickly exterior will drive off those in need of the life-giving water contained within.

      Another theme covered this week is how to direct people to the information that they need.  Whether you are attempting to funnel traffic to you website so that people can make use of the information that you offer, or you are trying to create ways for them to effectively search your material, making sure that the information your history site offers ends up in the right hands is key.  In both of these cases, one must turn from practicing the art of the web to practicing the science of it.  In particular, allowing people to effectively search through the information that you have if, say, you have a database, can be particularly intimidating.  In my case, I would have to find someone who is well versed in the science behind computers to effectively tackle such a task.  Perhaps in your case, if you are a little more adventurous, you can experiment on your own.  The internet is just like history.  There is always more to learn.

Joining the History Web...

     The time has long since passed when computers used to take up whole rooms, and were only able to run mathematical computations and the like.  While few people have a whole garage that they can devote to storing a computer, everyone has the room on their desk, and even their lap, for a personal computer.  Even more so in the past few years, internet technology and access to it have changed so much that anyone with time and drive can host a web site.  Historians are no exception.  Yet while the technology is available to everyone, this doesn't necessarily mean that everyone should run a website.

     The truth of the matter is that there are steps which need in order to put a web-site together, and those who would run in haphazardly without taking time to consider them will end up being underwhelmed with the end product.  Time must be spent contemplating what kind of content you want to post.  Whether it be images, videos, text, or audio, there are decisions which must be made concerning things like quality and storage.  This being said, a well thought out approach will yield a web site which both impresses and informs.

     Two examples of well thought out websites with history-oriented content are the Center for History and New Media and the Virginia Center for Digital History.  Although both sites are well executed and provide access to reams of content, there are differences between the two.  For lack of a better word, the CHNM site just comes across as being, well, "sleeker".  While the text-heavy content of the VCDN website is a little daunting, the combination of images and links found on the CHNM site is far easier for the viewer to engage with.  While appearance isn't everything, when dealing with the reams of information that the internet presents, it helps make the viewing process far easier and more enjoyable.   

    Once one gets past the initial gloss, both sites show themselves to be great resources for historical information.  Both sites offer numerous links to a number of different kinds of resources.  Both offer resources for K-12 teachers looking to improve their classroom material.  Both sites also offer links to digital collections and exhibits online.  Of course, there are differences in content as well.  For example, the Research + Tools tab on the CHNM homepage offers access the popular Zotero extension for Firefox, links to ongoing digital research projects, and even books made available online in their entirety. 

     If you are thinking of putting together a history website, looking at the competition is a good place to start.  Visit both of the websites, and make sure to take time to explore their links and content.  Both sites are of good quality and present numerous examples of what (and likely some of what not) to do.

Week 1 Digital History Post: As the Past Struggles to Catch Up with the Present

     Thanks for tuning in.  The past couple posts have been warm-ups, but the time has arrived to get down to the nitty-gritty.  This week's blog addresses the topic of what the practice of history can learn from the digital age.  Honestly, it is not simply a matter of "can", but really more one of "must".  The electronic age has altered both the way that information is disseminated and also the way that it is gathered.  As other academic disciplines have surged forward to take advantage of the new digital medium, the practice of history has found itself pulling up the rear.  In academia in particular, the opportunities that the information age offers are being adopted at an alarmingly slow rate.  While computers and the internet offer all sort of new options for those practicing history, it would seem that these purveyors of the past have having difficulty engaging with the present.

     This lack of participation from traditional practitioners of history does not mean that history cannot be found on the web.  On the contrary, the history web has grown by leaps and bounds.  Both entrepreneurs and enthusiasts have rushed into the vacuum, creating numerous sights aimed at bringing historical knowledge to the electronic masses.  Consequently, it is these sites that people visit when the have queries pertaining to history.  This has led to a startling trend.  These sites, often maintained by amateur historians, are more visible and becoming better known than the work of scholars who are experts in the field.  This is the problem that academic historians must confront.  As the digital age continues to unfold, historians must learn how to make their voices heard in this new forum, or risk becoming sidelined by those who have embraced technological advancement.

     It is for these reasons that training of future historians must include this digital element.  Information is useless if no one is able to access it, and this goes for history as well.  Historians must be given a digital tool box and trained in how to properly use its implements.  There are some who have already set out to do so, but they are few in number.  The future of history depends on more of its practitioners joining in the digital age.    

Moving pictures...

Today's assignment was to post videos to the blog, with no mention of subject or content.  It isn't history, but it is entertaining.  If only I could find entertaining history...






Shampou from Damon Stea on Vimeo.

Introductions all around...

Hello.  Seems as though formal introductions are in order, so why don't I go first.  My name is Ian and I'm going to be blogging for the next couple months concerning various items pertaining to history.  This blog is going to be maintained for a digital history, ie., history in the information age, class which I am taking at Eastern Washington University.  I know that this all sounds terribly exciting, as things always tend to when words like "electronic", "internet", and anything with an "e" prefix start getting bandied about.  In fact, in holding with the spirit of our electronic age, digital history in this blog will henceforth be referred to as "ehistory".  Indeed.  If I had a bottle of champagne and something to smash it against, I would christen this, the maiden voyage of my ehistory blog.  Please tune in next time.  Same bat time, same bat channel.