The document provides an overview of Digital Matters Lab and discusses key concepts in digital humanities and best practices for writing online. Some of the main points covered include: - Digital Matters Lab incorporates technology with humanities, arts, and design through research, instruction, and support. - Digital humanities involves computational methods, cultural criticism of technology, digital pedagogy, and digital dissemination. - When writing online, it is important to get to the main point quickly, use concise language, break up long content with headings and lists, and write in an active voice to engage readers. - Copyright and fair use can be complex when using digital materials and attribution practices need to be followed

1. Digital Matters Lab
Rebekah Cummings, Rachel Wittmann
October 2, 2018

2. What is Digital
Matters?
Our unique approach to incorporating
technology and computing with the
Humanities, Arts, and Design.

3.  Research
 Instruction
 Support

4. What Is Digital
Humanities?
1. Computational methods and
tools
2. Cultural criticism of technology.
3. Digital Pedagogy
4. Digital Dissemination

5. Digital
Humanities
Term of convenience to talk
about changes in research
and teaching that have
been opened up by the
affordances of technology.

9. WIXGUIDE for
this class
Go to lib.utah.edu
Click on “Subject Guides”
Search for “Wix”
Click on “UsingWix to Create a
Digital History Project”

10. Writing for
the web
Thanks to Amanda Crittenden for giving me permission to adapt her slides!

11. Online readers
are different
Our brains are conditioned to skip around
when reading online
Online readers have a shortened
attention span and reduced
comprehension.

12. Users won’t read web content unless the text is clear,
the words and sentences are simple, and the
information is easy to understand.
- Jakob Nielson, web usability consultant

13. Guidelines to
EngageOnline
Readers
Get to the point
Edit out unnecessary information
Easy-to-understand language
Avoid jargon, marketese, acronyms, and overly
scholarly language
Writing online is visual – utilize white space and
keep paragraphs short.

14. MakeContent
scannable
Front-load content: Put most important
information in the first sentence or heading.
Since readers scan web pages, each sentence
should be able to stand alone and provide
information.
Use contextual links - don’t say “Click here”
or show full web addresses.
Use headings and bullets to break up long
content

15. Use active
voice
Snape killed Dumbledore.
Dumbledore was killed by Snape.
Dumbledore was killed.
Subject – verb – object makes for
stronger writing!

16. Summary of
Important
points
Keep content as concise as possible.
Use headings to break up long content.
Use bulleted lists to break up heavy
content.
Write in an active voice.

17. Copyright

18. Copyright = Bundle of Rights
Right to reproduce
Right to derivative works
Right to distribute copies
Right to perform the work publicly
Right to display

19. Copyright is
tricky
 Published before 1923 = Public Domain
 Published before 1963 without copyright
renewal = Public Domain
 Published before 1977 w/o visible copyright
notice = Public Domain
 Unpublished works – 70 years after death of the
author
 Anonymous, unpublished works = 120 years
from date of creation
 Government docs = Public Domain

20. Metadata helps,
but not always
Beach, Kalpana, Hawaii, 1926
U of U Digital Collections
Published in 1926
Metadata says “Copyright not
evaluated”
Can you use this?

21. FairUse
Purpose and character
Nature of the copyrighted
work
Amount and substantiality
Effect on the market

22. All Rights
Reserved All Rights Reserved

23. Extra Layer =
Scholarly
Attribution
Regardless of copyright
status, you still need to
give scholarly attribution.

24. Giving
Attribution

25. Citing Images
in MLA in a
bibliography
 Provide the artist's name, the work of art italicized, the
date of creation, the institution and city where the
work is housed. Follow this initial entry with the name
of the Website in italics, and the date of access.
 Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of
Modern Art, NewYork. The Artchive,
www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine
.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

26. At a minimum
 Link back to the
original work
 Give credit to the
image creator or
institution that made
the image available.
 Follow attribution
instructions provided
by the source.

27. Letting
someone else
use your work
Copyright Ownership U Policy 7-003
Section 2.C Students
“[…] students are the Owners of the copyright of
Works for which academic credit is received,
including theses, dissertations, scholarly
publications, texts, pedagogical materials or
other materials”

28. What If you
want people to
be able to use
or share your
work?