This term I learned to use many different digital tools. There were the ones that I struggled with, however, there were of course the ones I enjoyed learning. I would like to begin with my experience with making items and exhibits on Omeka Metadata. As my Omeka items, I chose a shawl pin of Aymara Indian people and the text of the Bear Foot Legend of Iroquois, Onondaga people. I find Omeka very useful since it is great for online archives, and can be used in many other humanities. It feels like a little virtual museum that does not require you to go out and buy tickets. As I learned during the course, Omeka uses a standardized metadata schema known as Dublin Core to give a description of the digital objects within its collections. I was confused about what is Dublin Core at first, but after I googled about it, I found out that Dublin Core is a very common and supported metadata standard used for describing resources on the web. What I liked about it the most was that it provides a set of simple and basic elements that can be used to describe a plethora of digital objects. Omeka’s metadata fields allow users to provide important contextual information about the objects they are presenting. This information includes the title, creator, subject, description, publisher, contributor, date, type, format, identifier, source, language, relation, coverage, and rights. I think having all this information can be used to improve the searchability and comprehension of the objects by users. Speaking of the historical context of using Omeka Metadata, it is important to note its impact on preserving cultural heritage and making it more accessible to learn about different cultures without going to actual archives and museums. I also found it very essential in terms of when searching for one object, it provides and shows related items to that object.
One of my other favorite in-class technical activities was Indigenous Narratives and Video Gaming. I enjoyed playing The Oregon Trail, in fact, I got into the top ten, it was very fun, yet eerie.
I was very curious about the idea of a video game to be educational. The Oregon Trail is a text-based adventure game that provides a little outlook on the hardships and challenges of the Oregon Trail. It was very interesting to manage my resources and to be strategic about my actions in the game. The decisions I had to take in order to survive took me some time and er, however, I somehow managed to get through difficulties and reach my destination. I think the idea of the game is a very helpful way to teach people about the history of the American West but in a very fun and easy way.
Another tool I had fun learning was creating a narrative map using StoryMap JS. What I liked about StoryMap JS the most it is beginner friendly, and one does not have to have any experience before creating story maps. Since it is very easy to use, it empowers humanity majors, etc, to incorporate maps and spatial data into their narratives, fostering better understanding and engagement with geospatial data. For my narrative map, I chose to make a story map about the Pamunkey Indian tribe, more specifically about the Pamunkey River and its meaning for the tribe. I wanted to tell the story of the Pamunkey River because it holds a lot of significance and recognition in the Pamunkey culture. It was interesting to learn about the culture of the Pamunkey Indian tribe through a geographical formation featuring water. In addition to that, I also wanted to deliver a message of how the Pamunkey River has changed a lot, and not to the positive side. Since the colonists arrived, much of the Chesapeake Bay watershed has changed. The clay from the Pamunkey River was used to make pottery. The changes that were due to storms and rising water levels have eroded the river’s banks, and finding prime clay locations become difficult nowadays. Atlantic sturgeon and shad are two more local resources that are in danger. For the Pamunkey people, both fish were crucial sources of sustenance and income. StoryMap JS was a great way to tell a story that is connected to a specific place. I think it can help us to understand the significance of these places, especially for Native people. It was interesting to learn and write about the Pamunkey people and the ecology of the river which is significant in many ways.
I can see how my experience with “exploring digital history” might echo into other parts of my academic performance very easily. For example, I can definitely use the resources that I found in this class in literature (it is my minor), most precisely the history of literature and text analysis tools in the use of language. I can also use StoryMap JS to create interactive maps of literary works or to write about the biography of different authors with an emphasis on their geographical origins. Last but not least, I can apply the knowledge I gained from this course to my major, Anthropology and Sociology. I can see how digital history can be used to study social change over time and the impact of social institutions on individuals and society. By collecting and analyzing data from a variety of sources, such as census data, newspaper articles, geospatial data, and maps, I can track social changes and identify the patterns and factors that have contributed to these changes.
In my opinion, as digital tools and methods continue to develop, digital history will continue to have a profound impact on many subjects, and not only in humanities. I believe that Digital history has the potential to make any branch of school more rigorous, more relevant, and more accessible to a wider audience.
