citizen archivist project curriculum draft 1

guidebook

Copyright 2010Smallbean Incorporated

515 Beacon StreetBoston, MA 02118 [email protected]

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Table of Contentsintroductionhow to be a citizen archivisthow to use a camerahow to take interesting photoshow to use an audio recorder

Intro

About Asking Questions

scavenger hunthow to use a laptophow to upload & view photoshow to tag photoshow to upload audioadvanced computer lesson: typingadvanced computer lesson: facebookadvanced computer lesson: emailadvanced computer lesson: wikipediasample oral history questionswho should be interviewed?conducting an oral history interviewinterview subject listtransfer data to hard disk

who asks questionsoral history interviewopen questions closed questions

Getting Started

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table of contents

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at the back of the book find: interview name cards and a place to take notes!

Solar Powerusing solar power

Welcome to the Citizen Archivist Project

The Smallbean Citizen Archivist Project teaches technology and computer skills integral for job creation and sustainable economic growth while documenting community life around the world. The Citizen Archivist Project is already active in Tanzania and Boston, USA.

The Smallbean Citizen Archivist Project is launching at four libraries around Kenya this July, including this one! Congratulations. You have been selected to take part in a very important project. Over the next three days you will participate in a training course where you will learn com-puter skills and how to be a Citizen Archivist. In addition to learning photography and interviewing skills, you will learn about Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, Internet browsing, Facebook, and sending and receiving email.

Once trained, Citizen Archivists at the four library sites around Kenya will spend 5 weeks gathering data using the technology provided by Smallbean and Maria’s Libraries. This data includes oral history interviews, photographs and video footage.

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Existing Pictures from Brighton and Tanzania

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photo collage?

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Citizen Archivists participating in the program will gather information in the following areas:• Day to day activities in the library site’s community• Oral histories of key members of the community• Impressions of community members about current and his-torical events (such as Kenyan independence)• Stories that reflect Kenya’s rich tradition of oral storytelling.

Citizen Archivists should conduct oral history interviews in the language that the Archivist feels most comfortable in, including local languages. One of the goals of the project is to collect oral history interviews in as many languages as possible. Smallbean and Maria’s Libraries will assist in the subsequent translation of data collected during the project if necessary.

RESULTS OF THE PROJECTThe results of the Citizen Archivist Project will be displayed in a multimedia format in Boston (United States), Nairobi, and at each library site participating in the project. Additionally, the photographs and oral history interviews collected by the Project will be safely stored in the Smallbean Digital Archive.

MAP

EthiopiaSudan

SomaliaUganda

Tanzania

Busia

Kibera

Elangata Wuas

Lamu

mobileCAP** citizen archivist project

Active Smallbean MobileCAP sites July, 2010

Kenya

intro

Definition: a person who is a member of a community. • What does it mean to be a citizen of your village? What is the best part of your village? What could be better? • What does it mean to be a citizen of Kenya?

• Is it different than being a Citizen of Tanzania? Uganda? The United States?

What does it mean to be a Citizen?

What does it mean to be an Archivist?

Definition: an archivist is a person that keeps a record of things. That remembers things so that people in the future will know what it was like to live in 2010. An archivist can preserve stories in many ways:

• orally

• with a camera

• in books

• on a computer or on the Internet

How to be a Citizen Archivist!

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Citizen Archivists learn technology and computer skills while documenting life in communities around the world through the eyes of local citizens.

What does it mean to be a Citizen Archivist?

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How do youtell a story?

As a Citizen Archivist it’s your job to tell stories.• What is a story?• What happens in a story? • Does a story have to be true?• Where does a story begin? At the beginning? In the middle? At the end?

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lesson one: the Citizen A

rchivist

Everyone has a story to tell. As a Citizen Archivist, it’s your job to collect these stories so that your children and your grandchildren and people in other places can learn from these stories.

What is your story?• What is your name?• What is your tribe?• Why did you volunteer to become a Citizen Archivist?• What do you hope to learn from the pro-gram?• Have you ever used a computer? When? What can you do on a computer?• Have you ever used a camera? What do you know about photography?• Have you ever interviewed someone?

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Cameraflash

USB port

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CameraInstructions for using the camera:

Step 1: Press ON/OFF button

Step 2: Click on the and using the arrows on the Menu/OK buttons, choose the -> click OK button in the middle.

Step 3: To take a picture, make sure that the slider is in the mode -> press the large shutter button on the top of the camera and hold it until the picture is shown on the screen.

Step 4: If you want to make a recording, move the slider to the mode -> press the large shutter button on the top of the camera -> you will see the red sign in the top left corner -> your video is recording -> press the shutter button again when you are finished recording.

Step 5: If you want to view the pictures/videos you have on your camera, move the slider to the mode and use arrows on the Menu/OK button to review the pictures.

Step 6: If you don’t like the picture and you want to delete it, move the slider to the mode -> Use the arrows on the Menu OK button to look through the pictures ->Click on the when you know which picture to delete -> with the same arrows choose “This Image” ->Click Menu/OK

Step 7: Press the ON/OFF button to turn off the camera

Shutter:when pressed will take a photo

On/Off Button:turn camera on/off

on/off shutter

Top

Delete Button: allows you to delete photos Flash Button: provides light in dark environments Slider: choose between taking a photo, video, or viewing your recordings Zoom Button: zoom in and out of a scene

Back

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lesson two: photography

slider

Camera

Batteries: placed inside of the camera to provide energy to power the camera

Memory Card: stores photos you have taken until you move them to a computer

Bottom of camera

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The batteries must be recharged when they run out of energy, just like the battery in your cell phone. The batteries can be recharged using solar power.

When replacing the batteries, you must match the + on the battery with the + on the camera. You must match the - on the battery with the - on the camera.

The memory card can hold a large number of photographs (approxi-mately 500). If you use the camera to take movies, the memory card will be-come full much faster.

When the memory card is full, you will need to delete the photos and movies from the card. Make sure that the photos and movies are uploaded to the computer before deleting the memory card.

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How to takeinteresting photos

The rule of thirds is a well known trick used in photography to create interest in a photo.

It states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. Important elements, such as the subject of the photo, should be placed along these lines or their intersections. It is believed that doing so creates ten-sion, energy and interest in the composition.

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Perspective is another trick used in photography to make photos more interesting. Playing with perspective trans-forms an object and its surrounding area from what the object would look like normally, due to the relative scale of nearby and distant features. Try taking a photograph from a very low angle (perhaps while sitting on the ground). Try taking a photograph from a very high angle (perhaps while standing on a chair).

Rule of Thirds Example

Perspective Example

lesson two: photography

Audio Recorder

AudioRecorder

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Instructions for recording an interview

Step 1: Unlock the recorder by moving the slider up from the mode on the left side of the recorder

Step 2: Press the On button

Step 3: Once “WAIT” is no longer blinking, you are ready to start recording.

Step 4: Press the red rec/book-mark button on the right side of the recorder. You are now recording. You will see a red light on the top of the recorder.

Step 5: When finished with ONE question and the answer as-sociated with it, press the off /stop button on the front of the recorder. When you are ready to ask a new question, repeat Steps 4 and 5.

Step 6: When finished recording, move the slider on the left side of the recorder down towards

Record Button:when pressed will begin recording your interview!

Stop Button:press this button when you are finished with a question. Press the Record Button again before asking a new question.

AudioRecorder

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USB port: connect the recorder to the computer with the USB port to upload interviews you have recorded!

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lesson three: interviewing

Who asks questions?

Citizen Archivists aren’t the only types of people that conduct interviews and ask questions.

Policemen conduct interviews and ask questions.What is an example of a question that a policeman might

ask?

Reporters ask questions every day.What types of questions do reporters ask?

Teachers ask a lot of questions!

During this course you will learn how to ask questions like a

Citizen Archivist. Don’t worry. It will be fun!

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Questions a Citizen Archivist might ask:• What is your name?

• Where do you live?

• Where were you born?

• How many children do you have?

• Where did you go to school?

• What languages do you speak?

• What do you like about your village? What would you improve?

• How have things changed in Kenya since you were a child?

Oral History InterviewCitizen Archivists ask questions as part

of something called an

asking ?s

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Open Questions

Examples:• Why do you live in Boston?

• What do you think of your village?

• How can I get to Mombassa from here?

• Can you describe what it’s like to be a citizen of

Kenya?

• How do you make ugali?

The answer to an open question is really long.

Why open questions are cool:An open question allows the person you’re inter-viewing to think really hard and reflect on their answer. People like to think.

An open question allows you to find out people’s opinions about things. Opinions are interesting and sometimes tell a better story than facts alone.

But be careful: if you ask too many open questions, you’ll be writing notes in your Citizen Archivist notebook until your hand falls off.

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A good Citizen Archivist knows how to ask open questions!

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Closed Questions

A good Citizen Archivist knows how to ask closed questions!

The answer to a closed question is really short.

Examples:• How old are you?

• What is your address?

• Do you like this rice?

• Have you eaten dinner?

• How many children to you have?

Why closed questions are also cool:A closed question can be answered with either a single word or a short phrase.

Closed questions give you facts like where people live or what kind of job they have. Closed questions are easy to answer.

Closed questions let the person asking the ques-tion control the conversation.

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notes:

Green ON = battery fullYellow ON = mediumRed BLINK when battery level low

Solar Panel in sun, Controller in shade

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The MobileCAP runs on solar power. The solar system contains: 1) solar panels; 2) a charge controller; 3) a battery.

solar panel

1. this light is green when the solar panel is getting energy from the sun.

2. these lights indicate battery life.

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batterycomputer

It is very important to keep the solar panel in the sun whenever possible. The charge controller and the battery should remain inside or in the shade.

when connecting the wires between the charge controller and the battery:make sure to connect the red wire to the red port on the charge controller and the + terminal on the batterymake sure to connect the black wire to the black port on the charge controller and - terminal on the battery.

Solar Charge Controller

1) Load battery into charger 2) Plug USB into computer or USB port into charge controller using adapter. 3) If light is blinking slowly, batteries are charging. If light is blinking fast, there is a problem.

USB Battery Charger

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lesson four: solar power

The USB charger charges the batteries used in the cameras and the audio recorders.

notes:

The battery charger charges AA and AAA batteries.

Scavenger HuntWhat is a scavenger hunt?

A scavenger hunt is a great way to practice your new photography and interviewing skills. After the scavenger hunt, we’ll learn to upload the pho-tos and audio files to the computer.

Tasks:

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lesson six: computer basics

mouse track pad

Computer

Vocabulary Definition

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Mouse Skills:Single click - press left button onceDouble click - press left button twice quickly Right click - press right button once

Plug USB port

Headphones

Power USB port

left clickright click

scroll wheel

USB cable

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lesson six: computer basics

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Step 1: Take out the USB camera cord from the storage box.Step 2: Plug the USB side of the cord into the USB port on the side of the computer and the other side into the hole in the bottom of the camera.Step 3: Turn on the camera.Step 4: “Import Pictures and Videos” window will appear on the computer screen. In the box labeled “Tag these pictures (optional)”, type the subject of the photos that you have just taken (example: “Interview subject Martin Mwangi” or “Birth-day party for Omari Mshana”). Single click the import button.

Step 5: Turn off the camera.Step 6: Your pictures will appear on the computer screen, but they will be very small. Double click any of the pictures. The picture will get bigger. Press the blue arrows below the pic-ture to view the other photos you uploaded.Step 7: When finished, single click the red “X” in the upper right corner of the window.

Uploading Photos

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lesson seven: intermediate com

puterViewing your photos on the

computer1) Double Click the “Photographs” icon on the desktop. 2) You will see different folders, each with a different name. Think of this screen as a library. You are looking at shelves of books. Now you must double click on a folder to view the photos inside each folder. Choose a folder and double click.

3) You will see the pictures in the folder. They will be small. Choose a photo and double click. The Windows Photo Viewer will open and the picture will be much bigger. To view dif-ferent photos in the folder, single click the blue arrows at the bottom of the screen. 4) When you are finished viewing the folder, press the red “X” in the upper right corner. 5) If you want to view photos in other folders, repeat steps #3 and #4.

Photo Tagging

Creating a photo tag:1) Double Click on the PhotoTagger icon on computer desktop.2) Make program expand to full window by clicking on middle button in upper right corner.3) Choose photo to tag by clicking on televisions at the top of the program or clicking on a photo.4) Draw a box around something in the photograph by clicking with the left button and holding it down as you draw the box and releasing when the box is complete. If you don’t like your box, simply draw a new one.5) Tag your box by typing using the keyboard. Press the return key when your label is complete. Your tag will appear in the list on the right of the screen.Note: After typing a vowel (a, e, i , o, or u), you can make an accent mark by typing the “tab” key. Keep pressing the “tab” key until you find the accent mark you want.

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Deleting a tagTo view the box you have drawn, click on the tag in the list to the right of the screen. If you wish to delete your tag, right click on the tag and then single click on the box that says “delete”.

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Adding voice to your tag on an Acer Computer:1) Plug the headphones and microphone into the side of the computer. Match the pink plug with the pink hole and the green plug with the green hole. 2) Place the headphones on your head with the microphone close to your mouth.3) Single click on a tag in the list to the right. 4) Single click the red button to the left of the word. You are now recording. Speak the name of the tag.5) Single click the red button to stop recording.6) Single click the green button to play the recording. If you don’t like your recording, repeat steps #4 to #6.

Adding voice to your tag on an HP Computer:1) Plug the headphones into the side of the computer. 2) Place the headphones on your head.3) Single click on a tag in the list to the right. 4) Single click the red button to the left of the word. You are now recording. Speak the name of the tag, be sure to speak close to the computer’s screen.5) Single click the red button to stop recording.6) Single click the green button to play the recording. If you don’t like your recording, repeat steps #4 to #6.

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puter

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Upload Audio to iTunes

click “Artist” to sort

Upload interviews to the computer:

Step 1: Slide open the USB connection at the top of the Audio Recorder.

Step 2: Plug the audio recorder into the USB port on the side of the computer.

Step 3: Open iTunes located on the Desktop (double click on the application).

Step 4: Single click the Artist column. This will organize the interviews.

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Step 5: Go to File -> Add Folder to Library.

Step 6: In the new Window click on RCA-DVR drive (Devices with Removable Storage) on the left side of the screen.

Step 7: Highlight Folder A -> Click on Select folder option at the bottom of the screen.

Step 8: In the newly open iTunes window you will see the new downloaded files at the top of the list.

Step 9: Hold the shift key and single click on all the newly downloaded files. The files will turn a dark color. This is called highlighting.

Step 10: Once the files are highlighted, right click on one of the files. Choose “Get Info” from the menu by left clicking once on it.

Step 11: Click on the “Info” tab at the top of the new win-dow.

Step 12: In the box labeled “Artist”, type the name of the person who was interviewed. Single click OK.

Step 13: Minimize iTunes by pressing the “-” button in the upper right or upper left corner.

Step 14: Click on the Computer icon on the Desktop -> Double click the RCA DVR drive.

Step 15: Right click on folder A -> Choose Delete.

Step 16: Remove the audio recorder from the USB port in the computer.

Notes: (listening to audio files and adding additional info)


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Advanced computer lesson: typing

1) Doubleclick the “TypeFaster - Shortcut” icon on the desktop (it has a big blue T). 2) Click the “New User” button and a box will appear.

3) Type in a username, hit “tab” key, type in a pass-word, hit “tab” key, type in the same password, and hit “enter” key. The original box will return.

4) Type in your username, hit “tab” key, type in your password, and hit “enter.”

5) Read the “TypeFaster Typing Tutor Help” box that ap-pears (don’t worry about the last two sections on differ-ent types of keyboards) then hit “enter” (or click “OK”) to start practicing.

Returning Users:

1) Doubleclick the “TypeFaster - Shortcut” icon on the desktop (it has a big blue T).

2) Type in a username, hit “tab” key, type in a pass-word, and hit “enter” key.

login box

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Advanced computer lesson: Facebook

lesson nine: advanced computer

Notes:

The Smallbean Facebook page

E-mail

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Gmail

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Wikipedia and other web pages

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lesson nine: advanced computer

Notes:

Google

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Sample Oral History Questions

The questions below were created by Smallbean with help from a university professor in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are only suggestions and designed to get you started in thinking about the types of questions that you will ask as a Citizen Archivist. Remember, people will be listening to these interviews that have never been to your vil-lage, so questions and answers that might be very obvious to you, will be very interesting to people that have never visited the village.

Sample Background Questions: 1. What is your name? 2. What is your tribe? 3. When were you born? 4. Where were you born? 5. What languages do you speak? 6. What religion are you? Have you always been this religion? 7. Did you go to school and for how long? 8. Where was the school located? 9. Are you married? If yes, for how long? 10. Do you have any children? How many? How old are they? 11. Do you have any grandchildren? How many? How old are they? 12. What is your job? 13. Where is your house? How long have you lived there? 14. Who do you live with? 15. What is your opinion of the president of Kenya? 16. What is your opinion of President Obama from the United States? 17. How has Kenya changed in your lifetime?

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lesson ten: oral history interviewSample Questions Related to Language:

1. Are people ever treated differently based on the way that they speak? Can you give an example?

2. Can you say something in each of the different languages that you speak? 3. Is there a language that is more popular / more widely spoken in your village? If so, why do you think it is more widely spoken? 4. Do you ever speak different languages / dialects depending on where you are / who you are with? Why / why not?

Sample Questions for Elders: 1. How do you count? Are there different ways to count that you know about? Do younger people count in the same way? 2. How do you tell time? What time is it now? How do you know? 3. What are the seasons in your mother tongue? 4. Can you say the alphabet? 5. Are there any English words that are hard for you to pronounce? 6. Do you remember when the British were here? What was it like? What was it like when Kenya became independent? 7. How is life different today than it was when you were a child?

Questions to prompt different verb tenses: 1. What is a typical day for you? What do you do? 2. What are some of your hopes and dreams? 4. Describe a frightening or exciting memory. How did it make you feel?

Other Questions: 1. What are the different colors? Are these the same colors in the rainbow? 2. Are there any important plants that you use from the village? What are their uses? Who uses them? Who is the plant expert? 3. Where does your tribe originate from? What makes your tribe distinct from other tribes? 4. Can you give an example of local customs or traditions that are unique to your tribe? 5. Are there any customs around the seasons or the weather? 6. Is there anything that you do / say now that you’re grand parents didn’t?

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Potential Interview Subjects

Who should be interviewed?

Name: Notes:1. _____________________ _______________________

2. _____________________ _______________________

3. _____________________ _______________________

4. _____________________ _______________________

5. _____________________ _______________________

6. _____________________ _______________________

7. _____________________ _______________________

8. _____________________ _______________________

9. _____________________ _______________________

10. ____________________ _______________________

11. ____________________ _______________________

12. ____________________ _______________________

13. ____________________ _______________________

14. ____________________ _______________________

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lesson ten: oral history interview

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Conducting an oral history interviewStep 1: Select person to be interviewed.Step 2: Explain the Citizen Archivist Project to the inter-view subject. Explain that it is a project being conducted with Smallbean and Maria’s Libraries. Explain that the results of the project will be displayed at the village library and in Nairobi and in the USA. Explain that the Citizen Archivist Project is run by volunteers and is part of a project to preserve Kenyan culture. Step 3: Ask permission to conduct the interview.Step 4: Write down the date and the interview subject’s name on the interview identification card. Step 5: Have the interview subject hold the card and take a photograph of the interview subject so that the per-son’s name is visible in the photograph. Some people do not like to have their photograph taken. If this is the case, be sure to identify the interview subject at the start of the interview and provide a brief description of them.Step 6: Begin the oral history interview. Remember to record the interview using the audio recorder. Step 7: Take photographs of the interview subject (if they approve) and of the surrounding area. Remember, you are telling a story about the interview subject. Step 8: At the end of the interview, thank the interview subject and provide them with a small gift. Explain that in a few months, they will be able to view their inter-view at the village library or community center. Explain that their interview will also be displayed in Nairobi, the United States and on the Internet.Step 9: Upload your interview data to the computer.


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How to transfer Citizen Archivist data from the computer to the external hard drive. Step 1: Take out the external hard drive and the USB cord from their case.Step 2: Plug the USB side of the cord into the USB port on the side of the computer and the other side into the external hard driveStep 3: Double click the “Computer” icon on the desktopStep 4: Right click on the “Libraries” icon on the list on the left side of the window and choose Copy -> Step 5: Right click on the Expansion drive also contained in the list on the left side of the window (it will likely be labeled E:, F: or G:) -> choose Paste. The computer will now copy all Citizen Archivist data from the computer to the external hard drive.

Note: If you transfer data from the computer that already exists on the external drive, please follow the instructions below:Step 1: Follow the same steps above. A message will appear on the screen that says “Confirm Folder Replace” -> Left click on Yes for “Do you still want to merge this folder?”Step 2: Left click in the box next to the “Do this for all current items” (xxx found) menu at the bottom of the window. Left click “Yes” at the top of the window.Step 3: In the Copy file window that appears, left click in the box next to the “Do this for all current items” (xxx found) menu at the bottom of the window. Step 4: Left click “Copy and Replace” at the top of the window. The computer will now copy all Citizen Archivist data from the com-puter to the external hard drive.

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Questions:

Please contact Smallbean or Maria’s Libraries if you have any questions:

Smallbean:[email protected]

Maria’s Libraries:[email protected]

contact

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Interview Identification CardInterview subject Date

(name)_____________ _______

Interview Identification CardInterview subject Date

(name)_____________ _______

citizen archivist project curriculum draft 1

Documents

citizen archivists

oral history interviews

citizen archivisthow

important project

emailadvanced computer

typingadvanced computer

audioadvanced computer

computer skills integral