GIS

One website that I have found very useful in completing my past historic preservation projects is the USGS Topographic Maps. This website is super easy to use. All the user has to do is either type in a location or quadrangle name, or click a location on the map, and it will provide you with all of the topographic maps from the area with dates as far back as the 1800's. This tool is so beneficial and is something that I will continue to use in the future.

As for my project, I have not gotten the chance to make any major updates but I will be completing it in the next few days. I need to finish up the formatting and entering information and I should be finished after a final proof read.

Crowd-Sourcing

To me, crowd-sourcing is very entertaining. I can truly get lost in transcribing documents and images for hours. I also love the idea that people all around the world can help a single project. Zooniverse is one of the coolest crowdsourcing websites that I have come across. It gives you the option to work on not only historical transcriptions, but other subjects such as biology, medicine, and space. I decided to try out the space category to see what kind of transcribing could truly be done with the topic. The project I worked, titled Hubble Asteroid Hunter, had me look at Hubble images and identify asteroid trails. I was truly shocked at how versatile crowd-sourcing can be.

My project is coming along as well. I am adding more information on the buildings I marked. I have not yet settled on a certain appearance of the site. I think that once I can get the information done then I can mess with design elements.

Data Visualization

One type of historical data set that I found impressive is a weather data set. While it is not specifically history based, Weather Underground provides a look back into time of the weather on any day of the year, all the way back until 1930. It was quite surprising that they have the details of the specific temperature at any given time, amount of precipitation, and even wind direction! 

My final project is also coming along very smoothly. I have been able to upload all of my photos to the story map and organize them in the order that makes the most sense. I am still in the process of writing the details of the pictures but I have managed to label them all. My color scheme is also not final. I have just been messing around with the colors to see what would look best. Here is the link to check it out: https://arcg.is/CTH8S

Digital Online Archives

The Northern Virginia Digital History Archive website was fairly easy to upload an image to. I had a little problems at first with images being to large but I managed to figure it out. One archive website that I really enjoy is the National Archives website. I love how you can view the famous founding documents of United States history, such as the Declaration of Independence. They provide easy zooming and even descriptions of the conditions of the documents.

As for my project, it is coming along nicely. I have taken all of my photos and have begun creating a layout of how I want my story map to look like. I still need to upload my photos to a website, such as Flickr, since unfortunately I cannot upload the photos directly from my computer.

Real vs. Not Real

Everyone wants to be able to see an artifact in person because it holds the memory of its past. Seeing the object online or in a book just somehow isn't the same. The real and not real aspect of history is an example of museums and libraries becoming more modern and accessible. For example, last year there was a giant fire that destroyed the National Museum of Brazil and all of its artifacts. Thankfully they were able to document their artifacts, but it will never be the same without the objects. Read more about the fire here.

Another way museums capture their artifacts is by creating online tours. This helps people who can't visit in real life be able to see what it would be like. But for anyone who has visited somewhere and then explored the online tour version, it is nowhere near the same. Some type of charm it lost within translation of putting the information online that you can only truly get in person. For example, Mount Vernon has a fantastic online tour but once again, it is just not the same as being there. View their online tour here.

Project Proposal

For my final project I have decided to make a story map about the historic buildings in Colonial Williamsburg. I have always loved this period of time and to make my project, I will be traveling down to Williamsburg to take lots of pictures and learn about the various colonial buildings. The story map seemed to be the best way to showcase this information, specifically because I will have an aerial photo of the town with labels for all the buildings. I felt that if the viewers were able to see the location of the buildings, then it might be easier for them to understand the buildings context and proximity to others. The map will hopefully help others learn more about the sites even if they never get the chance to visit Williamsburg.

Libraries provide loads of information on various topics, but mainly information from their specific town or region. The Thomas Balch Library will likely be the most useful for locating historical documents and images. Unfortunately since my project is about a town in the south of Virginia, it is unlikely that I will find any useful information on their database. The library resource I will likely use will be the NOVA database or the Library of Congress online archives.

Digitizing and Sourcing

I am familiar with many of the digital materials, such as YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest, Wikipedia, etc. and I am likely to have an account with nearly all of these websites. Knowing how to use these websites has made me realize that I would like to take my project in a direction I am familiar with. I have decided to take a trip down to Williamsburg, Virginia and document the historical buildings in the area and I believe the best way to document the trip is by posting a board to Pinterest. I am well versed in the art of using Pinterest but I have never created my own post, instead I just reblog. My Pinterest account and my past personal website are the two main materials I have that someone can view and get to know a little about me. Through Pinterest you can see what I am interested in and my website gives you an insight on some materials in my life that mean a lot to me.