Amanda French – THATCamp CHNM 2013

Thanks for a phenomenal THATCamp!

Amanda French — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:21:34 +0000

Thanks again for a terrific THATCamp. If you haven’t already, please do fill out at least the first two fields of our evaluation, and if you can afford it, please donate something to help cover our costs. See you next year…

Getting from Mason Inn to Research Hall

Amanda French — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:22:19 +0000

Friending and favoriting — try it out

Amanda French — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:56:05 +0000

Our deified developer, Boone Gorges</a>, has rolled out some terrific updates for thatcamp.org just this morning. Notably, when you are logged in to this site, you will be able to Befriend people and to Favorite posts. We're going to use that Favoriting function to collect votes for the Maker Challenge</a>, but it'll also be useful for putting together the schedule tomorrow morning. So, if you read a post you like, be sure to log in and Favorite it! We'll be able to see on the backend how many Favorites each post has gotten. (This'll also help us build the Proceedings of THATCamp this summer.)

Go forth and favorite. 🙂

Intermediate Omeka

Amanda French — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:36:28 +0000

Mostly what I’ll do in this session is answer any questions that people have left over from the Intro to Omeka workshop, but chances are I’ll demonstrate how to obtain server space, how to install the server-side version of Omeka, how to install themes and plugins from omeka.org, and how to customize a server-side installation of Omeka.

Great (and simple) Omeka exhibits

Waldorf-Astoria Exhibits – www.hosttotheworld.com/omeka/exhibits
Greenwich Village History Exhibits – gvh.aphdigital.org/exhibits/

Installing Omeka

Hosting Suggestions – omeka.org/codex/Hosting_Suggestions
Preparing to Install Omeka – omeka.org/codex/Preparing_to_Install
Installation step by step – omeka.org/codex/Installation

Customizing Omeka

There are many helpful documents on the Omeka Documentation page. The “Recipes” near the bottom are particularly helpful to beginners. See, for instance, the Recipe for how to set a default thumbnail image for items that don’t have an associated image file: omeka.org/codex/Recipes/Default_Item_Thumbnail_Images That’s a very similar process to the example we went over briefly in class for my project at steepletoplibrary.org of setting a regular thumbnail instead of a square thumbnail for items such as steepletoplibrary.org/items/show/1057 that do have an uploaded image. See also the full list of PHP Functions for Omeka — these are “template” pieces of code that will make a particular common thing happen (such as showing the thumbnail or the square thumbnail).

Note that any competent graphic designer who knows HTML and CSS can customize the look and feel of Omeka, and any competent PHP developer can customize the functionality of Omeka. You can pick up HTML, CSS, and PHP skills yourself from the Internet or from a book, but if you need extensive customization, you should hire someone. (You could for instance hire someone from the “Designer / Developer Marketplace” on the Omeka forums.) It’s kind of like your car: you can learn to change the oil, gap the spark plugs, and rebuild the carburetor yourself if you want to, or you can pay someone else to do all that. The Omeka team at the Center for History and New Media is like the team of Detroit-based engineers at General Motors, but there are designers and developers everywhere who, like auto mechanics, can work on your specific problems.

Full up (for now)

Amanda French — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:57:07 +0000

Just a note to say that we’ve reached our quota of 150 participants, so from here on out we’ll be running a wait list. In past years we’ve gotten a lot of cancellations in the week or two beforehand, and almost everyone from the wait list has gotten in, so if you or a friend would still like to come to THATCamp (especially now that there are such a lot of great pre-planned things on the schedule), why, go ahead and register.

One additional note: there will *not* be a Rosenzweig Forum on Thursday, June 6th — a couple of speakers didn’t work out, and in any case there was a spring instance of the Rosenzweig Forum at the Library of Congress back in April on the topic of digital preservation.

Don’t forget to update your profile by logging in to the site, and keep those session proposals coming.

More about NARA transcribathon and tagathon

Amanda French — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:27:25 +0000

Meredith Stewart and colleagues from the National Archives will be running Transcribathon and Tagathon sessions on Friday, June 7. Here’s her description:

Staff from the National Archives will lead participants in tagging and transcribing historical records through the agency’s Citizen Archivist Dashboard. Participants will be able to provide feedback and suggestions on improving tools and ideas for how to further leverage citizen participation.

Book your room at the Mason Inn by May 7

Amanda French — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:27:01 +0000

We have reserved a block of hotel rooms for THATCampers at the Mason Inn at a special rate of $102 per night. You must book your room by May 7 to get the conference rate. The Mason Inn is located on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University, about a five-minute walk from the Center for History and New Media, where THATCamp will take place. The Mason to Metro shuttle also stops at the Mason Inn and can take you to/from the Vienna Metro station and to/from CHNM. See GMU’s hotel page for other hotel options.

Book your room at the Mason Inn

To book by phone, call 877-296-6695 and mention “THATCamp Room Block.”

Registration is open!

Amanda French — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:04:58 +0000

Registration is now open for THATCamp CHNM 2013! In the next few weeks, we’ll be posting more information here about workshops and other activities. In fact, if you’d like to teach a workshop, or if there’s something you’d like to learn, or if you’ve got an idea for a hackathon, feel free to comment. We’ll also be booking a speaker for the Rosenzweig Forum for the late afternoon or early evening on Thursday, June 6, the night before THATCamp officially begins, so plan accordingly.

THATCamp CHNM 2013

Amanda French — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:46:54 +0000

THATCamp CHNM (aka “THATCamp Prime”) will be held Friday June 7 through Saturday June 8 in Fairfax, Virginia, at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. The details will be published here when known. Meanwhile, read more about the THATCamp movement and browse other THATCamps at thatcamp.org.