Data, Data everywhere... but what do we do with it?

For this week's reflection, I am going to focus on Daniel Cohen's "From Babel to Knowledge," and Digital History Hacks: Methodology for the Infinite Archive, "Searching for History."  First of all, I was a little slow on the uptake when each article was discussing APIs, programming interfaces, H-bots, algorithms--but that's not new.  However, when I did process what Cohen was talking about, I was amazed by what computer programmers are able to accomplish.  The ability to set up search engines to "mine data" and then use that to better construct a website and its efficiency in being available to a greater online audience is quite fascinating.  Before reading the blog "Searching for history," I hadn't given much thought to queries made on search engines.  (I also now know that "clearing history" does not erase the data from existence.  Sigh.  So many things to learn still.)  But the uses of this data are never ending.  Aside from creating programs to search for syllabi, or understanding how people use history, data mining and analysis must support a wide variety of online sites.  

I am currently listening to my all-time favorite Pandora station, Neil Young radio.  And I imagine that Pandora uses some type of data collection that indexes various songs, yet gives them multiple categories (similar to the ingredients of the cocktails index).  In this way, Pandora can be adaptive when you choose to "like" a particular song, or "dislike" another.  The program must then begin to add more songs which match up with that favored song's "ingredients," and vice versa with disliked songs.  

Going back to Cohen's article, I was intrigued by the notion of H-Bot.  Its ability to answer factual queries through data mining, supports the idea that this would free up professors and students to focus on more analytical ventures of topics, not having to get hung up on specific factual details.  This can be related directly to our discussion of Wikipedia a few weeks ago.  This site promotes only factual information, not subjective analysis.  Disregarding its frequent fallacies, this site is in actuality in league with these H-Bot programs, and can help pave the road for more extensive and expansive analysis once the facts have been quickly ascertained.

Go on, get down with your "Old Man"/"Heart of Gold" self...

Twitter for Education (?)

For this week's reflection, I found an article discussing the use of Twitter in education in Romania.  But if they had not mentioned that they were writing from across the ocean, I would have never known.  "Can We Use Twitter for Educational Activities," by Gabriela Grosseck and Carmen Holotescu first gives a brief description of Twitter and then discusses the pros and cons of utilizing this media tool both in and out of the classroom.  I agree and disagree with some of their points about the positive aspects of using twitter in the classroom.  As far as exploring collaborative writing, I would agree that twitter promotes writing as a fun activity, while fostering (to an extent) editing skills.  But as far as developing literacy skills, I cast a wary glance.  It seems counterintuitive, seeing as the 140 character limit prompts the tweeter (?) to use every known abbreviation known to mankind, while making up a few along the way.  So in this sense, encouraging students to use this abbreviated language is not necessarily a good idea. The authors do include this in the bad points section, but I feel that the literacy concept of twitter is much more flawed than the authors suggest. 

However, sharing ideas instantaneously, allowing shy students to have a stronger voice in class, including absent students in the discussion (what up, Jennifer), are really great assets.  On a professional academic level, Grosseck and Carmen also suggest that Twitter enables greater project management and even promotes collaboration across schools, states, and continents!  I am also intrigued by the notion of metacognition: a process of reflecting on your learning.  In this sense, twitter could potential serve a similar purpose as blogging, yet in a more immediate, concise way.  Bloggers really have no limit to their journal; twitter would force one to sum up their thoughts on a topic, which is critical in many aspects of learning--what is the point, what is the bigger meaning, what are you trying to say/prove?

Overall, I can see many positive attributes of twitter used in an educational setting as proposed by Grosseck and Carmen.  I also heartily agree with many of its flaws.  Yet this article, and the general discussion of twitter our class has had, has influenced me not to be so critical of social media as educational tools.

H-Net might be my new best friend...

After looking over several articles featured by the AHA, I was intrigued by two in particular.  The first discussed in detail the ins and outs of H-Net, an online resource I unfortunately just learned about in the past month.  Matthew Gilmore's H-Net: Digital Discussion for Historians really offered some great information on just how expansive H-net truly is.  The variety of categorizations for different topics is very appealing for users, as this would increase the probability of success when searching for a specific topic.  I think I will be utilizing this resource more in the future, particularly for the upcoming months and researching potential thesis topics.  I can use this site to read about what might already be out there in the research world, and maybe put some feelers out if an area is lacking in research.  Lately, I have been considering looking at illegal trans-Atlantic slave trade in the Antebellum period, particularly in Charleston and Wilmington, and this resource and its accessibility is perfect for exploring this topic and gaining some "professional folk wisdom" on the topic.

The idea of "professional folk wisdom," as discussed by Daniel J. Cohen in Zotero: Social and Semantic Computing for Historical Scholarship, really appealed to me after having worked in a variety of research settings, both academically and professionally.  Researching and reading about a topic can become overwhelming at times.  Surrounding yourself with professionals and other academics who have experience in the topic is essential in providing some guidance and direction.  Cohen notes that one can gain these little tidbits of knowledge from academics, professionals, endnotes, bibliographies, or even acknowledgements.  Originally I was not familiar with Zotero, but it seems to be somewhat similar to H-Net, yet much more expansive its in offered information and resources.  I do think that creating a bibliography can be a bit daunting and it is oftentimes difficult to sift through material that seems useful to your work from material that actually is useful.  Having the material at hand, along with connections to other professionals and academics from whom to glean those bits of folk wisdom is certainly showing me how much history and digital really can go hand in hand.

Wikipedia: Friend or Foe?

I must admit, I tried really hard to accept the supporting argument for Wikipedia during the Middlebury College debate, but I still have mixed feelings about wikipedia and its use in higher education.  I understand that it has the positive aspects of being an open forum and that there are volunteers who "patrol" the pages for factual errors.  I also must admit that I have gone to wikipedia on occasion for a quick bit of information--but I always go elsewhere to verify.  But using this site in any sort of academic sense to me is simply unacceptable.

My frustration stems largely from the fact that my own brother admitted that when he has free time at work he looks up some of his favorite historical subjects and proceeds to read page upon page on wikipedia.  I am really glad that he likes history, Wall Street exec that he is, but I feel obligated to stop this, even if he is not using this information in a paper or as part of research. I am horrified that he is soaking up potentially wrong information, and possibly spreading this misinformation in everyday conversation.  I might be overreacting, but facts are facts, and as the Middlebury College debate alerted me, Wikipedia does not deal in originial scholarship, just facts. (Which I also just learned is not protected by copyright...very interesting.)  But back to the point--I am a firm believer in squelching ignorance and misinformation where I can, and thus am not tolerant at all to any misleading articles on wikipedia.

For example, I looked at several history articles, examining their discussion sections as well.  Whether I was looking at an article covering a semi-controversial topic (Medgar Evers and his assassination in 1963), or a topic less immediate to the American population--Henry VIII--I found several instances in the discussion tab where a problem was identified, the author agreed to remove the information, yet when I went through the article, the misinformation was still there.  And I only looked at a few of the several thousand articles that exist on this site. 

Basically, I will be purchasing my brother some books for Christmas, or perhaps find a good site that digitizes a large selection of historical topics....

Bloggers simplify, and share new digital creations

Checking through the two blogs I have been following, I found a very interesting post two days ago from "Publishing the Long Civil Rights Movement."  The author announced the recent creation of an e-book.  The original book, Blowout! Sal Castro and the Struggle for Educational Justice, was recently published and includes numerous oral histories.  Because of this feature, the creation of an e-book made perfect sense, and truly represents the way in which digitalization can enhance written history and reach a wider audience.  Also, hearing these oral histories could have more of an impact for those truly wishing to experience history, rather than simply reading the words.  Tone, pacing, and intensity are all characteristics of speech which can send a message or create a particular mood that can be completely lost in text.  I look forward to exploring the e-book version of this text.

The other blog I have been following, "The Old, Weird America," has yet to post something new, yet I am continuing to make my way through its older posts, learning more and more about the topic, American folk music.  I really enjoy the interactivity of the site, reading about a certain song, then being able to listen to it.  The site also has changed its format since I have last been on the blog.  With a much simpler style--white background with a simply design in the upper right hand corner--I am much less distracted and more likely to continue to read without feeling overwhelmed.

Finally starting to look like a project...

I am with complete agreement with classmate Blake--"group" and "project" and normally two words I pray not to hear in a classroom setting.  The actual projects are never bad... relying on others to stay on the same page as you to complete the work has always been a completely different story, especially in high school and undergrad.  But I am very excited to get started on this online exhibit with Jacquelyn, Melissa, and Christine. Everyone has been great in completing research on time and contributing thoughts and ideas to the overall project's goal.  I am looking forward to a great semester working with these ladies.

Getting back into Special Collections was also a great experience.  I think everyone by this point is well aware of my affinity for libraries and the experience of physically checking out a book.  Going into special collections is always a special treat for me--just seeing the old bindings brings a smile to my face.  I looked at  numerous print images as preparatory research--blueprints, architectural renderings, and postcards from the Mary Boyer collection.  This is what always draws us back to history when we begin to get bogged down with the theories and the concepts and the dates.  

Tryon Street, looking south by night. Courtesy UNCC Special Collections

Yet I am a little nervous about using Omeka.  The plugins are fairly self-explanatory, but I cannot envision how all of these parts are put together--the actual creation is too abstract for me to grasp at this point.  Once I am more familiar with the program and actually begin to utilize it, I am sure the pieces will fall into place.  But until then, I will be curious as to the time tables we have set for ourselves.  Considering I am not sure how it all works, I can't possibly know how LONG it will take to complete any one section of the project.

Horrors I know not of... Hurrican Digital Memory Bank

Having grown up in a suburb of Philadelphia, the only weather phenomena I was ever troubled with (or as a 6 year-old, delighted with), were snow-storms.  Even so, the largest storm I can remember was that of 1996, when I believe we received about 3 1/2 feet of snow in one fell swoop. 

Searching the archives of Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, I encountered horrific images and first-hand stories of the death and destruction brought on by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Categorized by images, stories, oral histories, video, map, and tags, HDMB offers various ways to peruse the site's collections of media. 

The site hopes that by allowing those directly affected by the tragedy to share their stories, a "positive legacy" will be created, and those in the future can look back and remember not just the storm, but the people whose lives it changed forever.

In order to add a memory to the site's data bank, one has only to click, click, type.... and it's sent in.  You can publish by name or anonymously.  Very easy to use, very inviting to search and learn.  Additionally, the color palette is calming and appropriate for the subject matter. 

This site excellently gives "status" to American memory, providing it a place in the archival world right alongside academic research and communication.