This document provides an overview of Deborah Boyer's approach to teaching digital humanities skills through collaboration between libraries and faculty. Some key points: - The class focuses on both graduate students in history and those from other disciplines, teaching digital skills through group and individual projects with an emphasis on collaboration and experimentation over finished products. - Boyer discusses challenges like ensuring projects don't become too focused on making over theory, or data over interpretation. She also outlines benefits like the interdisciplinary nature and opportunities for outreach. - The document offers guidelines for students to explore tools and ideas, learn from others, and make mistakes, as well as resources for doing so. - Boyer describes integrating both theory

1. Building Together - Teaching Technical Skills
through Library and Faculty Collaboration
Deborah Boyer
deborah.boyer@villanova.edu
@debsting
Photo from PhillyHistory.org, 1959.

2. *
Background
• Digital history at Villanova and Temple
• Graduate student, 2-3 hour, seminar classes
• Not all students are historians
• Taught with a public history slant
• Both group and individual projects
• Focus on collaboration and technical
experimentation as more important than final
product

3. Nothing but a fad
A set of
methodologies
The use of digital tools for
humanities research
Just a construct
Humanistic inquiry using
digital technology
An interdisciplinary
community of practice
A current term that will soon be
just how we refer to the
humanities
A big tent where all are welcome
The research we’ve
always done just
with faster tools
A brand new field

4. Provide new ways to
Access Resources
Philadelphia City Archives
Photo by Deb Boyer

5. New methods for
Historical Analysis and
Sharing DataVisualizing Emancipation
http://dsl.richmond.edu/emanci
pation/

6. Explore connections with
New Audiences and
New Media
The Ward - www.dubois-theward.org/

7. Key Debates
• Too focused on doing/making at the expense of
theory and criticism (more hack, less yack)
• Overly obsessed with data at the expense of
interpretation
• Elitist, opportunistic, and self-aggrandizing
• A place to escape - DHPoco (Postcolonial Digital
Humanities) - http://dhpoco.org/

8. (My) Benefits of DH
• Interdisciplinary
• Encourages experimentation
• Collaborative
• Promotes discussion and outreach
with diverse audiences
• Provides opportunities for multiple
forms of narrative

9. How do we support
students in gaining tech
skills and joining the DH
community?
Founders Week – 1908
PhillyHistory.org

10. Three Guidelines
1. Explore tools and ideas
2. Learn from others
3. Make mistakes and try again

11. Online Resources
• Bamboo DiRT - http://dirt.projectbamboo.org/
• Intro to Digital Humanities - UCLA
• “Getting Started in the Digital Humanities” – Lisa Spiro
• “How Did They Make That?” – Miriam Posner
• A Short Guide to the Digital Humanities
• “Tales of an Indiscriminate Tool Adopter,” – Michelle Moravec
• Lynda.com, open source tutorials, MOOCs, etc

12. Teaching Tech in the
DH Classroom
Typing Class – 1928
PhillyHistory.org

13. What do we cover?
• History of DH
• Digitization
• Data Organization
• Digital Preservation
• Online Exhibits
• Blogging
• Citation Software
• Data Visualization
• Topic Modeling
• Mapping
• Spatial Analysis
• Timelines
• Digital Storytelling
• Video
• Audio
• Mobile Apps
• Intellectual Property
• Social Media
• Crowdsourcing
• Gaming
• Evaluation
• Digital Project Management

14. Theory and Practice
Theory
• Background and
development of the
subject area or tool set
(mapping, data viz, etc)
• How used for humanities
research and presentation
• Critical analysis
• Debate and discussion
Practice
• Overview of commonly
used tools
• Demo of one or two
selected tools
• Review other projects
using similar tools
• Practice/lab time
• Assignment?

15. In 15 weeks…..
or maybe 8…
Student Photo – 1913
PhillyHistory.org

16. 69th Street Terminal – 1969
PhillyHistory.org
Not us

17. The Basics
• Assume nothing in terms of technical skills
• Conduct technical skills survey in first class
• No technology for technology’s sake
• Learn from other projects
• Start small and use existing free tools
• Collaborate!!!

18. Intro Tools
• Omeka - http://www.omeka.net/
• Google My Maps-
http://www.google.com/mymaps/
• TimelineJS - http://timeline.knightlab.com/
• JuxtaposeJS -
http://timemapper.okfnlabs.org/
• Voyant Tools - http://voyant-tools.org/
• WordPress – http://www.wordpress.com

19. Working with Digital Primary Sources
• Reading primary
resources in new format
• Options to
participate/crowdsourc
e
• Connect to digital
literacy
• Critique formatting and
analysis
The Ward - http://www.dubois-theward.org/

20. Informal Online Writing

21. Wikipedia
• Discuss collaborative
content creation – who
is writing what
everyone reads?
• Neutral point of view
• Linking to resources
• Wiki formatting
• GLAM:WIKI, Rewriting
Wikipedia, etc

22. Build Something

23. Reviewing Digital Projects
Emigrant City - NYPL
http://emigrantcity.nypl.org/

24. Critiquing Digital Tools
• Find a digital project/website and analyze it like a text,
primary source, etc
• Digital tools (databases, visualizations, maps) are
arguments. What decisions did the creators make?
• Who is the audience? How has the project been
designed or constructed with their needs in mind?
• How could the tool be used differently, improved, or
expanded?

25. Introducing the Library!!
Law Library – 1952
PhillyHistory.org

26. Possibilities
• Collections (Special or Otherwise)
• Data and Digitization
• Hosting and Technical Support
• Technical Office Hours
• Workshops and Events

27. Advice, Experience, Perspective
Safety Sign – 1958
PhillyHistory.org

28. What about resources?
aka time = money
City Fair - 1967

29. Scant Resources
• Recognize the library or other partner has
many competing responsibilities. Their time is
not free, and they are not your minions.
• Specifically discuss a timeline and how to
share tasks
• Be realistic - no is better than maybe

30. What We Built
Photo from Alma Clarke Papers
Bryn Mawr College Special Collections

31. Information Wanted
• Based on historic
newspapers accessed
through the library
• WordPress.com
• Student/teacher led

32. Remembering WWI
• Based on scrapbooks
and other collections
at Villanova and Bryn
Mawr
• Hosted WordPress site
via library
• Student/teacher/librar
y led

33. Well, that didn’t go as
planned…
Collision at Sesquicentennial – 1926
PhillyHistory.org

34. Potential Issues
• Divided student attention
• “That took way longer than expected”
• One semester for a two semester project
• Lab time? What are we - scientists?
• Supporting additional learning opportunities

35. How do we keep on
learning?
Southwark Elementary School - 1912

36. Find Local Resources
• PhillyDH - http://phillydh.org/
• GLAM Café Meetup -
http://www.meetup.com/GLAM-Cafe-
Philadelphia/
• Many, many local tech, geospatial, and design
meetups
• College and library resources

37. Conferences and Workshops
• Alliance of Digital Humanities -
http://adho.org/conference
• Digital Library Forum -
http://www.diglib.org/forums/
• Museums and the Web -
http://www.museumsandtheweb.com/
• Digital Conferences Calendar - http://digital-
conferences-calendar.info/

38. Key Online Publications
• Digital Humanities Now -
http://digitalhumanitiesnow.org/
• Digital Humanities Quarterly -
http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/
• Journal of Digital Humanities -
http://journalofdigitalhumanities.org/
• ProfHacker - http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/

39. Excited? Overwhelmed?
How do you want to collaborate?
Connie Mack Stadium – 1967
PhillyHistory.org