Hi everyone,
I'm going to make my digital story about the UH marching band, relying mainly on the Kristin DeVille interview. : )
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Misc. thoughts
Hey everyone,
Here are some thoughts on a few of the posts I've read.
To Joe: The article you mentioned wherein 2nd graders are using digital storytelling is amazing to me! I would not have thought it would be practical at such a young age but maybe this is just my own bias of being someone not raised with electronic gadgets as a daily part of life. I think the idea is fascinating, though.
To Aimee: It sounds like the interviews went well at the football game. Regarding Welcome Wilson, Sr., I'm glad he is available for a longer interview. I could have come in the morning around 9, or about 5 that day but it sounds like there's already a group together so that is good.
About the Library of Congress Websites: Ah, they are undergoing maintenance at the moment so I will check back later and post.
Here are some thoughts on a few of the posts I've read.
To Joe: The article you mentioned wherein 2nd graders are using digital storytelling is amazing to me! I would not have thought it would be practical at such a young age but maybe this is just my own bias of being someone not raised with electronic gadgets as a daily part of life. I think the idea is fascinating, though.
To Aimee: It sounds like the interviews went well at the football game. Regarding Welcome Wilson, Sr., I'm glad he is available for a longer interview. I could have come in the morning around 9, or about 5 that day but it sounds like there's already a group together so that is good.
About the Library of Congress Websites: Ah, they are undergoing maintenance at the moment so I will check back later and post.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Katie's post and thoughts about digital resources and libraries
Katie, I thought it was interesting that you brought up the idea of uses and practicality of digital history, especially the thought that now there are so many resources--maybe TOO many resources which make it tempting to just grab information here and there and draw quick conclusions. I think the internet in general has made this more of a temptation. I used to work in the genealogy collection at the State Library in Austin. Working there made me realize how quick some people were to go to a website, purposely pick and choose what they wanted to believe, or inadvertently perpetuate false information. What I mean is, often people would come in, find their lineage on an internet site and accept it as fact. It was easy. Maybe this is how some would see digital history--resources made too available for people to pick and choose. I disagree, though. I think digital resources are wonderful because they do save time and money in terms of travel expenses or even access to materials. I think we just have to be careful as we always are in our research. Who is providing the resource. Is the resources being provided in its entirety or in parts? Why or why not?
These thoughts led me to think about the United States Census. People used to spend countless hours looking through book indices or using soundex to find their ancestors. Then it was off to the microfilm cabinets to look at the censuses. Now, sites like Ancestry.com have digitized all these census images providing easy access for those who can access the site via a subscription. So on one hand, these resources are now more accessible to people (those who could not travel to a library in order to look at microfilm), and can be conveniently printed out from one's home computer. However, the State Library's genealogy collection has suffered tremendously in terms of patron loss because of digitized resources so easily accessible elsewhere. This is just something to think about--how digitilization has impacted libraries.
These thoughts led me to think about the United States Census. People used to spend countless hours looking through book indices or using soundex to find their ancestors. Then it was off to the microfilm cabinets to look at the censuses. Now, sites like Ancestry.com have digitized all these census images providing easy access for those who can access the site via a subscription. So on one hand, these resources are now more accessible to people (those who could not travel to a library in order to look at microfilm), and can be conveniently printed out from one's home computer. However, the State Library's genealogy collection has suffered tremendously in terms of patron loss because of digitized resources so easily accessible elsewhere. This is just something to think about--how digitilization has impacted libraries.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Regarding Digital Video:
The first link is from a post made in 2008 by a teacher in the UK.
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=3704
The second link is from an article in JSTOR "OutHistory.org: An Experiment in LGBTQ Community History-Making" which appeared in The Public Historian in 2010.
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uh.edu/stable/pdfplus/10.1525/tph.2010.32.4.96.pdf?acceptTC=true
My 2 Cents:
When I was in high school, I HATED history. It was so boring! Presented in the oft-used manner of a teacher either reading from outdated yellowed notes, or as some kind of mental-marathon memorization exercise, history was horrible. My first year of college was the same: facts and dates, facts and dates. Get a date wrong and miss the question completely.
The breakthrough for me came in my second year of college because I had a professor who actually liked history. One of the things she used at this time which impressed me so much was a large disc (I can't remember what these are called). It was an album sized CD-looking thing which contained photographs of historical people and places. Sometimes she played music for us based around the topic we happened to be studying. This professor made history engaging, which is exactly what the teacher in the first website is talking about.
Now, we have technologically moved so far beyond where we were when I was in school! Using digital history can bring history to life in ways previously unrealized. I think this is important at all levels, but particularly for school-aged students because what they learn in their history classes may well be the only history they ever learn. Digital history provides an interesting way for presentation and can show students that their history (non-elite) is also part of the larger picture.
This is more the theme of the JSTOR article. The LGBTQ community has embraced using digital history in order to preserve and present the history of their own community. Isn't this what public history is all about? In addition to discussing OutHistory.org, the author briefly addressed how digital history relates to public history.
"The National Council on Public History(NCPH) Web site defines public history as the practices through which 'historians and their various publics collaborate in trying to make the past useful to the public.'Digital history projects intended for a broad audience and used outside the traditional classroom fall within this definition of public history, but those that exist solely to help scholars analyze data or undergraduate students prepare for exams do not."
According to the author, "OutHistory.org falls within both
realms of public and digital history as it deploys digital technologies to make
the history of sexuality accessible to a broad public audience, aspires to make
the history of sexuality useful in the present, and engages members of the
public together with academics in the collaborative writing of that history."
The first link is from a post made in 2008 by a teacher in the UK.
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=3704
The second link is from an article in JSTOR "OutHistory.org: An Experiment in LGBTQ Community History-Making" which appeared in The Public Historian in 2010.
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uh.edu/stable/pdfplus/10.1525/tph.2010.32.4.96.pdf?acceptTC=true
My 2 Cents:
When I was in high school, I HATED history. It was so boring! Presented in the oft-used manner of a teacher either reading from outdated yellowed notes, or as some kind of mental-marathon memorization exercise, history was horrible. My first year of college was the same: facts and dates, facts and dates. Get a date wrong and miss the question completely.
The breakthrough for me came in my second year of college because I had a professor who actually liked history. One of the things she used at this time which impressed me so much was a large disc (I can't remember what these are called). It was an album sized CD-looking thing which contained photographs of historical people and places. Sometimes she played music for us based around the topic we happened to be studying. This professor made history engaging, which is exactly what the teacher in the first website is talking about.
Now, we have technologically moved so far beyond where we were when I was in school! Using digital history can bring history to life in ways previously unrealized. I think this is important at all levels, but particularly for school-aged students because what they learn in their history classes may well be the only history they ever learn. Digital history provides an interesting way for presentation and can show students that their history (non-elite) is also part of the larger picture.
This is more the theme of the JSTOR article. The LGBTQ community has embraced using digital history in order to preserve and present the history of their own community. Isn't this what public history is all about? In addition to discussing OutHistory.org, the author briefly addressed how digital history relates to public history.
"The National Council on Public History(NCPH) Web site defines public history as the practices through which 'historians and their various publics collaborate in trying to make the past useful to the public.'Digital history projects intended for a broad audience and used outside the traditional classroom fall within this definition of public history, but those that exist solely to help scholars analyze data or undergraduate students prepare for exams do not."
According to the author, "OutHistory.org falls within both
realms of public and digital history as it deploys digital technologies to make
the history of sexuality accessible to a broad public audience, aspires to make
the history of sexuality useful in the present, and engages members of the
public together with academics in the collaborative writing of that history."
Miscellaneous Digital History Websites (just for fun)
In case anyone is interested, I was looking around at various digital history sites and here are some interesting ones.
The first is the Portal to Texas History which makes available many different materials. I have used this site to look at some of the newspapers from Bartlett, Texas. The Bartlett Tribune was recently digitized (within the last two years) which is wonderful because these papers are not available on microfilm. The Portal to Texas History offers an opportunity to view and search these newspapers.
http://texashistory.unt.edu/
The Texas State Library maintains the 2nd site listed. Texas Heritage Online (THO) includes a compilation of documents, photographs, etc. gathered from various institutions around the state. I did a quick search and the Bartlett, Texas newspaper came up in this database, so I am assuming that some of the UNT collections from above are included in the THO site.
http://texasheritageonline.org/
The next two sites are interest-specific, pertaining to Mexican American history. The second one is pretty cool because it incorporates oral history clips.
http://sites.google.com/site/democracyandeducationorg/chicano-mexican-american-digital-history-project
http://www.farmworkermovement.us/
The first is the Portal to Texas History which makes available many different materials. I have used this site to look at some of the newspapers from Bartlett, Texas. The Bartlett Tribune was recently digitized (within the last two years) which is wonderful because these papers are not available on microfilm. The Portal to Texas History offers an opportunity to view and search these newspapers.
http://texashistory.unt.edu/
The Texas State Library maintains the 2nd site listed. Texas Heritage Online (THO) includes a compilation of documents, photographs, etc. gathered from various institutions around the state. I did a quick search and the Bartlett, Texas newspaper came up in this database, so I am assuming that some of the UNT collections from above are included in the THO site.
http://texasheritageonline.org/
The next two sites are interest-specific, pertaining to Mexican American history. The second one is pretty cool because it incorporates oral history clips.
http://sites.google.com/site/democracyandeducationorg/chicano-mexican-american-digital-history-project
http://www.farmworkermovement.us/
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Help Help
Hi Guys,
I am having a hard time making my way around Blogger. I can read other blogs but I can't comment. I cannot even post a comment on my own blog but somehow I've gotten to this screen so I am running with it!! : ) Also, I don't know how to send out invitations. I apologize for not being so good at this, but I look forward to learning.
Thank you for your comments on my blog. As for talking about band--well, I have a couple of motivations for this one. I have a friend in Killeen who told me he used to attend UH. This friend is in his 70s I suppose, and of course I thought of him when I heard about the assignment.
Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your blogs. You have thought of some very interesting themes.
I am having a hard time making my way around Blogger. I can read other blogs but I can't comment. I cannot even post a comment on my own blog but somehow I've gotten to this screen so I am running with it!! : ) Also, I don't know how to send out invitations. I apologize for not being so good at this, but I look forward to learning.
Thank you for your comments on my blog. As for talking about band--well, I have a couple of motivations for this one. I have a friend in Killeen who told me he used to attend UH. This friend is in his 70s I suppose, and of course I thought of him when I heard about the assignment.
Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your blogs. You have thought of some very interesting themes.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Themes
Looking through the various photographs and thinking about the university, I'd say the three themes that stand out in my mind are:
1. Music. Everyone relates in some way to music and it is often used to define peoples' memories. This might include popular music students listened to, or bands students participated in. (For instance, I saw a group of musicians gathered for Frontier Fiesta).
2. Student Organizations/Extracurricular Activities. Personally, I am interested in the university's marching band (which could have been included under #1) For band members, marching band serves as a pseudo-family while at the university. For spectators, the marching band inspires school spirit. Of course, other organizations fill the same purpose of giving students a feeling of belonging and when we talk with alumni, I'm sure student organizations/extra curricular activities will be prevalent in cherished memories.
3. Multicultural relations. I don't know too much about how race relations played out at this university but I'm guessing they mirrored similar relations off campus: difficulties between Anglos and minorities. More in the present, I wonder how Muslims have fared on campus, particularly after 9/11. Do student relations usually mimick those of the larger city, state, or country? Do they differ?
1. Music. Everyone relates in some way to music and it is often used to define peoples' memories. This might include popular music students listened to, or bands students participated in. (For instance, I saw a group of musicians gathered for Frontier Fiesta).
2. Student Organizations/Extracurricular Activities. Personally, I am interested in the university's marching band (which could have been included under #1) For band members, marching band serves as a pseudo-family while at the university. For spectators, the marching band inspires school spirit. Of course, other organizations fill the same purpose of giving students a feeling of belonging and when we talk with alumni, I'm sure student organizations/extra curricular activities will be prevalent in cherished memories.
3. Multicultural relations. I don't know too much about how race relations played out at this university but I'm guessing they mirrored similar relations off campus: difficulties between Anglos and minorities. More in the present, I wonder how Muslims have fared on campus, particularly after 9/11. Do student relations usually mimick those of the larger city, state, or country? Do they differ?
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