I am a recent graduate of the public history graduate program at Rutgers University. I currently serve as the digital media coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities, where I wrangle bloggers and tackle our social media platforms.
In the last two years I've created an oral history database using StoriesMatter for the Salem County Historical Society, collected data on school group attendance for the education department at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I've digitized the Balch Institute Ethnic Images in Advertising Collection at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. I volunteer at the Alice Paul Institute in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey and the Digital Center at HSP.
In my spare time I am often silly and irreverent.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Knight News Challenge: Backgrounder - Blasts from the Past for Busy Reporters
My employer, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities is trying to win a Knight Foundation Grant, and you can help! Check out their grant proposal, if you like what you see, click like, ask a question, or leave feedback. The more input they have, the better their chances are for making the first cut (and the better the project will be when they win!)
This is not just a shameless plug, I truly believe in the power of history to make a better world.
1. What do you propose to do? [20 words]
Provide journalists in Philadelphia, the nation’s fourth-largest media market, with historical backgrounders for local news, delivered via Twitter.
2. Is anyone doing something like this now and how is your project different? [30 words]
No - This project…
To Have and Have Not
I’m throwing this out into the museum ether here on tumblr. In her blog post, Heidi Campbell-Shoaf discusses the disparity in grant monies available to historical institutions versus those available to arts institutions. Any thoughts?
The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia has a new entry on Department Stores. This is why I love the encyclopedia: 1. The essays are clear and concise. 2. Awesome photos. 3. There is a place to put in your own stories and interact with others.
It also just happens to be the pet project of The Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities… where I work. But don’t let that discourage you from clicking and poking around.
Augmented Reality and PhillyHistory.org
Deb Boyer’s piece, When The Future Meets the Past: Using Augmented Reality in Cultural Institutions up on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) website now.
This is the part that really helped me (as a latecomer to the AR party): These and other newly created humanities-related AR projects indicate an increasing focus on AR as a method for connecting people to the work and collections of cultural institutions. Collectively, these projects have several advantages that can advance the work of digital humanists and public historians: 1. They generate excitement. For many people, AR still sounds like science fiction. Individuals who may not consider themselves “history” or “museum people” suddenly express interest in historic photographs or digital collections if they can access them via AR. 2. They provide access via smartphones. As the use of smartphones grows, these apps provide opportunities for users to access an organization’s information, images, or collections as they have time amidst their daily tasks. 3. They support an interest in place-based history. People often feel strongly about a place that figures in their personal or community history. This connection to place can be enhanced through an AR app by encouraging people to link the past and present of a particular location and think about the events or people associated with that location. 4. They create educational opportunities. AR opens up intriguing possibilities for site interpretation. An AR app can be a new form of a self-guided tour or enhance a docent-led walking tour. Educators can use an AR app to help students understand how a location has both changed over time and remains the same.
