When it comes to the blending of digital and physical in the realm of history, I prefer to focus on not what are we doing today, like the digitization of documents or the running of a website, but on where we will be moving forward towards. Then coupling that with the best way to involve the public and you really find yourself more into the sphere of experience design (not UX design) and telling the story of a location or exhibit. I guess I operate on the notion that every single historic document should be scanned, available online, and searchable is basic fact and therefore not something we need to discuss.
The developments of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will really be the next steps of bringing history to life. Embracing the technological advances will allow museums to fully immerse visitors in an experience, to thoroughly encapsulate them in a moment in time.
A historic house museum could have VR tours of the house in different decades without having to physically change their furnishing plan. Then using a 3D printer, they could even replicate some items for guests to interact with. Or even an AR filter in their app which lets you see different interpretations, whether it be different decades or something as simple as seasons, on your phone screen while retaining their basic house interpretation in reality.
This of course means investing in tech far more difficult to use that the basic blog and website, which may prove to be costly in the short term. Never mind the fact that far too many museums and historic sites have difficulty maintaining a website. There may even be backlash from the notion of museums becoming more of an educational for of entertainment.
The notes for this week discuss the differences between handling an actual old piece of parchment versus reading it scanned vs reading it transcribed and the emotional differences, but what if that original piece of parchment was recreated? There would be no worry about the loss of an artifact and then museum visitors could get the full experience. This of course would be more meaning full with an object like a Viking shield or Roman helmet.
Mostly the use of VR and AR has been segregated to the realm of just entertainment and gaming. But the idea of a game does not have to be something devoid of learning, nor is entertainment bad.
The VR Titanic kickstarter is a example of the real-nonreal. It proposes to allow people the experience to explore the ship while it sails as well as the experience of the ships demise.
A common theme currently is diving or deep sea VR adventures as there are at least two I am aware of: UnderCurrent and World of Diving. I've actually played World of Diving and is is absolutely fascinating, as I am sure the others are as well. It was my first VR experience at the VALA Eastside art gallery in Seattle, and what really had me interested is the fact that they had mapped specific oceans, down to some of the artifacts that could be found around plane wrecks. Just think of the archeological possibilities! How students can be trained for underwater salvages, how to explore wrecks after they have been recovered, or if combined with more science, recreate the decay process of the artifacts.
The Real NonReal can easily be seen in the viewing of any kind of
painting. You can see Titian's online all day, but nothing compares to
standing in front of one of his giant paintings. Like seeing a Monet,
Manet, or any of the Impressionists really. The sheer size and the
vibrance of colors cannot be understood from a computer screen. And
while these may not be considered local references, the basic idea can
be applied to any and every item.
There are just so many possibilities if the real and non-real are allowed to exist together for they both have their place and uses.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Unit 9: Final Project Proposal
For the final project I have decide to research Victorian Spiritualism in America and build a multipage website using Weebly or Wix. While the website will be touching on the societal sand historical aspects, the focus will be on the mediums themselves. Ideally I will be able to find primary source advertisements from the Balch Library archives and the Library of Congress to name a few.
Most of the secondary source websites fall into two different categories of being either a wall of text, or being so heavily biased on the subject matter. The goal will be to try and present the information as impartially as possible. And that does mean researching some of the mechanical engineering which went into rigging a room for a false seance.
A stretch goal, which will most likely not happen due to time restraints, would be to build a playable experience of a Victorian seance. The user would be able to select playing through as a medium, a guest or as a spirit and make choices to influence how the seance goes and the beliefs of all other parties involved. It would be a single player game, though it has the possibility to have multiple players filling the different roles.
The game would be built using a program called Unity and with a plugin called Fungus which is primarily used to make games that play like a dating simulator, or a choose your own adventure. While I do not have much experience myself using those tools, I do make the artwork for type of game and have access to people who do. The game's artwork would require a different set of research to build upon the spiritualism research, mainly interior decorating trends and specific fashion choices.
Other ideas for this project:
Most of the secondary source websites fall into two different categories of being either a wall of text, or being so heavily biased on the subject matter. The goal will be to try and present the information as impartially as possible. And that does mean researching some of the mechanical engineering which went into rigging a room for a false seance.
A stretch goal, which will most likely not happen due to time restraints, would be to build a playable experience of a Victorian seance. The user would be able to select playing through as a medium, a guest or as a spirit and make choices to influence how the seance goes and the beliefs of all other parties involved. It would be a single player game, though it has the possibility to have multiple players filling the different roles.
The game would be built using a program called Unity and with a plugin called Fungus which is primarily used to make games that play like a dating simulator, or a choose your own adventure. While I do not have much experience myself using those tools, I do make the artwork for type of game and have access to people who do. The game's artwork would require a different set of research to build upon the spiritualism research, mainly interior decorating trends and specific fashion choices.
Other ideas for this project:
- John Poultney Mill- using research from a previous class, presenting information about a small mill which was operational for only 2 years and exploring its connection to Noland's ferry. Research would have been continued to follow the property through the years. Most of the images would be historic maps, and GIS overlays as well as diagrams of how the mill was most likely made
- Manners of Colonial America- exploring the social nuances of the time period based on location, social class, and company. Information would be presented as a webpage with different pages for each social class. its crowning glory would be a playable game where a player uses the social graces they have learned to survive social situations. The first chapter would have been surviving a tea party, and there would be an option of playing as either the host or as a guest.
This would have been a first installment of exploring the cultures of America. The overarching idea would be to see how different cultures have influenced what we think of as "American" today. So there would be research required on immigration numbers, and then each chapter would be made corresponding to the incoming populations' previous country. The ending question of every chapter would be something along the lines of "Does your family do something like this?" - American illustrators of the Golden Age- while there are plenty of pages like this, they are mainly focused on the art only. This would be a combination of history and art.
- Magical Elixirs: Collection Exploring the Quack medicine of the Victorian Age- building a gallery of the advertisements, possibly tracking where the ads were by location, seeing if there is any patterning. Basic historical research on the time period, societal causes to their rise and the ramifications following.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Unit 5: Building a Web Culture
Currently top bar navigation has become a standard piece of web design, as it is seen on a majority of this week's websites, regardless of how the rest of the pages are laid out. This style of navigation can very easily to converted to a mobile version, condensing all the navigation buttons into a drop down menu. Another common
The pages are set with a high contrast between the text and the background colors for maximum readability. With the exception of Kuler, its a dark text on a light colored background, which is very easy of the eyes. Light text on a dark background, while it has strong contrast, can be very tiring on the eyes.
99designs. com addresses some very basic design concepts which work for both web and print design. And I have lots of feelings about design and design elements so I will elaborate a bit more about a few of their key principles.
- Using a grid is a great way to create unity on all of your websites' different pages, and then breaking your grid is an effective way to call attention to a certain element. Though you will not have to worry about setting up or selecting a grid if you use a service like Blogger or Weebly which offers templates. Then it becomes a matter of selecting a template which has the grid system built into it. In those instances, to break the grid would require coding knowledge.
- Visual hierarchy is a very important design element which combines other design elements like shape, value, and spacing to name a few. This is used in logo design, print, cinematography to name a few. What 99design focused on was the hierarchy within a single page.
- Web-safe fonts as something to look out for has become a bit of an archaic practice, as the article has noted. Most the fonts designed now are web-safe. Now when choosing fonts the thing to look out for, much like with images, is the copyright information. Many fonts will be free for non-commercial use, but its something to be a aware of. When pairing fonts, usually a serif and sans serif are used together, which creates nice contrast.
- Image and color are oddly paired together. The location of where images are placed should be a part of your grid system and should work in tandem with the placement of text blocks. Color is a difficult thing, as every screen will show colors differently and there are certain colors which just do not work for the web.
For the final project, I will most likely be using a simple web tool like Weebly or Wix to create the website and accompanying pages. They offer well designed solutions which offer many customization options. I have previously built a website using Dreamweaver using a web space account, and I found my lack of programing and coding knowledge to be a hindrance. With either Wix or Weebly, I will be able to create a more professional design with a lot less frustration and a lot less time (which seems to be of the essence as this is only an 8 week long course).
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Unit 7: Copyright and the Web
When it comes to copyright laws, I am most familiar with Intellectual Property rights from the side of a creator. As an artist, whenever you post artwork online you are opening yourself up to the possibility of the image being stolen, reposted, and sold by another party. And it happens all the time. And now this seems to be a concept of which historians are now facing in regards to creating their own web pages.
A few key phrases to remember are Creative Commons and Fair Use. With a Creative Commons copyright, the creative work will enter the Public Domain after 14 years unless extended. This allows for the work to be distributed and built upon without charge. In many cases this is only for non-commercial uses.
Fair Use is described as the fluid area of Copyright as it has the guidelines can be interpreted on a case by case basis in courts. Generally if it is being used for nonprofit and/or educational uses, if the size of what is being sampled is relatively small and/or not the central message, and will not negatively impact the market of said quoted/sampled items then you are good to use it.
Like when writing a paper, always site your source and link to the original content whenever possible. Give credit where credit is due.
The one thing Rosenzweig and Cohen mention which I disagree with is the idea of not asking creators for permission of the use of their items even if it falls within the Creative Commons. While there is a distinction between asking a large corporation or the rights to use a image clips or music and a an individual, in my experience people do not respond kindly to stumbling upon their work in places they do not expect it to be. That is when cease and desists are sent out, or large fees are charged for usage rights.
This may just be a case of the attitudes in regards to copyright have changed over time.
The Reston Musuem, Loudoun Museum, and Alexandria Archaeology feature a tag line at the bottom of the page with the copyright symbol date of latest update and their name (ex. © 2017 by Reston Historic Trust and Museum). The City of Fairfax has its own page for copyright, but it merely lists the same information as the taglines. Manassas City website has an entire page devoted to accessibility and its copyright information which is very interesting. The Cold War Museum site does not feature and copyright information that I could easily find, but the contact information is listed on every page so interested parties can easily ask.
A few key phrases to remember are Creative Commons and Fair Use. With a Creative Commons copyright, the creative work will enter the Public Domain after 14 years unless extended. This allows for the work to be distributed and built upon without charge. In many cases this is only for non-commercial uses.
Fair Use is described as the fluid area of Copyright as it has the guidelines can be interpreted on a case by case basis in courts. Generally if it is being used for nonprofit and/or educational uses, if the size of what is being sampled is relatively small and/or not the central message, and will not negatively impact the market of said quoted/sampled items then you are good to use it.
Like when writing a paper, always site your source and link to the original content whenever possible. Give credit where credit is due.
The one thing Rosenzweig and Cohen mention which I disagree with is the idea of not asking creators for permission of the use of their items even if it falls within the Creative Commons. While there is a distinction between asking a large corporation or the rights to use a image clips or music and a an individual, in my experience people do not respond kindly to stumbling upon their work in places they do not expect it to be. That is when cease and desists are sent out, or large fees are charged for usage rights.
This may just be a case of the attitudes in regards to copyright have changed over time.
The Reston Musuem, Loudoun Museum, and Alexandria Archaeology feature a tag line at the bottom of the page with the copyright symbol date of latest update and their name (ex. © 2017 by Reston Historic Trust and Museum). The City of Fairfax has its own page for copyright, but it merely lists the same information as the taglines. Manassas City website has an entire page devoted to accessibility and its copyright information which is very interesting. The Cold War Museum site does not feature and copyright information that I could easily find, but the contact information is listed on every page so interested parties can easily ask.
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Unit 4: The Evolution of the Digital Web
For Unit 4's post, we were to sort a series of digital history web
pages into chronological order and comment on the varying levels of
sophistication and design. And then my computer decided that was not
going to happen. It took a while to get back up and running, but here we
are.
Let race to catch up begin.
Chronological order with commentary
-The Valley of the Shadow - While the landing page and font choices show that this is an older web page, it does not betray how truly old it is. The first version of the web page was launched in 1993, with the most recent update being dated to 2009. Its absolutely fascinating seeing a web page so old still being used to day, and the web page navigation is very unique. And even with its interesting design choices, the design/navigation does not take away from the ability to fulfill its primary function as a resource page.
-Library Of Congress - The design has most certainly been updated many times since its initial release, Library of Congress began its web adventures in 1994. While the design is very simple, it's main goal is to function as a research tool. And it is very successful at that.
-Dickinson Electronic Archive - This page was originally launched in 1994 and according to the web page, updated until 2012. And its looks really slick until you start having to click multiple times to get to information. This was a rare occasion of form over function.
-Romantic Circles - This page uses a very simple layout, very common in the basic blog templates (much like this one). It functions and is neither offensive nor very appealing; but it is a reference page so function does rule over form. It was launched in 1996.
-Amiens Cathedral Project - I had originally thought this page was much younger than it was, and then after some exploration it becomes apparent that this is almost a glorified image gallery. But the image gallery is thorough, though a little odd to navigate. The images could really use an update in image quality.
-Life Outtacontext - Launched in 1999, this looks and feels like a personal blog. It resizes well and works on mobile, which is a struggle in this day and age.
-In Our Path - While this page was made by the same person as Life Outtacontext and is also a blog, it feels clunkier and with navigational issues. The large upper image of the street sign should be a button to redirect to the home page. The About, Alternate Routes, and Contact are not the most important bits of information yet are featured in the top navigation. I will assume it was also launched around 1999.
-Hawthorne in Salem - The website was last updated in May of 2017 and was made available to the public in 2002. The page layout is very simple yet functional, a common theme among pages which want to focus on the research. Though it could use some sprucing up as the graphics are very early 2000s and the images can now be displayed at much higher resolutions.
-Persepolis 3D - Its first update was released in 2003 with the most recent dating to April of 2008. the landing page holds great promise, but after clicking through its age becomes glaringly apparent. The entire website does not handle resizing well. If updated, it could be amazing.
-Lascaux Caves - This page presents a very interesting way to explore the caves. The 3D graphics and use of Flash are the main pieces hinting at how old this web page is. As a side note, installing the latest version of Flash to view with site is what made my computer very angry, and now it still won't load the Flash version of the site. Luckily this is a page I have visited numerous times before.
-Eye Level - The first post dates back to September of 2005, so it is a safe assumption that the blog was created in the safe time frame. The web page uses a very standard blog template which is functional, yet nothing impressive.
-The Hurricane Digital Memory Bank - The page was launched in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina and Rita, though the name is a bit misleading unless the goal is to incorporate other natural disasters as they happen. It is well designed and easy to use.
-Digital Karnak - While the copyright date at the bottom of the page reads 2008, the design and the presentation of information is great. The main place it shows its age is in its use of Quick Time video player, and how it automatically downloaded the video instead of playing it directly from the web page.
-The Avalon Project - Another simple design geared towards research. It functions, and suits its purpose. The copyright date is listed as 2008.
- April 16 Archive - Another page which feels very cookie cutter. It works, but its not amazing.
-Oyez - While I am sure this page is older than it seems, it is well designed for its primary function. It does not require too much clicking to reach pertinent information.
-Shenandoah At War - While there may have been an earlier version of this website before, the date of copyright date of 2017 coincides with the design/layout choices. The large scrolling pseudo landing page functions very well on tablets and mobile devices. It will be very interesting to see how this style of page is viewed in 5 or so years. Its a popular style that aligns with today's design trends, and can be easily made with website builder templates.
-Hallowed Ground - Another well designed site with very modern sensibilities. It is a bit more traditional than Shenandoah At War, as it feels more like a website less like a mobile site. Again, its copyright date is 2017.
There are very definite web design trends which appear, but over all most of these pages prefer function over form. They tend to focus on communicating the information, but not worrying too much about the medium, relying on the traditional usage of text.
Mount Vernon's website is very nice, and has many similarities to Hallowed Ground design wise. Another local historic website which is well designed by today's standards is the Loudoun County Museum website. They both convey information about the museums in relation to visiting hours and to the history.
Let race to catch up begin.
Chronological order with commentary
-The Valley of the Shadow - While the landing page and font choices show that this is an older web page, it does not betray how truly old it is. The first version of the web page was launched in 1993, with the most recent update being dated to 2009. Its absolutely fascinating seeing a web page so old still being used to day, and the web page navigation is very unique. And even with its interesting design choices, the design/navigation does not take away from the ability to fulfill its primary function as a resource page.
-Library Of Congress - The design has most certainly been updated many times since its initial release, Library of Congress began its web adventures in 1994. While the design is very simple, it's main goal is to function as a research tool. And it is very successful at that.
-Dickinson Electronic Archive - This page was originally launched in 1994 and according to the web page, updated until 2012. And its looks really slick until you start having to click multiple times to get to information. This was a rare occasion of form over function.
-Romantic Circles - This page uses a very simple layout, very common in the basic blog templates (much like this one). It functions and is neither offensive nor very appealing; but it is a reference page so function does rule over form. It was launched in 1996.
-Amiens Cathedral Project - I had originally thought this page was much younger than it was, and then after some exploration it becomes apparent that this is almost a glorified image gallery. But the image gallery is thorough, though a little odd to navigate. The images could really use an update in image quality.
-Life Outtacontext - Launched in 1999, this looks and feels like a personal blog. It resizes well and works on mobile, which is a struggle in this day and age.
-In Our Path - While this page was made by the same person as Life Outtacontext and is also a blog, it feels clunkier and with navigational issues. The large upper image of the street sign should be a button to redirect to the home page. The About, Alternate Routes, and Contact are not the most important bits of information yet are featured in the top navigation. I will assume it was also launched around 1999.
-Hawthorne in Salem - The website was last updated in May of 2017 and was made available to the public in 2002. The page layout is very simple yet functional, a common theme among pages which want to focus on the research. Though it could use some sprucing up as the graphics are very early 2000s and the images can now be displayed at much higher resolutions.
-Persepolis 3D - Its first update was released in 2003 with the most recent dating to April of 2008. the landing page holds great promise, but after clicking through its age becomes glaringly apparent. The entire website does not handle resizing well. If updated, it could be amazing.
-Lascaux Caves - This page presents a very interesting way to explore the caves. The 3D graphics and use of Flash are the main pieces hinting at how old this web page is. As a side note, installing the latest version of Flash to view with site is what made my computer very angry, and now it still won't load the Flash version of the site. Luckily this is a page I have visited numerous times before.
-Eye Level - The first post dates back to September of 2005, so it is a safe assumption that the blog was created in the safe time frame. The web page uses a very standard blog template which is functional, yet nothing impressive.
-The Hurricane Digital Memory Bank - The page was launched in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina and Rita, though the name is a bit misleading unless the goal is to incorporate other natural disasters as they happen. It is well designed and easy to use.
-Digital Karnak - While the copyright date at the bottom of the page reads 2008, the design and the presentation of information is great. The main place it shows its age is in its use of Quick Time video player, and how it automatically downloaded the video instead of playing it directly from the web page.
-The Avalon Project - Another simple design geared towards research. It functions, and suits its purpose. The copyright date is listed as 2008.
- April 16 Archive - Another page which feels very cookie cutter. It works, but its not amazing.
-Oyez - While I am sure this page is older than it seems, it is well designed for its primary function. It does not require too much clicking to reach pertinent information.
-Shenandoah At War - While there may have been an earlier version of this website before, the date of copyright date of 2017 coincides with the design/layout choices. The large scrolling pseudo landing page functions very well on tablets and mobile devices. It will be very interesting to see how this style of page is viewed in 5 or so years. Its a popular style that aligns with today's design trends, and can be easily made with website builder templates.
-Hallowed Ground - Another well designed site with very modern sensibilities. It is a bit more traditional than Shenandoah At War, as it feels more like a website less like a mobile site. Again, its copyright date is 2017.
There are very definite web design trends which appear, but over all most of these pages prefer function over form. They tend to focus on communicating the information, but not worrying too much about the medium, relying on the traditional usage of text.
Mount Vernon's website is very nice, and has many similarities to Hallowed Ground design wise. Another local historic website which is well designed by today's standards is the Loudoun County Museum website. They both convey information about the museums in relation to visiting hours and to the history.
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