Links of the week – my summer digital humanities project
My apologies for the lack of content on the site last week. Last week my ESL summer camp on digital literacy devoured the majority of my free time and motivation. On the whole I feel that my summer camp was a success. If I were to do it again, I’d rethink a lot of what I did with my grade 3/4 students because I feel the camp was slightly too complex for them. Look for a slew of posts about the summer camp this week including photos, videos, and teaching materials.
Now that my camp is over, it’s time for summer vacation. Beth and I have two weeks off from school and we’re looking forward to a break. We’re planning to devote one week to road-tripping across Korea in our car and one week to staying at home and working on our ever-expanding list of projects, chores, and responsibilities.
With my free time I want to jump into a digital humanities program. It’s time to stop yacking and start hacking.
I’ve written about this project in the past and I’m excited to finally have the time to work on it. My goal is to visualize locations mentioned in Middle English Romance creating a map of Middle English Romance.
After doing some preliminary research it looks like I’ll only have time to map two or three Romances. I intend to start with the romance Bevis of Hampton. In addition to being one of my favorite romances Bevis of Hampton covers a great distance of geography, ranging from England to the Middle East. It should make for an interesting starting point.
This week’s edition of “Links of the week” is devoted to the links and tools that will make my summer digital humanities project possible. Let’s get started.
1. Neatline - Neatline is a set of tools for Omeka that allows anyone to make interactive timelines and maps. Neatline will allow me to create my map of Middle English Romance. One thing I especially like about Neatline is that it recognizes that maps and timelines aren’t always 100% accurate. The program gives users tools to acknowledge when the data they are visualizing has a margin for error. If you’d like to try Neatline, they have a fantastic browse-based sandbox to explore.
2. TEAMS Middle English Text Series – If you’re interested in Middle English Romance this site is a great place to start. It contains editions, introductions, and notes for dozens of different Middle English texts.
3. Once Upon a Place: Telling Stories With Maps – A great article on The Atlantic about Neatline. The article argues that maps are not neutral, they are filled with nuance, uncertainty, and hidden meaning. Neatline hopes to give scholars the ability to capture the nuance of maps, bringing subtly to data visualization.
4. DEVONAgent Pro – When I recently decided to buy my first Mac, DEVONAgent Pro was one of the deciding factors. This OSX exclusive program allows users to create personalized meta search engines, maximizing research potential. I’ve read nothing but rave reviews for this program and from my brief time with it, the reviews are justified. After spending more time with DEVONAgent Pro, I’ll write an in-depth post of my impressions.
5. The Pomodoro Technique – This project is about trying new things and trying to change the way I work as a scholar. A number of people on twitter have talked about the Pomodoro Technique and I’m interested to try it myself. The Pomodoro Technique is a method of time management that uses 25 minutes bursts of focused activity followed by 5 minutes breaks. Since I want to get back into the habit of academic research, I thought this might be a good way to break myself of bad habits.
Well that wraps up another installment of “Links of the week.” Look for a much busier week on the site. I’m really excited to share my summer camp experience as well as my summer digital humanities project.
As always I’d love to hear any thoughts, comments, or opinions you have about anything I write. I hope everyone out there is having a fantastic summer!
