I’m interested in networking with folks who might help Holocaust Museum Houston reconfigure our existing Curriculum Trunk program into a more digitally oriented framework.
Hashtags on Twitter
Apr 16
Great set of boot camp sessions today! Looks like we have dual hashtags going on Twitter. Those wanting to follow along should look at both #thatcamptexas and #thatcamptx.
eBooks
Apr 15
Has the time already come to compare what’s happening in the publishing world today to what happened to the music industry a few years ago? I would like to discuss ebooks, publishing, bookstores, digital divide, access to technology, libraries, education etc.
Mobile Learning
Apr 15
Greetings! My name is Saima Kadir and I am a librarian at Houston Public Library. My official title is Emerging Technologies manager which means that I get o explore and sometimes implement new technologies as they pertain to libraries and its users. I am interested in mobile devices and its ubiquity. Statistics show that more people now access the Internet via a mobile device. What does that mean in K-12 and higher education environments? Can mobile apps be used for learning and instruction? Is is an extension of online learning? What does mobile usage say about digital divide in 2011?
Following THATCamp Texas, you can continue to pursue fun with multimedia by attending the SYZYGY, New Music at Rice concert at Rice’s Wortham Opera Theatre – Alice Pratt Brown Hall from 8-9 p.m.
Details:
SYZYGY, New Music at Rice
A concert of electronic and computer music featuring live performance on acoustic and electronic instruments, surround sound, and video. Featured works include those by Art Gottschalk, guest composer Russell Pinkston, and premieres by Chapman Welch and Kurt Stallmann with collaborator and guest filmmaker Alfred Guzzetti.
Guest faculty performers include Leone Buyse and Michael Webster.
8:00 p.m., Wortham Opera Theatre
Technology has a way of overcoming scarcity: while books have helped us keep more information than we could remember, photos have shown us sights we couldn’t see with our own eyes, and movies have taken us to places we could never travel, the internet expands upon these to let us see and hear more things in more ways at more places and times than we ever could before.
With an abundance of quality data, stories, articles, maps, movies and more now online, how are people taking advantage of all the quality resources readily available? What tools are you using to organize all of this amazing information? How can someone use multiple representations of information (text, charts, video, etc.) to target different student interests, abilities, and learning styles beyond course content, such as with grading or assignment descriptions?
I am interested in discussing what strategies, technologies, and instructional approaches people have adopted to embrace excess and help students broaden their experience or deepen their understanding beyond what can be discussed or graded in class.
Dork Shorts!
Apr 14
One of THATCamp’s signature events is Dork Shorts, where you get 2-3 minutes to give an “elevator speech” about your project. You can make fellow THATCampers (and those following along on Twitter) aware of your project and even find possible collaborators. We’ll probably start the Dork Shorts around 12:30 on Saturday, after everyone has had a chance to grab lunch. Sign up now to nab one of the earliest slots!
Since we don’t have a lot of time for the Dork Shorts, it’s best to keep things simple, but let one of the THATCamp Texas organizers know if you need to load up a PowerPoint on the PC in the Kyle Morrow Room or have any other needs. Please take care of this by 12:15 on Saturday. Thanks!
If you’ve signed up for the first session of BootCamp, please arrive at the Digital Media Center (DMC in Herring 129) between 8:30 and 8:45 on Friday the 15th. We’ll give you your name tag and direct you to the location of the workshop. We’ll have coffee and fruit, but not a full breakfast. If your first BootCamp session starts later in the day, please drop by the DMC for your nametag.
Curious about where your BootCamp session will meet? Print your own copy of the schedule.
I am interested in discussing how GIS mapping technology can help visualize cultural transformation in specific communities. Ideally, I would be able to show this change at the local and international border levels. My dissertation research compares the development of Mexican American transborder communities on the Texas-Mexico border with Franco American transborder communities on the Maine-Canada border. I focus on intermarriage and language practices at the turn of the twentieth century. I have some experience using GIS mapping technology in the classroom through creating interactive mapping activities (U.S. Southwest module of sacarcims.sac.alamo.edu/default.htm) and in conjunction with service-learning projects. Most recently, I have used it to create maps to illustrate my research.
I am currently working with census data and hope to learn new ways of visualizing information from a variety of sources:
* I am using census data to track intermarriage based on nativity, how language practices changed over time, and gender differences in those practices. At this point, my maps reflect the locations of towns, the growth of railroads, and act as backdrops for pie charts.
* I would like to learn new ways to use GIS to visualize changes in language practices (who spoke French where and when) using census data, the distribution of French/Spanish language newspapers, photographs and/or distribution of public signage, and the impact of school language policies
* I would like to find new ways to visualize intermarriage practices, if possible.
* I am also intensely curious about possible ways to visualize migration and settlement patterns. On the international level, I would like to show changes in border crossing traffic in response to stricter immigration policies and border enforcement. This could include points where border crossing stations or international bridges appeared, and hopefully more. At the city level, I would like to see how the ethnic makeup of town neighborhoods and rural areas may have changed. I’ve seen where later twentieth century census data can be mapped to a detailed local level. I’d like to do the same with data from the 1860s to 1930s – and still hopefully be able to finish my dissertation before the turn of the next century.
These are some of my initial ideas and I am completely open to suggestions. I look forward to discussing your ideas and projects. Thank you.
Yay! Crowdsourcing!
Apr 12
Q: How many digital humanists does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Yay! Crowdsourcing! (Melissa Terras via Bethany Nowviskie)
Several THATCampers have added comments to my session proposal mentioning their interest in a session on crowdsourcing. I’d like to promote that conversation to its own session idea.
What kinds of things could a crowdsourcing session cover? Some options include a wide-ranging, unstructured discussion, a brain-storming session on how to integrate crowdsourcing into specific proposals, or perhaps a review and brief demo of successful crowdsourcing projects. We might end up with a mix, as I’ve attended some very successful sessions that had heterogeneous formats.
What are your ideas?
