Online Assignment #2: Omeka Archive

Instructions:

As a class, we’re building an archive of items related to Sherlock Holmes stories (http://holmesiana.net/). Each student will contribute three related items, one collection (with your 3 items), and one exhibit (with a 300-word essay on the items) to the archive.

Due Dates:

  1. Due 9/21 by 9:30am: Accept the Omeka invitation, create an account, and bring three related digital items for inclusion in a Holmes archive.
  2. Due 9/25 by 8pm:  Add three items, 1 collection, and 1 exhibit that contains a 300-word essay using the objects you added as images. Post links to the items, collection, and exhibit to the class blog.

NOTE:

I will be in Germany for a conference from the 22nd until the 26th. Germany’s time zone is six hours ahead of ours, and I’ll be in panels much of the time I’m gone, so expect a sizable delay between when you email me with questions and when I respond. Make sure you plan ahead and don’t try to email me a few hours before the project is due.

Items:

These items can be anything at all: illustrations from the original Holmes stories, photographs of locations mentioned in the stories or of props in the movies, images of movie or TV show posters of adaptations, pictures of games based on Holmes, audio clips of theme songs of different Holmes adaptations, video clips of the credit sequences of different adaptations, etc. The only requirements are that the items involve Holmes and that you have the permission to put them online.

Copyright:

You CAN’T:  upload a clip/poster from a TV show/movie/CD that you or a random YouTube user made

You CAN: use material from an official account (BBC, MGM) as long as you include a link (the image/clip URL) to the source.

Item Metadata:

For each item, you must write down the Title, Subject, Description, Creator, Publisher, a URL, and Item Type.

 Getting Started:

  1. Check your email and look for an email from “A Study in Holmesiana Administrator vs hotrods.reclaimhosting.com  <swafforj@newpaltz.edu>” with the subject heading is “Activate your account with the A Study in Holmesiana repository.” NOTE: Check your spam folder. It will probably be there.
  2. Open the email and click the link inside. You will be asked to create a password.
  3. Type your username (written in the email) and password to log in.

How to Add an Item:

(Modified from http://omeka.org/codex/Managing_Items_2.0)

  1. From your items page (holmesiana.net/admin/items) click the “Add an Item” button.
  2. This takes you to the admin/items/add page where you see a navigation bar across the top pointing you to different stages of adding an item.
  3. The first tab shows the Dublin Core metafields. Enter the Title, Subject, Description, Creator, and Publisher information here.
  4. The Item Type Metadata tab lets you choose a specific item type for the object you are adding. Once you choose the type by using the drop-down menu, relevant metadata fields appear for you to complete.
    1. If you have an image, select “Still Image” and put the URL of your image in the “External Image URL” field.
    2. If you have a video, choose “Moving Image” and paste the embed code for the player in the “Player” field. Don’t know how to get the embed code? Follow these instructions.
  5. The Files tab lets you upload files to an item.
    1. If you have an image, upload your image by clicking “Choose File” and selecting the file.
    2. If you have a video from YouTube, you’ll need to make an image.  Copy and paste the YouTube URL from the top of the webpage into this website, right-click on the image labeled “Normal Quality,” save it to the Desktop, and then upload it to Holmesiana.net through the Files menu.
  6. The Tags tab allows you add keyword tags to your item.
  7. IMPORTANT: Click the “Public” checkbox under “Add Item.”
  8. Click “Add Item” to add your item to Holmesiana.net

How to Build a Collection:

(Modified from http://omeka.org/codex/Managing_Collections)

  1. Next, you’ll group your items into a collection based on a similar theme.
  2. Come up with a name for your collection (e.g. “Irene Adler in Adaptations.”)
  3. Click on the “Collections” tab in the /admin interface top navigation bar. Any collections you create will be listed on the /admin/collections page.
  4. Click “Add a Collection.”
  5. Name and describe your collection
  6. Click the “Public” checkbox to make this collection visible to the public.
  7. Be sure to click “Save Collection” to save your newly-created collection.
  8. Next, assign items to a collection:
    1. Open an item you want to add to the collection.
    2. To the right of the page, under the “Add Item” button is a drop-down menu where you can assign your item to a collection. Remember, items can only belong to one collection.
  9. Be sure to click the “Add Item” button to save your data.

How to Build an Exhibit:

(Modified from http://omeka.org/codex/Plugins/ExhibitBuilder)

1. Click on the Exhibits tab in the top nav bar of the Admin interface, and click the “Add Exhibits” button on the right side. You will arrive at an Exhibit Metadata page. Fill in the empty fields.

  • Exhibit Title: This is the title of the entire exhibit (e.g. “Irene Adler in Adaptations”)
  • Exhibit Slug (no spaces or special characters): This is the exhibit name as it appears in the website URL. For example, “adler” is the slug in http://holmesiana.net/exhibits/show/adler
  • Exhibit Credits: These will appear with description on the public site. Put your name here.
  • Exhibit Description: Write a brief introduction to the entire exhibit that appears on the public site.
  • Exhibit Tags: Tags help associate exhibits with other items in your archive.
  • Exhibit is featured: Leave this blank
  • Exhibit is public/not public: Check “Public”
  • Exhibit Theme:  By default, “Current Public Theme” is selected. DO NOT CHANGE THE THEME.
  • Use Summary Page: Uncheck the box. This will get rid of a title page for your exhibit.

2. To proceed with your exhibit, you must create a page, so click “Add Page.”

3. Give your page a title and a slug (e.g. “Adler Adaptations” for the title and “adler” for the slug).

4. Next, you choose the layout for your exhibit.  Since you’ll be writing 300 words about the objects in your archive, you’ll want to select “File with Text.” This lets you include images and a description about them.

5. Select “Add New Content Block.”

6. Now, you’re ready to add your text and items.

7. Click the “Add Item” button, select your first item, click “Select Item,” give it a short caption (under a sentence), and click “Apply.”

8. Type your text about the first item in the box labeled “Text” below.

9. Click on the arrow next to the words “Layout Options.” Adjust the drop-down menus to change the position and size of your image.

10.  Repeat steps 5-9 for each item in your exhibit. Remember to click “Save Changes” frequently.

11. Congrats! You made an exhibit! Click “Save Changes” one last time, then go to http://holmesiana.net, click “Browse Exhibits,” and find yours. Click on it and make sure you’re happy with how it looks. 

Wrapping Up:

Don’t forget to post links to the items, collection, and exhibit to the class blog!

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