This week at TwTT, Thomas Beasley, a graduate student in Classics and the annotator of the digital edition of the graphic novel, Age of Bronze, joined us to talk about the iPad edition of the comic, called Age of Bronze: Seen. Distributed by Throwaway Horse, the electronic version features not only a story line informed by a comparative literary analysis and drawings based on the best available history, but also a reader’s guide built into the app that brings historical context and archaeological foundations into the narrative. Although some people are still skeptical of the graphic novel’s role in education, Thomas points out that comics are dynamic and have been embraced by Yale as a valid form of literature, and that the addition of the reader’s guide opens the path to exploring graphic novels as teaching tools in other disciplines as well.

Although the electronic format may seem natural, before Age of Bronze was on the iPad it was a meticulously researched print comic on the history of the Trojan War. The author, Eric Shanower, sought to go beyond the well-known end to the war, recounted in Homer’s Iliad, to create a graphic retelling of the whole ten year conflict. With such a vast undertaking, no single source was sufficient. Instead, Shanower drew upon centuries of literature to create the story line. The comic is informed as much by purported first person historical accounts as by 20th century opera, resulting in a narrative that is historically grounded, but fresh and relevant to contemporary audiences.

While the story line draws on many sources across time, the actual art of the comic is based on archaeology and material culture. Buildings and sites depicted in the work will mirror the best archaeological reconstructions available, and a close examination of any frame reveals details that are based on extensive research. Figurines, jewelry, instruments, weapons, frescoes, and altars depicted in the graphic novel are all based on historical finds. Where data was not available from Troy, Shanower drew on relics from the nearby Hittite culture – trying to keep speculative drawing to a minimum.

What the electronic edition of the graphic novel does is open up all of this careful research to the reader – making it accessible from a side-pane. When the iPad is in landscape orientation, the user can open the guide, and have access to a story summary, dramatis personae, the commentary, and a discussion area. The commentary section includes a background of the research on which scenes were based, and explains cultural and customary aspects of the story that may be easy to overlook in the comic by itself. The commentary is also interactive, providing download or purchase links for source material, as well as content useful for further research.

It is the interactive aspect of the reader’s guide that makes the app a useful tool for teaching. A comic is a form of literature that is naturally easier to understand than dense academic texts or original language source material, and can also make cultural or material historical references more apparent to students. The traditional weakness, however, is that this ease of reading comes at the expense of depth. With the inclusion of a parallel reader’s guide, this weakness is overcome. Students can now not only see a character complain about “breach of hospitality,” but also read about how scholars understand classical social norms and the repercussions for violating them. When reading about the decision to go to war, the comic may present some of the surface and personal reasons for conflict, while the guide can point readers to the geopolitical situation of the time.

In addition to serving as a launch point for research and discussion, the app itself can be an engine of collaborative learning. Using the discussion feature, students can engage each other and a larger community of readers in conversation while working through the narrative. A professor using the material could assign students to add comments to certain key parts of the graphic novel, provoking research on relevant periods or at least extending dialog after hours.

While usage of Age of Bronze: Seen in the classroom is currently low, this may be a result of relatively poor exposure – many instructors will dismiss comics offhand without awareness of the resources available through a digital edition. Nonetheless, the use of sequential art in conjunction with detailed historical background is novel, and may reflect a new way to present historical narratives to students. As more digital comic editions of classic works become available, it may be that graphic novels will be more significant in the future of digital humanities and in the next generation of digital publishing than they have been historically. After all as graphic novels gain acceptance as a valid subject of academic study, and earn places alongside traditional print media in academic libraries, it seems natural that what Thomas calls “a new version for a new century” will be put to new instructional uses.

For full coverage of this session, please click the video below
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More than half of the acquisitions budget of the Yale University Library System last year went to digital acquisitions – journals and books that exist only in cyberspace.  While this statistic may be shocking, especially since many people still think of libraries as repositories for dusty volumes sitting on dark shelves, it is only part of the modernization of Yale’s libraries.  In addition to expanding access to electronic resources, Yale has realized that students, staff, and faculty work differently than they did over 70 years ago, when Sterling Memorial Library was erected.  Today’s patrons are more likely to need access to advanced computational tools, help with quantitative methods and database searching, and to work in groups on presentations and joint projects.  With these new needs in mind,  Yale’s librarians worked in conjunction with the university’s IT services to conceive of a space where patrons could not only access advanced reference and technology resources, but also have a single point of service for support.  The product was the Center for Science and Social Science Information – the CSSSI.

As the CSSSI was planned, the needs of contemporary patrons were constantly in mind.  ITS and the Library had to work together to ensure that the research needs typically associated with a library could be balanced with the information processing capabilities found in facilities like Yale’s Statistical Laboratory (StatLab).  In order to reach this goal, the committee working on the CSSSI not only evaluated the present services offered at Yale by both ITS and the  Library, but also traveled to other institutions to observe how they were approaching the issue and to evaluate services not yet offered here in New Haven.  From this research, several key points emerged.  Among them, it became clear that students and faculty were in need of a facility that provided interdisciplinary information, collaborative space and services, and help with different resources from a single point of service. Thus, the foremost goal of the CSSSI would be to serve as an intellectual and social hub for both students and faculty.  The challenge then became to develop a space and collection that could fill this need.

Designing the Space

While library interiors are usually structured for quiet individual study, and librarians discourage writing on walls and surfaces, the CSSSI was designed to not only support but also encourage collaborative learning.  To this end, rather than using carrels and shelves to isolate study areas, the CSSSI has an open design and seating areas that encourage people to face each other and work together.  Many articles of furniture are also movable – allowing patrons to adapt spaces to their needs. In other areas, writable walls (both glass and painted), white boards, and projectors allow ideas to literally expand across the entire room – accelerating the flow of ideas between participants.  Since following an idea to its conclusion can often extend past library hours, there is a 24 hour flexible study area at the entrance to the CSSSI, allowing a productive session to continue uninterrupted into the night.  In the 24 hour area there is also a media wall – an expanse of monitors that displays useful library and campus information until a student plugs in his or her laptop and takes control of the entire unit.

The group-friendly atmosphere continues into the main room of the CSSSI, where all workstations have dual monitors and desks with two chairs, allowing students to easily work on assignments in pairs.  If students are developing a presentation they can easily step into one of the library’s presentation spaces.  These rooms are designed with not only projectors and presentation equipment, but also with cameras and videoconferencing equipment.  Some students will use this space to practice and review presentations or interviews, while others will use the videoconferencing hardware to meet with distant peers, on West Campus, for example.  Other group study rooms are equipped with mediascape screen sharing systems.  These systems allow up to eight students to share their displays using plug and play connectors.

One of the most important parts of the old Social Science Library was the associated StatLab.  Themba pointed out that in the old space there was a physical separation between the library and the lab that led some patrons to see the two facilities as separate entities.  This artificial division has been eliminated in the CSSSI, and the StatLab now occupies part of the main floor of the library.  Like other collaborative spaces, the StatLab has an abundance of writable surfaces, areas to continue conversations that started in the classroom, and hardware that allows screen sharing.  Along with group study rooms, collaborative workstations, and presentation spaces, the StatLab is part of a facility that has been built to understand and support today’s students and researchers.

Although collaborative spaces and technology dominate the library’s main space, books have not been eliminated.  On the lower level of the library students will find traditional quiet study carrels and the book stacks that house the library’s 180,000 volumes.  Current periodicals and certain reference texts are also still available in print form on the upper level of the CSSSI.

Enabling Technology

In the planning of the CSSSI it became clear that students not only needed spaces where they could work together, but also needed access to technology that enables research and makes collaboration more efficient.  With this in mind, the library installed a wide variety hardware devices equipped with software designed to take learning efficiency to new levels.

In the main space of the CSSSI, all workstations have been equipped with as much productivity software as possible.  This includes advanced statistical software, creative design packages, and document creation suites.  Since some students are more comfortable working on their personal computers, but still need access to the wired network to transfer massive amounts of data, there are workstations that include ethernet cables that students can plug directly into their own computers.

Creative design needs not met by the standard workspace image can be met by the row of Macs that line the library’s west wall.  These computers have been equipped to work with digital media, and have the software and computing horsepower to handle new media projects.  For students and researchers converting items in print media to digital form, there are scanning stations that include a book scanner, designed to quickly send PDFs of pages to an email account or flash drive, as well as a high resolution flatbed scanner connected to a workstation with a Wacom Cintiq writable display for fast image editing.

Machines with software that has not been licensed campus-wide, including a Bloomberg Terminal for access to real-time financial market information, are available at the desks closest to the courtyard.  The software on these computers, along with the regular workstation image, allows users to open and work with as many different types of data as possible.  In fact, the CSSSI makes every effort to support old formats of digital information.  Themba points out that if a user comes in with a floppy disk containing a presentation in the Harvard Graphics format from 1992, there will be hardware and support staff to open and convert that data into a useful format.

Support Staff

In order to offer support for the spaces and resources of the CSSSI, the Center’s staff is trained differently from librarians and research assistants in other libraries.  The information desk at the CSSSI exemplifies this transformation in library services.  Rather than being trained in only one aspect of the library, all staff members can provide basic help with both the hardware and software products offered at the CSSSI.  Desk workers are also trained to be able to help with research tasks in both the social sciences and the physical sciences, essentially establishing a single point of service that can assist with the most common patron requests and problems.  Staff expertise is kept up to date with a technology training curriculum.

When students need help with either technology or research that exceeds the scope of service provided at the information desk, they can meet with either a StatLab consultant for statistical software issues, or a specialty librarian for research questions.  These staff members reside in a set of offices known as “librarian row,” with glass walls designed to promote openness and communication.  In the pool of available experts at the CSSSI, there will be staff present to help design, research, and analyze results from a project.

The highly trained staff of the CSSSI help the library function as a technologically rich collaborative work and research space, while also allowing for new patron services including article scan-on-demand, delivery of print materials to offices, as well as enhanced research services.  Although the library’s location under the Kline Biology Tower targets science and social science majors, the unique blend of technological, collaborative, and research services at the CSSSI is sure to draw students and faculty from all disciplines to the new space.

Photos of CSSSI by Michael Marsland and Amanda Patrick via Yale News.

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Erin Scott, head of the Bass Media Equipment Checkout Service (BMEC) started off this spring’s Teaching with Technology Tuesdays (TwTT) series with a talk on digital media resources at Yale. Although art and filmstudents have access to the Digital Media Center for the Arts, and instructors can get help with media in teaching from the instructional technology group (ITG), the expanding media services of Bass Library offer all students access to both the equipment and training they need to complete basic digital projects.

What’s Digital Media and Why Use it?

While initially the BMEC lent some film based equipment, those items have been phased out. Why? Erin points out that it is the versatility and durability of digital media equipment that makes it desirable. With few or no moving parts and card or hard disk based storage systems, digital equipment can store massive amounts of data reliably. A student can then use one multi-function device or multiple specialized devices to combine photos, graphics, audio, and video, to engage in “digital storytelling,” the term for the use of digital media to convey ideas and messages in organized story form.

While some students and instructors will be excited to experiment with new ways to present ideas and research, others might question the benefit of digital media projects over traditional essays and papers. This concern is valid, and must be evaluated in the light of each specific case. In general, however, digital media has several advantages over text-only content. One of the most prominet is that it represents a modern approach to analysis, allowing viewers and listeners to access experiences that simply cannot be conveyed fully through text. There can also be forms of creativity showcased in a media presentation that are distinct from the creative process of essay writing, and video in particular allows a very literal form of multi-perspective analysis. The final reason has to do with culture – tech is sexy. With more information coming from audio and video sources, students want to gain fluency in digital media.

Connecting Students to Digital Media – Equipment and Training

In order to give students access to digital media resources, the BMEC program, and its supporting Bass Media Techs (BMTs) provide equipment, consultation, and basic hardware and software training, to students who are engaging in both personal and academic media projects, although priority is given to academic tasks. Currently the service is managed by Erin, who oversees 2 student managers and 17 dedicated media techs. All dedicated media employees are trained in the use of the equipment in the rental catalog, can answer very basic questions at the circulation desk, and can be paired with patrons for consultations with an appointment. In order to guarantee that students can have access to equipment as long as the library is open, all 50 Bass circulation employees are trained in the circulation, albeit not the use, of the equipment in the media catalog.

The volume of support staff hints at the large, and growing, size of the equipment collection. The articles being circulated include digital SLR cameras, digital camcorders, studio microphones, audio recorders, and writing tablets, among other popular, often pricey, items. Until checked out, media technology remains in a locked area behind the Bass circulation desk, which is the primary point of service for the BMEC program. Although students can make reservations “on the fly” at the desk, the BMEC program is constantly operating near capacity, and it is strongly recommended that students reserve equipment well in advance through the online reservation system at weke.its.yale.edu/bass. Answers to frequently asked questions, including the possibility for extended reservations under special circumstances, can also be found online at clc.yale.edu/bass-media-faq. Although the program is free, the high volume of circulation (over 250 per month) makes on-time returns crucial, and the penalty for being late is $35 per item per day. This keeps projects moving on time even at the end of semesters, when equipment reservations must be made weeks in advance.

Even if a student has placed a reservation long enough in advance, and has a good conception of what he or she needs it for, the hardest part of project is still ahead – using the equipment properly and mastering the final product. In order to help with this the BMEC has just launched an “Experts” program, where students can schedule a consultation with a BMT who has mastered a particular area of digital media. After setting up an appointment by emailing bassmedia@yale.edu, they can speak with a BMT who has become an expert in a relevant area of hardware or software. Currently consultations are available in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, Final Cut, iLife Suite, and all hardware. Experts gain their position by demonstrating ability with a minimum 20 hour self designed project. For students who prefer to learn independently, the campus license for the Lynda.com training system allows people to set up accounts and learn from a video tutor how to use a wide variety of software, including media related packages.

Teaching with Digital Media

Even when both students and instructors are enthusiastic about using digital media in the classroom, a successful project depends not only on the mastery of technology and software, but also on a well designed assignment. There are many types of project that can be assigned depending on the course being taught. History students may learn from making a documentary-like slideshow, music students may be tasked with developing an audio podcast, and business students can practice their creative presentation skills using a video project. Successful media projects can also be disseminated through a number of channels, from DVDs to screencasts and websites. The common denominator for all media projects, however, is planning by both educator and student. It is easy to underestimate the time required to produce even a short media project – beginners will spend on average seven minutes editing video for every one minute they spend filming, and when all phases of the project are considered it can take up to two hours of work to produce every minute of final product.

Since digital media projects can take so much time to complete, optimal results are achieved when students and instructors have realistic expectations, engage in careful planning, and break the project into smaller graded chunks. There are many tools available to help first-time media producers estimate how long different steps will take. For instructors, the CLC offers resources to help plan and grade successful projects at the Digital Media Teaching Resources Page. This includes a sample digital assignment rubric which suggests how to identify and weigh different parts of a project. Both instructors and students can benefit from a time estimate for the different phases of  production, and there are a number of such project estimators online. One recommended service comes from the University of Delaware indicates how much time a student can expect to spend on each step of a project, based on type of project and length of final product.  Checklists and rubrics can be used to keep students on the projected schedule, and using class “showcases” is an effective tactic to encourage students to perform at their best since their work will be seen and judged (but not graded) by peers.

Planning is important at all phases. Storyboarding and scriptwriting can be difficult processes, but completing these steps early allows for an evaluation of the feasibility of a project. Students should have a backup plan from the beginning in case their first idea just doesn’t work. Reservations for equipment should also be made long in advance since shelves can empty quickly as final deadlines approach. Even if the best equipment stocked by BMEC is available, however, that does not always mean that it is the equipment best suited to any given project. An expert consultation, scheduled by emailing bassmedia@yale.edu, can help a student figure out what kind of equipment they need, how to use it, how long the project might take, what software is needed, and other common media related questions. Equipment is not all plug and play, and a meeting with an expert in advance can save hours of work caused by a simple mistake.

With planning and proper communication of expectations digital media can unleash the creativity of students. Although the complexity of projects must obviously be evaluated in terms of the amount of time allotted for completion (students can accomplish much more in a semester-long task than a shorter assignment), and can be submitted in many different ways – from DVD to YouTube to ClassesV2, multimedia stories can be used to powerfully express ideas that are traditionally relegated to the world of print reports and oral presentations. An example comes from the University of Alabama’s undergraduate business program, where students used the imagery of Forrest Gump to propose a business model. The internet is full of resources to help brainstorm and implement a creative media project, including the CLC’s resource page and a wiki collection of over 50 tools useful in relating a story using media. As Yale’s resources expand, and the role of media in communication continues to increase, now is an excellent time to consider planning and implementing media projects as part of a class curriculum.

For full coverage of this session, please click the video below
(note a slight delay upon initial playback):