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These are the slides for a Power Session I gave at the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference in Spokane, WA on 11/1/2012. The talk was titled "Using Mobile History Apps to Create Historical Communities." Feel free to contact me!
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Going Mobile!
Using Mobile Interpretation to Strengthen Preservation Communities
Larry Cebula
Washington State Archives
Eastern Washington University
How do you curate a city?
Multiple Eras
Multiple Stories
Some Are Right in Front of You
Tadajiro Muramatsu was born on September 24, 1875 in Ueno village, Nishi-Yatsusiro county, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. For generations, his family engaged in farming. He was easy-going, enjoyed drinking, and had many friends. He loved ancient poems and would recite them when he had been drinking . . . He married a woman from the Aoki family, and they had a boy named Tadao. This tomb was built in his memory and on it, his overall life story was told. January 7, 1919 Tadao built this tomb.
How do we tell these stories?
• Maps and Guides
How do we tell these stories?
• Plaques and Monuments
How do we tell these stories?
• Walking Tours
Enter the mobile revolution
There are two platforms
What can you do with mobile interpretation?
• Interpret any site
• Geolocation• Text, images• Copy any
physical interpretation
What else can you do with mobile?
• Multimedia• Oral histories• Low cost per site• Multiple stories per site• Changing interpretation• Partnerships• QR Codes• Web presence
Choices When Going Mobile
• Make your own or join a project?• Who is your audience?• Commercial or non-profit partnerships?• Native app or optimized website?• Multimedia?• Which platforms?• Reuse content or develop fresh?• Images and copyright?
A Few Best Practices
• Own your content• Build a database• Don’t reinvent the wheel• Partner promiscuously• Form an editorial board• Use blogs as rough drafts• Eschew perfection
A few Do-Nots
• Don’t repeat historical errors!• Don’t scrape a database• Don’t be boring• Don’t get stale• Don’t replicate a
paper tour
How does it work?
• Supported by Public History program at EWU• Omeka database• Android, iOS, and associated website• Currently work of EWU students• Research from Northwest Museum of Arts &
Culture, Spokane Public Library, Spokane Valley Heritage Museum, Washington State Archives, etc., etc.
Difficulties and Lessons Learned
• Some students are smarter than others• Copyright and images• Audio is better from professionals• Stops can be built in stages• It takes a village, or at least a team• Promotion is almost another project• Steady funding• Huge public interest!
Contact Us
Larry Cebula
NorthwestHistory.Blogspot.com
SpokaneHistorical.org
