Class Participation (10%)

Class participation is required for everyone. This means you need to engage in the class discussion at least once, in class, each week. You can do this very easily by asking or answering questions in the text chat, but please note that participation means making a meaningful contribution to an ongoing discussion; simply attending class does not count as participation.

You have two free passes for the semester -- no explanation needed -- and of course you won't be penalized for a legitimate, excused absence (just drop me an email explaining what is happening, before class if possible). Each day of non-participation (beyond the two free passes and excused absences) will subtract a point from your class participation grade.

Project 1: Digital Objects (30%)

This is an individual assignment that builds upon our readings and in-class discussions, and gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of how museums are using information technologies to create digital records and record information about museum artifacts.

To complete this assignment, you'll use an open-source, web-publishing platform called Omeka (you'll get a login for our Omeka server in class) to create object records, including images, for five cultural or natural objects of your choice from your own personal collections.

You will catalogue those objects using museum metadata standards. By default, Omeka uses the Dublin Core data structure standard (why?), but you should consider how you can use data content standards like Cataloging Cultural Objects, and data value standards like the Getty Vocabularies to guide your content creation process.

As part of completing this project, you will answer two project prompts on our Canvas discussion forums; answering these prompts will help ensure that you are on track to complete your assignment on time:

  1. Project 1 Prompt 1 (5%) Due September 14. What (five) objects have you chosen to document in Omeka? What do you think will be the most challenging thing about describing these objects using the Dublin Core metadata standard?
  2. Project 1 Prompt 2 (5%) Due September 21. What additional metadata standards (i.e., beyond the Dublin Core) are you using to guide your data entry in Omeka? Are you using data content standards (such as Cataloging Cultural Objects) to determine what information goes in which Dublin Core element? Are you using data value standards (such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings) to standardize your data entry through controlled vocabularies?

Post your answers to each Project Prompt to the correct discussion forum on Canvas. Please include links and/or screenshots as necessary so that we can better understand what you are doing and/or follow-up to learn more about your ideas! Length: minimum 50 words.

When you have completed your project, you will write and submit an assignment to the class Canvas site covering the following points, in this order, using headings and subheadings to separate each point:

  1. Project 1 Records (10%) Due October 5. Provide a link to your five Omeka records (which should be grouped into a collection or appropriately tagged with your name or other identifying information). Your records should demonstrate your understanding of the functionality of the system, and should be as detailed and as consistent as possible (within the constraints of the system and the inherent limitations of your chosen objects).
  2. Project 1 Reflection (10%) Due October 5. What was the most interesting thing you learned from this assignment about metadata standards and digital records in museums? What were some of the problems you encountered, and how did you solve them? How did completing this assignment deepen your understanding of the role of information professionals in museums?

Submit your assignment to Canvas under the "Project 1" assignment. Make sure your submission includes the name and number of the course, the instructor's name, YOUR NAME, the name of the assignment, and the date submitted. Length: minimum 500 words.

Project 2: Digital Systems (30%)

This is an individual assignment that builds upon our readings and in-class discussions, and gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of how museum professionals are interacting with their collections through collections management systems.

To complete this assignment, you'll use an open-source, collections management system called CollectionSpace (you'll get a login for the server in class) to create museum collections management records, including images, for a single cultural or natural object of your choice from your own personal collections (this can be one of the same objects you used in the previous project, or a new object altogether).

You will first create a new "Primary Record" for your selected object in CollectionSpace (please make a new record from scratch, making sure your name and the name and number of this course are clearly marked in this record), then create Related Records -- e.g., an Acquisition Record, a Condition Check Record, a Media Handling Record, a Loan Out Record, an Object Exit Record -- that simulate the process of accessioning a new object into a museum, filling out condition reports, uploading images, sending the object out on loan, and finally deaccessioning the object -- following appropriate collections management procedures (such as Spectrum) at each step along the way.

As part of completing this project, you will answer two project prompts on our Canvas discussion forums; answering these prompts will help ensure that you are on track to complete your assignment on time:

  1. Project 2 Prompt 1 (5%) Due October 12. What (single) object have you chosen to document in CollectionSpace? What steps in the (hypothetical) lifecycle of this object are hoping to document in CollectionSpace?
  2. Project 2 Prompt 2 (5%) Due October 19. What do you think will be most challenging thing about documenting your object's (hypothetical) lifecycle in CollectionSpace? What standards or best practices are you using to guide the process of creating collections management records for your object?

Post your answers to each Project Prompt to the correct discussion forum on Canvas. Please include links and/or screenshots as necessary so that we can better understand what you are doing and/or follow-up to learn more about your ideas! Length: minimum 50 words.

When you have completed your project, you will write and submit an assignment to the class Canvas site covering the following points, in this order, using headings and subheadings to separate each point:

  1. Project 2 Records (10%) Due November 2. Provide a link to your object's "Primary Record" in CollectionSpace (which should include your name or other identifying information, and should also be connected to each of your Related Records). Your records should demonstrate your understanding of the functionality of the system, and should be as detailed and as consistent as possible (within the constraints of the system and the inherent limitations of your chosen object).
  2. Project 2 Reflection (10%) Due November 2. What was the most interesting thing you learned from this assignment about working with collections management systems in museums? What were some of the problems you encountered, and how did you solve them? How did completing this assignment deepen your understanding of the role of information professionals in museums?

Submit your assignment to Canvas under the "Project 2" assignment. Make sure your submission includes the name and number of the course, the instructor's name, YOUR NAME, the name of the assignment, and the date submitted. Length: minimum 500 words.

Project 3: Digital Knowledge (30%)

This is an individual assignment that builds upon our readings and in-class discussions, and gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of how museum are encouraging users of all types to become active participants in the co-creation of new knowledge based on museum resources.

To complete this assignment, you'll select a publicly available crowdsourcing application either developed or made available by a museum (or library or archive) that encourages you to add your knowledge to a set of information records, and then contribute your knowledge to five information resources (broadly defined, as appropriate to your application) as instructed by the system you have selected.

The specific details of your contributions will naturally vary depending on the application you have selected, but your goal should be to contribute sufficient information to this resource for you to develop a good understanding of how your selected crowdsourcing application works, how your contributions will be used (in theory at least), and why the users of this system would want to contribute their knowledge to this resource.

As part of completing this project, you will answer two project prompts on our Canvas discussion forums; answering these prompts will help ensure that you are on track to complete your assignment on time:

  1. Project 3 Prompt 1 (5%) Due November 9. What publicly available crowdsourcing application have you selected for this assignment? What interests you about this application? Why has this organization turned to crowdsourcing for this particular application?
  2. Project 3 Prompt 2 (5%) Due November 16. What guidelines are available for you to consult about the process of contributing to this crowdsourcing application? What challenges do you think you will encounter as you follow these guidelines? How useful do you think your contributions will be for the organization running this application?

Post your answers to each Project Prompt to the correct discussion forum on Canvas. Please include links and/or screenshots as necessary so that we can better understand what you are doing and/or follow-up to learn more about your ideas! Length: minimum 50 words.

When you have completed your project, you will write and submit an assignment to the class Canvas site covering the following points, in this order, using headings and subheadings to separate each point:

  1. Project 3 Records (10%) Due December 7. Provide a link to the contributions you made to the crowdsourcing application you selected (if it's not possible to link directly to your contributions, please include screenshots showing your work). Your records should demonstrate your understanding of the functionality of the system, and should be as detailed and as consistent as possible (within the constraints of the system and the inherent limitations of your contributions).
  2. Project 3 Reflection (10%) Due December 7. What was the most interesting thing you learned from this assignment about involving users as active participants in crowdsourcing projects? What were some of the problems you encountered, and how did you solve them? How did completing this assignment deepen your understanding of the role of information professionals in museums?

Submit your assignment to Canvas under the "Project 3" assignment. Make sure your submission includes the name and number of the course, the instructor's name, YOUR NAME, the name of the assignment, and the date submitted. Length: minimum 500 words.

Notes on Individual Assignments

Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (EDT or EST, as appropriate) on the dates indicated above. Late assignments will not receive full credit. If you have extenuating circumstances, please let me know ASAP.

When the papers are marked, points will be assigned based on the assumption that you have carefully followed, read, and understood the assignment descriptions. Please do not hesitate to ask for clarifications!

Written Assignments should be submitted to Canvas as an individual file (PDF preferred), and please make sure your surname is part of the filename.

All submissions must include a title page or section with your name, the name and number of the course, the instructor's name, the name of the assignment, and the date submitted.

You are required to use headings and/or subheadings to make the organization of your paper clear to the reader. The main headings in your paper must correspond to the main sections of the assignment descriptions, listed above. Subdivide each section to reflect its content as necessary.

Papers must be demonstrably spell-checked, grammar-checked, and proofread for nonsense; failure to do so will result in a lower grade.