ARCGIS / ARCGIS StoryMaps
ARCGIS software accessible to UW users include a web-based and desktop GIS application for exploring geographical data and map creation. The StoryMaps tool, previously known as ESRI StoryMaps, is an exhibit/storytelling platform that can leverage maps and GIS data to illustrate all sorts of content.
Pros: UW users have access to ARCGIS tools with netID login; StoryMaps tool is easy to use with templates and media modules.
Cons: Premium ARCGIS services such as storage and analysis tools use “AGOL credits.” UW assigns users 10 credits; certain activities working with very large datasets may require requesting more credits.
Links:
- UW IT info on ARCGIS: Includes information on how to download the desktop client, site license info (requires UWnetid)
- Technical support request form: Faculty associated with GIS provide unofficial support for ARCGIS tools via this online form.
Digital Mappa
Open source digital publishing tool that includes support for multimedia and annotation of texts.
Pros: Open source and browser based.
Cons: Needs to be installed on a server (hosted or your own), which requires some technical knowledge and resources.
Links:
- Digital Mappa: Official page.
Manifold
Interactive publishing tool. Open source but needs to be hosted/installed on a server. UW Libraries provides access via a Reclaim-hosted instance.
Pros: Can ingest a number of different document and media types, including Google Docs; Faculty can be made users and their students can be added as user groups without requiring added permissions or logins. These two points make it ideal for collaborative projects – see the links section below for examples of projects created by classes, such as The Mill on the Floss critical edition. UW Libraries are happy to provide support for using Manifold and host periodic trainings as well as offer the possibility of one-on-one training.
Cons: Manifold projects can’t be migrated out of or downloaded from the system; they also can’t be migrated from one instance to another (say you got your own server and installed a local instance of Manifold and had a project in the UW Libraries’ instance of Manifold, you couldn’t move the project to your new server – you’d have to rebuild). This is a known issue but a fix is not expected soon.
Accessibility: Highlighting text for annotation and opening the palette tool requires use of the mouse.
Links:
- UW Libraries Manifold Pilot Guide: Extensive guide created by the Libraries specific to UW’s Reclaim-hosted instance of Manifold. Includes information on project planning, ingesting materials, annotation, and open resources for projects.
- Working with Manifold projects: Guide from the app creators on building and editing projects, creating users, and other functions.
- Writing for Manifold: Guide from the app creators around author considerations for formatting, approaching publishers, etc.
- UW project examples:
- French 376: Early Modern France: Student-transcribed, -translated, and -annotated 17th and 18th century texts from Autumn 2020's French 376 course.
- The Mill on the Floss: An Anthropocene Edition: Great example of a collaboratively built critical edition from Jesse Oak Taylor's English 440/529 course in Spring 2020. Project includes the original text along with students’ extensive annotations on a number of themes.
- The Unearthly Earth: A Storyteller’s Guide to the Anthropocene: Another project from a Jesse Oak Taylor course, this time using Manifold to create a digital commonplace book.
- The UW Libraries have also begun using Manifold to publish conference proceedings:
Omeka
Open-source platform for digital collections and exhibits. As an open-source tool, it is free to install but requires a server to install it on. The UW Libraries Digital Scholarship Tools & Infrastructure Pilot includes the ability to host an Omeka instance via Reclaim Hosting’s servers. Omeka.net also provides hosting for a fee.
Pros: Open-source and free (with the right resources); Currently supported by the UW Libraries with periodic trainings; also strong support community in the library & archives world online; Easy to use interface and built-in templates; Content can generally be migrated with some work/data cleanup.
Cons: Installation learning curve if you want to host it yourself.
Links:
- Omeka website: Includes information on the various forms of Omeka available to users (Omeka Classic, Omeka S, Omeka.net), documentation for using the platform, examples of different versions, tiers, and templates.
- Omeka.net hosting: The paid hosting option direct from Omeka. Includes several different tiers of storage space, support, and customization.
- UW project examples:
- LIS 598 Applied Digital Humanities Winter 2021: This Omeka site is the product of Sarah Ketchley’s DH course in the iSchool. Students uploaded data sets and other digital objects (which can be accessed individually as digital assets) as well as constructed exhibits describing their processes and findings and contextualizing the digital objects. The site also embeds content from other tools such as TimelineJS.
Twine
Open-source tool for nonlinear storytelling. Has both web-based and desktop app interfaces. Outputs content to embeddable HTML.
Links:
Wordpress
Content management system used for making websites and/or blogs.
Pros: Hosting available from UW Libraries/Reclaim. Lots of plugins available for various uses. Easy to use WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface.
Links: