eHistory: June 2008

Dr. Jonathan Bean

Faner 3266

453-7872; jonbean@siu.edu

Faculty web page: http://tinyurl.com/8egfh Office hours: TBA

Digital History

(http://i-history.blogspot.com/)

Since the 1980s, a digital revolution has transformed the research, writing, teaching and preservation of history. The historian's toolbox now includes the word processor, specialized software, email, and web services. The following modules teach students how to use these tools to become better historians.

Caveat: The basic rules of historical research remain the same: conduct a literature search, review the secondary literature, and research primary sources—mostly in libraries or archives and not on the Internet. NOTE: You must base your final project on both digital and paper sources. Simply gathering digital sources is akin to scooping gold from surface soil while ignoring the mother lode beneath the ground. The old rules of writing also apply: have "something to say" (be original) and say it well (be creative). Lastly, history instructors may benefit from digital media but computer programs are no substitute for effective teaching skills.

"How Do I?"

Prepare "how-to" questions as they occur to you. No question is too simple because others may benefit from having it addressed. Post your questions by adding a comment to the module in question. Do not take it for granted that "everyone else must know how to _____." This is part of building a FAQ: "Frequently Asked Questions." Friedrich Hayek earned a Nobel Prize for describing this market process of gathering "dispersed knowledge" to meet the needs of people unknown to each other. When an individual asks what he/she needs, or offers answers, a market of knowledge is available to others. Wikipedia is based on this Hayekian notion. Read http://tinyurl.com/56az2v

For stand-alone courses, teachers may use the following "syllabus" as a guide. Students may use it as a way to pace their tutorials (if they are doing all modules).

Course assignments

Paper (35%): 8-12 page research paper on an approved topic in American history (other topics require special approval). Add an appendix reflecting on the steps you took to complete the paper and project. The reflective essay may be drawn from your blog entries, which are ideal for charting your progress.

Book Review (10%): review a book or collection of primary sources.

Web review (10%): review a web site or application.

Weekly assignments (15%)

Multimedia project and presentation (30%): be creative—multimedia-rich Powerpoint(s), an effective blog, electronic notes, podcasts, and more.

Required Reading and Software:

•Pressnell, The Information-Literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students (Oxford UP, 2007).

•E-reserve articles

•Software: free applications to manage Windows, Mac, and open-source files (distributed on CD).

Windows and Mac:

Any Video Converter Free:

http://filehippo.com/download_any_video_converter/

Any Audio Converter Free:

http://www.any-audio-converter.com/

Video Converter/Audio Converter (Mac) $35

http://order.any-video-converter.com/mac-software.php

ALTERNATIVES:

Quick Media Converter(Windows): Amazingly powerful audio and video converter. Also plays small screen picture of every imaginable file type. The Easy Mode converts to a range of devices and file formats (even Wii and iPhone!). Expert mode has even more options. QMC also includes Camstudio for recording action on your screen (good for tutorials) and Webcam Studio for capturing video conversations or the like.

http://www.cocoonsoftware.com/

Jetaudio Plus 7 *($30 lifetime subscription, unlimited computers): The Swiss Army knife of digital media. Plays and converts all Win/Mac audio/video files and DVDs. Does batch jobs—real time saver. Ideal for converting files from Windows-to-Mac or Mac-to-Windows. I've tried countless free converters and none of them are bug-free or as accurate as Jetaudio Plus. Available at http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/jetaudio/

Windows and Mac:

2. Firefox and Firefox Portable: install both versions (portable on your USB drive). Go to http://portableapps.com/

3. Firefox add-ons: Zotero, Downthemall!, Video Download Helper, Deskcut, TinyUrl, Feed Sidebar, Wikipedia, Wayback Machine, Foxmarks Bookmarks Synchronizer (sign-up required).

4. Audacity 1.3.7 (beta): make sure to get the Beta version because it is the first user-friendly rendition of this once-geeky (but popular) audio editor/recorder/mixer. http://filehippo.com

5. Windows Live Photo Gallery (Mac equivalent: iPhoto)

6. Windows Movie Maker (Mac equivalent: iMovie)

7. Acrobat alternative (Mac Preview): Foxit Reader (http://filehippo.com), doPDF (http://www.dopdf.com/, PDFTK Builder (http://angusj.com/pdftkb/#pdftkbuilder

8. Clipmagic (Windows): http://clipmagic.com/ Mac users try iClip Lite or Savvy Clipboard

9. Endnote X2 (demo)

Optional: use if the above programs don't work for a specific need.

MPEG Streamclip with Quicktime Alternative 1.81 (the version makes a difference, go to www.filehippo.com for this older version).

VLC Media Player: http://filehippo.com VLC plays just about anything on Win or Mac ("cross-platform"). VLC Portable plays from your flash key. Use it to check the integrity of your creations. You can also use it on a flash key (portable).

*In addition to the above software, you should have Office 2007 (Office 2008 for Mac users) or a close substitute. Open Office is free but Office 2007 is the standard and discounted while you are in school. All tutorials based on Office 2007.

Web Services: sign up for the following:

Blackboard: Course page is open for discussions, e-mail messages, uploading of web links and other files. Complete your assignments on Blackboard.

Email account: Gmail needed to create a free blog, personalized home page; Live.com (formerly hotmail) needed for free online storage (see below)

Online storage: Find a reliable site for uploading assignments. Recommendation: Windows Live Skydrive (http://skydrive.live.com/).

Blogger.com: Use Gmail to get a free blogger account.

RSS Feeds: audio or video that “streams” across the Internet 24/7. Your blog site is a RSS Feed.

Gcast.com: Free podcasting site.

Youtube: use your Gmail to log on and upload your creations. Set to "Private" and share only with me and/or your classmates (unless you want to share with the world). NOTE:: I have grown frustrated with the 10 minute time limit Youtube sets for segments. I now prefer MSN Video for uploading 30 minutes or more and then arranging them into a 1 or 2 hour movie!

H-Net: A popular watering hole for historians. Discussion networks, syllabi, multimedia tips, book reviews, announcements, and more. Join a discussion network in the topic area of your project.

HNN ("History News Network"): individual and group blogs by historians.

*Bring a flash key (USB drive) to every class.

Digital History: A Basic Guide

The following modules cover the following topics. This is a “hands-on” course that allows you to practice in the lab and home. For a memory jogger, see the screencast demos posted at http://i-history.blogspot.com/

*Computer basics: Installing software, configuring Firefox, useful keyboard commands, etc.

Blogging: create your own blog and find history blogs related to your interests. Send me your blog address. The two main blogging services are www.blogger.com (Google) and http://wordpress.com/ Blogger is much easier to use; you will be up and running in ten minutes. WordPress has more power and a steeper learning curve. My advice is to get a blogger account (Gmail required).

Online Storage: You will need an online storage site to upload assignments (provide links on your blog so I can see where you have posted your assignments). I've tried many free services that eventually charged for the service. After that rigmarole, I switched to Windows Live Skydrive–a well-crafted storage site (free up to 25GB). You need live.com email (also free).

*Firefox: using add-ons to download audio, video, maps, photos in batches.

*RSS feeds: There are many options but I prefer the simplicity of the feed interface built into the new Windows Live Mail. Alternatives; Firefox "Brief" extension, Google Reader are popular alternatives.

*Screen capture

*Audio/video: Audio converters are a dime a dozen but super-accurate video converters are a rare breed. Video conversion is important because Apple computers don't play the Windows format (WMV) and Windows doesn't natively play Apple. You may use VLC Media Player to play just about anything but you need to convert to edit with iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. For Windows, I recommend converting all files to WMV, unless you plan to use online. For Powerpoints, etc. WMV is the preferred format. MP4 is the preferred Apple format.

Video conversion: Quick Media Converter. This is Windows software but it converts and plays Mac, Windows, MP3, open source files. The simplicity, power, and dual-OS (Win/Mac) features make this a beauty.
Alternatives: MPEG Streamclip (Mac). MPEG Streamclip is available Mac/Win. Think of it as Quicktime Pro on steroids for Mac users.For Windows users, two separate programs: Any Audio Converter, Any Video Converter.

Video editing: Windows Movie Maker (Win), iMovie (Mac), MPEG Streamclip (Win/Mac). MPEG Streamclip gets raves from both Mac and Win users who use file types from "both sides" of the OS divide (http://tinyurl.com/6l8cj6). However, as a PC user I prefer converting to a Windows format and then editing within Windows Movie Maker. Mac users might prefer converting to a Mac format and edit within iMovie. Nevertheless, there are occasions when MPEG Streamclip comes in handy, so have it in your arsenal.

Audio conversion: Quick Media Converter

Audio editing: Audacity 1.3.7 (Win and Mac): edits, mixes (combines) files and more. I've tried many such programs but they are "techie" and difficult-to-learn. K.I.S.S. Audacity was one of those techie programs until this version and then I became a convert.

Audio stream record: Audacity.

*Photo editing, animated GIFs. For the dark history of airbrushing, read Jaubert, Making People Disappear. http://www.newseum.org/berlinwall/commissar_vanishes/

*Electronic notetaking:

Zotero: free citation (Zotero). Zotero senses when there are citations on a web page (JSTOR, SIUCAT, Google Scholar, Project Muse, Amazon, etc.), then retrieves them in your citation style (Chicago/Turabian). Zotero even imports the article PDFs and attaches them to your citations (you can turn that feature off). Take notes within the new Zotero with rich text notetaking. Allows subject "tags."

For more power and productivity, I highly recommend Endnote XI (Endnote X2 for 64-bit computers). You may import your Zotero citations into Endnote. For the purposes of this tutorial , I will merely demonstrate Endnote’s capabilities. The learning curve is steeper and Endnote costs more than Zotero.

NOTE: Zotero is amazing freeware but

*Syncing your database between computers is difficult even with the best sync software. Recommendation: use Zotero on Portable Firefox and carry it on a USB drive. For a review of Zotero, see "Zotero and Endnote . . . for Historians" (http://tinyurl.com/6fz7fb)

*Hyperlink: turn written phrases into hyperlinks that connect the reader to a web site. Most programs (Word, Powerpoint, Blogger, email) contain a hyperlink button.

*Podcasting: using and creating podcasts (streaming audio or video). You can listen to podcasts on many topics, including history. Record them with your software. Upload your podcasts to Gcast.com, Youtube.com, or iTunesU.

*Screencasting: Camstudio 2.0 – for those who want to teach computer skills to others. Lacks adequate audio input, however, so if you can afford it, get Camtasia, the industry leader. Neither one is needed for this course -- this is simply an information note.

*Electronic literature searches: America: History and Life, Historical Abstracts, Project Muse, WorldCat, SIUCAT and other databases.

*Digital primary source collections: Project Gutenberg, Google Scholar/Books, Library of Congress, Avalon, Holocaust Archive, Cold War International History Project, more.

*Audio books: Librivox.org (free, volunteer-based). Probably not useful for your project but file away for future edification or if you teach learning-disabled students who benefit from audio books. Quality of readings vary.

*Discussion groups (scholarly discussion groups): H-Net and beyond

*Syllabi/lesson plans: Finding, creating and posting. See H-Net for starters. Specialized fields have their own collections (e.g., economic history has eh.net)

*Powerpoint: making multimedia-rich Powerpoints with audio, video, photos, maps, advertisements, text. How to make your Powerpoints “snafu-free.”

*Digital archiving: scanning archival documents to readable text (OCR). Requires specialized software (demo available)

*Copyright and fair use issues

*On-campus resources: Morris Library (Instructional Support), CoLA Media Center.

Week 1

Discuss Readings

Presnell, chapters 1, 7

Lab Demonstrations

Software setup and use

Week 2

Discuss readings

Presnell, chapters 2-4 (References, Catalogs, Monographs, Indexes)

Buckley, “On Writing Speedily”

Smith, “Can You Do Serious History on the Web?” http://chnm.gmu.edu/resources/essays/serioushistory.php

“Wikipedia and Beyond,” http://tinyurl.com/56az2v

Lab Demonstrations

Audio and video conversion (Any Video Converter, Any Audio Converter)

Firefox: Tinyurl, Downthemall!, Video Downloadhelper, Wayback Machine, RSS feeds

Screen capture (Clipmagic)

Clipboard extension (Clipmagic)

ASSIGNMENT DUE: Topic area (e.g., Civil War, Great Depression, Great Britain). You must demonstrate that you have background (course work, independent readings) in your chosen area.

Week 3

Discuss readings

Presnell, chapters 5-6, 8 (Evaluating Sources, Primary Sources, Maps)

Lab Demonstrations

Audio editing (Audacity)

Audio stream recording (Audacity)

Image editing (Windows Live Photo Gallery)

Video editing (Windows Movie Maker)

Week 4

Discuss readings

Presnell, chapters 9-10 (Multimedia and written presentations)

Lab Demonstrations