Digital Humanities

a.k.a. WHAT’S WITH ALL THE POWER POINT?!

Because it’s mine, I walk the line

A Glimpse at a Day in the Life of yours truly.

“Wouldn’t it be great if…”

There are millions of ideas for what “should” be online. It is up to you to decide what you will support and what you won’t.

If you decide (or are told) to design the project, start small and assess.

Plan for the big picture and present your findings BEFORE you start implementation.

Big Picture Project Assessment

In perpetuity and beyond or temporary? Temporary:

If a project is for a specific event and will not be maintained beyond that event procedures are different (i.e., generally you might not invest as many resources in it because it is temporary).

If it is temporary, usually basic web design (XHTML/DHTML) with event information. It usually doesn’t take up much server space and does not require as much long term planning. Graphic Design, code, edit content, test, go live.

Big Picture Project Assessment: Long-term sustainability

Identify the scope of the project (what theme, which materials, for what purpose).Select a small portion of material to be

“phase 1” that way you can work out the process and test functionality.

The rest of the materials can be broken up into various phases an added later.

Big Picture Project Assessment: Long-term sustainability

Identify/Specify the audience (which will impact the purpose and procedure)Teaching (what level(s))Scholarly (what field/discipline)Popular/General AudienceSome combination of the above

Big Picture Project Assessment: Long-term sustainability Identify your available resources

Personnel/Partners Archivists/Library Graphic Designers Technologists/Programmers Coders General Counsel (on standby)

Cyberinfrastructure Server space/bandwidth Hardware Software

Financial

Decision time…

Can you create a useful sustainable project with what you have? If yes, proceed to next step. If no, do not pass go until you get the resources

you need. Submit budget with specific items listed in order of

priority to possible funding sources. Caveat: You may be asked to “Make it work,” if so,

proceed to the next step.

The Juggling Act

Will need to work on many fronts at once.

Policies, permissions, and passwords. Set template/design or freedom of design or

freedom if approved? Up the chain (chairs, deans, directors), IP (authors,

agents, forms), and our friend FERPA Clearance (server, online security)

Set meeting with necessary parties.

Know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em. Communication

Explain what you envision Listen to their input/concerns

Negotiation Your goals with theirs if they differ.

Compromise Integrity

Standards Know in advance the things that are non-negotiable

Reality Check

Politics doesn’t exist only in D.C.

Diplomacy isn’t just for International Relations.

Dictatorships (even benevolent ones) are generally bad.

Work Flow

Data capture-- Images (if so, file format, archival copy and web delivery?) Text (if so, how are you getting from page to screen and

what are your editorial principles?) Audio/Video (if so, do you have to convert from analog to

digital, file format, archival copy and web delivery?) Metadata (is it being assigned, if so, what fields will you

use from Dublin Core?) Server side (how much storage do you need, is it

available, do you need streaming video bandwidth, do you need applications, do you need security)?

Work Flow

EncodingXML, XHTML, php? If XML, what and how will text be tagged?Will there be critical apparatus? If so, who

is writing it?Who is doing the encoding and do they

have a tech background, or do they need more extensive training?

Work Flow

DeliveryDesign the user interface If XML, are you delivering in XHTML or

XML? If XHTML, then write the XSL transformation If XML, index for the middleware (may have to

write scripts for this process in Perl or something else)

Process Phase One

It is a good idea for you to process a small portion of the project yourself on a production server (not public)

While you do that, from start to finish, you will need to be writing tech documentation (step-by-step what you did and how) Keep in mind that people learn in different ways--visually,

aurally, hands-on, or a combination of the above. You will need to take this into consideration when you are writing your documentation and while training

Include screen shots and super detailed instructions…just because it’s clear to you, doesn’t mean it will be to others.

Also make sure you document your staged plan and editorial principles and standards.

Test Phase 1

Upload your test project and do quality assurance.

Does it work the way you and your partners want?

Does it look good?Was there something in the process that

could be streamlined?

Train, Delegate, Disseminate, Set Deadlines Set training dates for those that need to be

trained Make sure that your documentation is distributed,

software accessible, and materials to be encoded are available.

Use visual, aural, and hands on to train. Ask trainees to look at and use documentation. Did

they find errors or things are aren’t clear? Fix them.

Divide tasks and delegate to group, make sure that reasonable deadlines are set.

Help Desk, Coach, and Task Master

Make yourself available for questions

Provide additional training if necessary

Keep everyone on deadline

But remember: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”

Indexing Collection and delivery

Gather all of the files into the site Quality Assurance Prepare files for delivery (this may mean hyperlinks,

transforming the files into a web deliverable format, or processing for middleware, it depends)

Test to make sure the site functions properly (and enlist your friends to try and “break” it)

Fix problems (this may send you back many steps if you didn’t catch them earlier)

Go Live & Announce

TAKE FIVE

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A faculty member approaches you and says, I hear you know about web pages, could you help me create a faculty page?

Steps to completion

Have Prof. sign and submit server space request form

Explain the University Relations Template Policy

Ask Professor to generate content

Download template from UR

Set time with Professor to train him to do the HTML himself…this way he can update whenever he feels so moved and you don’t have to maintain the site.

Upload and test

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Some faculty members got together and decided that they wanted to redo the department website. They’ve already spent hours planning and designing on their own. They ask you to help them create the site, but you notice that it’s not according to the UR template. They also want to have student photos, student blogs, and audio/video.

Steps to completion

Explain UR policy: if they want something different from the template, explain they can plead their case to UR

Explain that they made need release forms for all photos, video, audio, blogging (who owns copyright) and FERPA waivers from all students involved

Explain that multimedia files may need to be housed on a different server so that they can be delivered effectively.

Ask them to decide what they would like to do, then proceed in

the same way as the previous scenario.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You get a new job at an under-funded institution of higher education with minimal cyberinfrastructure. They have some really great archival collections that they want to digitize (that’s why you were hired) and they want results… yesterday.

Steps to completion

Follow all the steps of today’s lecture

Remember sourceforge.net, open source applications and digital repositories, as well as “trial offers” (just time them right)

Start writing grants…

Next Week DO THIS, or else….

Read Digitize this book! Pages 39-150

WRITE a 1-2 page summary of the reading (you will turn this in) and bring questions.