Digital Tools that Make Learning Approachable

Fall of 2021 I took a course on Digital History Methods. I knew I was wanting to create an accessible installation for my Public History MA. The problem was, while I could research and gather information, I didn't want to just write a paper and post it online. I wanted my project to be friendly to a wider range of public. Reading a paper is fine -- but the internet is multi-dimensional.

I learned a lot taking a digital history course. There was a lot of independent research -- looking for and trying out different digital tools. There are multiple tools out there that can do similar things but the aren't meant for everyone -- that is, some tools you may be more comfortable using than others. Some tools you may find you won't need. For this project I was looking at a period of about 30 years, give or take. At one point I dabbled with creating a timeline for my project:

If you've looked at the project you may recognize some of the ThingLink elements from the site. In the end, I chose not to finish or use this timeline because it didn't really work for the narrative or flow of the site. If you have all your things in a timeline -- then what encourages people to explore the entire site?? Also a timeline can't include all the things necessarily.

In a physical installation, a timeline might be of use along a back wall, or be its own installation as Berkeley Historical Society has done in their History Center. You can take the information in at a leisurely pace -- which is fine. However if a timeline is part of your physical installation, imagine the backup that might occur if you are insinuating a patron should stop and take in multiple elements of your timeline. A timeline works great on websites though; but again, I decided I did not want this as part of my project.

But there were things I liked about the timeline -- I liked the audio/visual aspect. Again, not everyone wants to read a never-ending rote of information. Engaging in timelines, videos, interactive images (the ThinkLink narration worked for me personally) breaks up paragraphs and illustrates ideas and histories. If a patron does nothing but engage in YouTube videos and talking photos, they will still have left this site learning something, and possibly become curious about some other aspect of community history themselves. Success!