wsu spokane historical talk
TRANSCRIPT
Going Mobile!
Digital Projects in the Classroom and the Community: The Case of SpokaneHistorical.org
Larry CebulaWashington State ArchivesEastern Washington [email protected]
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!
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