As part of your work for this class, you must complete three (any three) of the technology tutorials linked to below.
As proof of your completion of each tutorial, I have listed a deliverable to be turned in via D2L for each. In some cases, the deliverable will be produced while completing the tutorial. In others, it will be trivial to produce the deliverable once the tutorial is complete. In either case, be sure your deliverable is clearly, identifiably your own unique work.
Choose tutorials that will help you explore tools and methods that you may be interested in pursuing for your final project.
Each tutorial should take roughly 30 minutes to an hour.
- Omeka: Omeka is software for creating digital archives and online exhibits based on digital archives. This tutorial explains the basics of using Omeka. The tutorial asks you to use Omeka.net, and you are free to use a free plan there. I can also give you an account on a the class Omeka sandbox site, if the free Omeka.net plan isn’t to your liking, just email me to ask. DELIVERABLE: Omeka exhibit w/ at least 2 items and full meta-data, and at least one visual customization.
- Voyant: Voyant is a simple distant-reading and text visualization tool. To orient yourself to Voyant, complete the first 7 sections of the Voyant Guides (“Getting Started” through “Stopwords”). DELIVERABLE: Link to at least 2 Voyant visualizations (word cloud, frequency graph, etc) from a custom corpus of at least 2 texts. Open source books from project gutenberg and the internet archive are good text sources.
- Cytoscape: Cytoscape is a tool for drawing network graphs. Miriam Posner, a professor of Digital Humanities at UCLA, composed this awesome tutorial to help students learn to build simple networks using cytoscape. DELIVERABLE: A cytoscape network file for a network graph based on your own, custom edge list (nodes and edges need not be meaningful) with layout and style customization.
- ArcGIS Online: ArcGIS Online is a tool for building digital maps. The tool is much more flexible and powerful than google maps, but also a bit trickier to use. The tutorial provided by the manufacturer does a pretty good job of explaining the basic concepts. DELIVERABLE: A link to your own, custom ArcGIS online map with at least two map layers.
- SSBot: This is a simple tool for building twitter bots using a google spreadsheet (I think the SS in SSBot stands for “spreadsheet”) developed by Digital Humanities professor Zach Whalen. Professor Whalen also posted this neat tutorial showing you how to use the tool. (NOTE: Since Professor Whalen posted this tutorial, twitter has instituted a little more security around bots. You’ll need to complete the “sign up for a developer account” when prompted. Tell twitter you are signing up for educational purposes, and will be building a creative/artistic bot). DELIVERABLE: A link to a functioning twitter bot, posting from your own customized columns/rows or text _ebooks source.
- Meshroom: Meshroom is an open-source application for doing photogrammetry a seemingly magic process for turning a whole bunch of 2d images into a 3d model. You can download the meshroom software for free (select your operating system from the buttons at the bottom of the page to begin your download). NOTE: Not all computers will be able to run meshroom. If your computer won’t run meshroom, or runs it very slowly, I have it installed in the DH lab space in Main Hall. This tutorial covers the basics of creating a 3d model in meshroom. DELIVERABLE: A 3d model of an object from WCU’s campus, generated with Meshroom.
- 3d printing: 3d printers create physical objects in using 3d models. To learn to use the 3d printers on campus, we’ll talk with the student monitors of the library makerspace. To create a printable 3d object, you can use meshroom (listed above) to capture a 3d model of a real object, or Tinkercad to build from scratch (you can join my tinkercad “classroom” to try it for free, use code 6WQQQMWEP9YG) DELIVERABLE: 3d printed object, given to me in class!
- Arduino: The Arduino is a hobby microcontroller, a simple computer designed to interact with real-world objects like lights and motors. Artists and humanists use arduinos to build interactive displays, sculptures and more. Playing with Arduinos can be a fun way to start learning about computer programming. NOTE: If you are interested in trying out the Arduino, ask me to borrow the necessary parts (I have enough to supply 4 students at a time) and follow Lesson 0 and Lesson 1 of the Adafruit Arduino tutorials. DELIVERABLE: Functioning arduino-powered blinking LED, delivered to me in class (I will then, sadly, disassemble it so other students can use the parts).
- Python Fundamentals: (NOTE: If you choose to complete this option, I will count it as TWO of your three tutorials) Python is a programming language and “learning to code” is a complex skill beyond the scope of this course. However, trying out a little bit of python can give non-coders the ability to modify python scripts written by others to suit their own needs (I am happy to let you re-use and modify my own DH python scripts, and many others are available). Those who have some code experience may find exposure to python valuable, as its one of the more common languages employed by the digital humanities. Complete the first module of the free python course: “Python Syntax” (“Hello World” through “Value Error”). DELIVERABLE: A link to or screenshot of your Code Academy page showing completion of the module of the python course listed.
- Intro to HTML: (NOTE: to be really useful, this is probably best combined with the intro to CSS tutorial below) While most web composition today is done in content mangers like WordPress (see below), an understanding of HTML, the basic markup language behind the entire web, can still be useful. This tutorial takes you through the process of building an HTML page from scratch. Use your own favorite recipe in place of the Pasta Carbonara recipe displayed on the slides to create your deliverable as you go. DELIVERABLE: HTML file containing an appropriately tagged version of your favorite recipe.
- Intro to CSS: Tutorial Coming soon!
- WordPress: WordPress is a web application for creating and displaying web pages and blog posts, sometimes called a content management system. WordPress runs our class blog site, and about 30% of the web! To try out wordpress, ask me to set you up with a wordpress test site, and then follow the First Steps with WordPress tutorial here. DELIVERABLE: WordPress test site with one test page and a custom theme.
- Twine: Twine is a tool for creating interactive fiction/games. You can download Twine 2 here. This straightforward tutorial takes you through the basics of building a project in Twine. DELIVERABLE: A simple twine game with at least 3 scenes and 2 links.
- Omeka Neatline: This is a plugin for Omeka (see above) that allows for the creation of map-based exhibits of artifacts in a digital archive. To try out Omeka neatline, you can use the class Omeka sandbox (email me to ask for an account). Use the Omeka neatline tutorial to get yourself oriented to using Neatline (start with “Exhibits Overview” and work at least through “map based exhibits”) DELIVERABLE: Map-based neatline exhibit with at least two artifacts
- Palladio: Palladio is a web-based mapping an visualization tool built by Stanford’s DH lab. Miriam Posner has a good tutorial on getting started in Palladio. DELIVERABLE: At least 2 static images of a Palladio-based visualization/map.
