wsu spokane historical talk

Going Mobile!

Digital Projects in the Classroom and the Community: The Case of SpokaneHistorical.org

Larry CebulaWashington State ArchivesEastern Washington UniversityLarryCebula@gmail.com

Washington State Digital Archives

Making Student Work Count

Options, Options

• Scvngr• History Pin• FourSquare• Next Exit

History

Curatescape

Advantages of Curatescape

• Branding – have your own app

• Omeka database – own your data

• Repurpose your data• Easy to use• Support community• Plugins – Creative

Commons

Spokane Historical

• Content creation began 2011

• Live April 2012• All content created

by EWU public history students

Initial Content April 2011

Spokane Historical 2016

Traditional Public History Research

• Historic Register Nominations

• Census Records• Newspapers• Sanborn Maps• Oral Histories• Mug Books• Archival Research

Digital Public History Sources

• Google Newspapers• Chronicling America• Digital Archives• Google Books• Archive.org• YouTube• Ancestry.com• Other!

Public History Skills

• Concise story telling• Combining text and

images• Developing series of

stories• Multiple viewpoints

Digital History Skills

• Digital Research• Image Editing• Copyright• Creating Audio• Creating Video• We teach

ourselves

Workflow and Documents

• Spokane Historical Wish List

• Anatomy of a Curatescape Story

• Grading Rubric• Editorial Process• Spokane Historical

Backend

A Place for Student Work

• Intro to Public History• Historic Preservation• Digital History

• Material Culture• Research Methods• American West• Native America

Stories Are Right in Front of You

Tadajiro Muramatsu was born on September 24, 1875 in Ueno village, Nishi-Yatsusiro county, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. For generations, his family engaged in farming. He was easy-going, enjoyed drinking, and had many friends. He loved ancient poems and would recite them when he had been drinking . . . He married a woman from the Aoki family, and they had a boy named Tadao. This tomb was built in his memory and on it, his overall life story was told. January 7, 1919 Tadao built this tomb. 

A few Favorite Spokane Historical Stories

• Washington Street Bridge• Morton School: Memories

of a One-Room Schoolhouse

• Mr. Blanding Builds his Dream House

• Theodore Roosevelt on the Parade Grounds

Spokane Historical Spinoffs

Spokane Historical Spinoffs

• Research that began with SH became published articles

Spokane Historical Spinoffs

Spokane Historical Spinoffs

Ghost Signs of Spokane Walking Tour, 2014

Spokane Historical Spinoffs

Spokane Historical Spinoffs

Spokane Historical Spinoffs

Difficulties and Lessons Learned

• Some students are smarter than others• Copyright and images• Audio and video are challenging• Stops can be built in stages• It takes a village, or at least a team• Promotion is almost another project• Steady funding needed• Huge public interest!

A Few Do-Nots

• Don’t repeat historical errors!• Don’t scrape a database• Don’t be boring• Don’t get stale• Don’t replicate a

paper tour

Other Options for Digital Interpretation

• Google Fusion tables• QR codes +

– Blogger?– Soundcloud?– YouTube?

• Adding content to existing platform– Clio– History Pin

• New options all the time!

Contact Us

Larry Cebula

LarryCebula@Gmail.com

NorthwestHistory.Blogspot.com

SpokaneHistorical.org

How do we tell these stories?

• Maps and Guides

How do we tell these stories?

• Plaques and Monuments

How do we tell these stories?

• Walking Tours

Enter the mobile revolution

There are two platforms

What can you do with mobile interpretation?

• Interpret any site

• Geolocation• Text, images• Copy any

physical interpretation

What else can you do with mobile?

• Multimedia• Oral histories• Low cost per site• Multiple stories per site• Changing interpretation• Partnerships• QR Codes• Web presence

Choices When Going Mobile

• Make your own or join a project?• Who is your audience?• Commercial or non-profit partnerships?• Native app or optimized website?• Multimedia?• Which platforms?• Reuse content or develop fresh?• Images and copyright?

A Few Best Practices

• Own your content• Build a database• Don’t reinvent the wheel• Partner promiscuously• Form an editorial board• Use blogs as rough drafts• Eschew perfection

Spokane Historical