persona – Online Portfolio

April 13, 2018

Since my March post, I have been working on designing and creating an oral history page for Lucile Quarry Mann. After listening to more than 30 hours of audio recorded interviews and reviewing the transcripts, I selected at least 4 interesting segments from the interviews as featured items. I enjoyed the selection process because I became more familiar with Lucile Mann’s life. Her life with Dr. William Mann was exciting and adventurous. Also, I enjoyed listening to Pam Henson’s interviewing techniques because they will help me to develop a better understanding of oral history and approaching it from a different perspective. Pam’s discourse with Lucile Mann revealed exciting stories about the couple and how they contributed to the Smithsonian history and culture.

The process of linking the images to the selected interview segments was very challenging. First, I had to research the Smithsonian Archives for images to match the interview segments. Second, I had to splice the exact point an interview segment begins and ends. Third, I had difficulty narrowing down my selections. I tried my best to stay within the 5 minutes or less for the interview selections. Fourth, I was unable to find specific images for one of the interview segments that I thought would be a great featured item to entice the audience to listen to the full interviews. Even though the interviews were audio recordings, I was determined to make a video that synchronizes the audio recording segment with the images that were from the Mann family collections (e.g. photo albums, field books, and journals). During this process, I constantly thought about my audience. I created and designed for two different personas who would be most interested in listening to the oral history interviews, especially Lucy Mann’s interviews. Here is a link to the video in YouTube: https://youtu.be/lhpLiLftZpc

In one of our weekly meetings, I informed Pam and Lisa that I was unable to find most of the images for one of the segmented interviews. Pam sent excellent files for me to search for more images. These files allowed me to explore another segment that might be interesting to the audience. Pam designed the Oral History Intro Page. Lisa designed the Oral Histories summaries page. I designed Lucile Quarry Mann’s page for the Oral History Collection. However, when we had our meeting, we provided feedback for each other’s design because it was a collaborative effort. I designed Lucile Mann’s page in a landscape layout, so that it would closely resemble an actual web page. I tried to stay within the current guidelines of the Smithsonian’s Natural History website. I used my skills from my GMU course in designing a digital platform for a public humanities and history website. For L. Mann’s page, I tried to keep it less crowded and spaced out with a main image of Lucile Mann, a short bio section, an image carousel, segment clips with transcript, and a video that combines the audio recording of interview with images in synchronization. I had to post it in YouTube because the video was too large to send via email. I also added closed caption and transcript. I included a link to access the full interviews with a short description to tap into the curiosity of the audience to find out more about Lucy’s adventurous life. For the description, I kept the language simple and engaging. I learned this technique in my GMU coursework in Digital Humanities. Also, I added a Finding Aid link and links for additional resources that reference Lucile Q. Mann within the Smithsonian Archives and website.

My project was challenging, but I enjoyed it. It made me think about ways to redesign my own public humanities website. It also encouraged me to work with people from different professions and listen to good feedback. Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity are key elements in presenting a living history on a digital platform. This project has given me a chance to work on honing my video making and audio synchronization skills. Therefore, I look forward to seeing the finished product.

March 9, 2018

For the past few weeks, I have been working with Pam and her assistant Lisa to redesign and re-envision the Smithsonian’s oral history website. After reviewing, evaluating, and discussing 8 different oral history websites, each of us came up with ideas for a website redesign plan. I used the skills that were learned during my GMU Digital Humanities coursework. I also incorporated skills from designing my own websites. I imagined at least 2 different personas to approach my design from an audience’s perspective. Then, I typed a document that explains each part of the redesigned website. After I wrote my draft, I sketched what the redesigned website would look like. I learned this skill in Dr. Leon’s class when I was designing my public history website. I drew 4 different web pages of the website with a pencil (traced it over with a dark blue ink pen) on white sheets of 8 x11 paper: main page, about page, oral history interview pages A and B. I included a menu with clearly labeled buttons that will allow the user to learn about the site, navigate the oral history collections, listen and/view the oral history interviews, and read about interview’s background. It also included copyright information, a finding aid, map, timeline, and a contribution page for future crowdsourcing. Then, I scanned the completed sketches and saved them into a .pdf file. At the time I was redesigning the website, I was unaware that they had a current website. I was referencing the old website from 2004. I was informed about the current website when Pam, Lisa, and I re-convened to discuss our redesign plans. Fortunately, it all worked out. I suggested adding a timeline and map. The importance of having a timeline and/or map was something I learned in Dr. Kelly’s class. It helps the audience visualize the locations and time period when connecting them to the historical content. Also, I suggested placing a short video 1-2 minutes on the main page to introduce one of their featured collections to draw in the audience and engage them to explore their site and oral history collections. The other option was to include 1 or 2 paragraphs about the featured collection with selected images.

The next part of my internship is to create a way to sort and bring one of the collections together. Pam has suggested focusing on women at the Smithsonian, so we agreed it was good start. I received several audio interview recordings, transcripts, blog links about Lucile (Lucy) Quarry Mann. I am in the process of listening to the interviews while viewing the transcripts. Each interview is 30 minutes or more. During this time, I have created a short video (59 seconds) to get an idea of what a short video would look like to draw the audience to Lucy Mann’s oral history interviews. I used iMovie to created my video. Since the video was too large to send via email to Pam and Lisa, I had to post it on my YouTube Channel. Here is a link to my humble and short video: https://youtu.be/caC-9EFBcGM

December 2017

From November through December 12th, I worked on project summaries for the Smithsonian Transcription Center. My mentor, Ricc Ferranter, introduced me to Trello (web-based project management board) and walked me through the process of drafting and launching project summaries for crowdsourcing. Each slideshow required research, and I enjoyed researching various topics. The more I read each one, the more I wanted to know about certain things. The biggest challenge was trying to select one of the items in the documents that will capture the audience and lead them to transcribe them. There was so much interesting information that the selection process was challenging and fun. The Smithsonian Transcription Center relies on crowdsourcing for their transcriptions, so my goal was to draft short and engaging summaries with a good hook. In addition to writing summaries, I researched information about the selected topic and selected online sources that will provide additional information about it.

Crowdsourcing is challenging, but it has its benefits. By drafting and revising the project summaries, I learned to tweak my words to capture a broad audience. Keeping the summaries short (3-4 sentences) was a great challenge. To make the summaries a little more interesting, Ricc suggested that I add web links for specific information; so the transcribers can have access to additional information via the web. Working with Ricc was awesome. He provided helpful feedback for each of my summaries. Ricc taught me to see things from a different perspective.

Working as a virtual intern is an amazing experience. Ricc and I communicated on a weekly basis by phone, email, and Trello. He was very patient and informative. He provided useful and informative feedback. Using Trello helped me to organize my assignments and to communicate any changes or updates with my Smithsonian mentor. Working on a digital platform was convenient for both of us. Also, waiting to see how the transcribing process from the digital volunteers was coming along was exciting. Ricc would provide an update, and I would take a peek at the transcriptions.

For my internship, I used some of the skills I learned about crowdsourcing from my GMU Digital Public Humanities coursework. I had to constantly think about my audience, which meant shortening my sentences and being selective with my words to engage the audience. I recalled the persona exercise I had to do for one of my courses, and I put that into practice when drafting the summaries. Researching and adding the links to the summaries reinforced the concept of what is appropriate for a broad audience. Also, I had to think about copyright issues and be selective with web content when linking the websites to the project summaries. By using what I have learned from my coursework, I was able to draft project summaries for a broad audience.

My internship work with Ricc and the Smithsonian Transcription Center connected me to a digital world of communication. Even though I did not know the digital transcribers, I had a virtual connection with them by writing the project summaries. After my project summaries were launched on the STC website, I was able to see how the audience responded to each one of them. The virtual communication between different audiences to meet a certain goal via the web is truly amazing. The concept of digital humanities is reflected in this internship project. History comes alive when digital volunteers partake in the crowdsourcing efforts with Smithsonian Transcription Center.

What I enjoyed most about the internship is being introduced to different historical documents for review and research. Also, I enjoyed communicating with Ricc about my process and what things I need to revise/edit. Ricc is a very supportive mentor. I admire Ricc’s work and dedication. He does his best to keep the digital volunteers interested in the transcribing. I also had a chance to see how the public responds to my project summaries. My internship assignment with the Smithsonian Transcription Center opened my mind to thinking about my audience throughout the entire process, and it helped me to understand and appreciate crowdsourcing. Therefore, I have gained a new perspective on how digital humanities keeps history alive through digital communications.

A Reflection on how Modules 4 & 5 have shaped the thinking process for designing “Koreatowns in North Texas”

Designing my project took some time, patience, and creativity. Modules 4 and 5 prepared me for a different outlook on designing my project and overcoming some minor challenges along the way. By exploring the suggested project sites in Module 4, I was able to understand how each project tries to engage the audience in different ways. Reading the articles that explain the process of designing the project was very helpful. The information on metadata was also helpful. In “Why Collecting History Online is Web 1.5,” authors Sheila A. Brennan and T. Mills Kelly convey the importance of metadata: “Without a metadata schema, however, your project is doomed to a lack of interoperability with other collecting projects that potentially threaten its longevity.” Adding metadata and adhering to the Dublin Core provided the additional practice I needed for describing my items.

Learning to add items to a collection in Omeka provided an insight into viewing it from the outside. I had to keep the audience or personas in mind when I was making the digital collection. I had to carefully select items that might trigger the interest of my audience. Also, I had to think about the interface for my project. I selected Omeka instead of WordPress because it was best suited for my project. From the article, “Generous Interfaces for Digital Cultural Collections,” “Generous interfaces provide rich, navigable representations of large digital collections; they invite exploration and support browsing, using overviews to establish context and maintain orientation while revealing detail at multiple scales. Generous interfaces use multiple, fragmentary representations to reveal the complexity and diversity of cultural collections, and to privilege the process of interpretation.” With Omeka, I can add layers of information that allow the audience to select their digital experience. Instead of a linear navigation, Omeka features sections that the audience can select in different order.

The storyboarding activity in Module 5 provided an insightful look into my project site. At first, I had the images categorized into 2 collections and 1 exhibit. While storyboarding, I realized I needed to go back to two personas because it was becoming too much. Also, I switched from 2 Collections and 1 Exhibit to 3 Exhibits. I redesigned my storyboard images while I considered two personas: primary and secondary. By constantly thinking about how the user might navigate the site, I was able to see what changes I needed to make to make it more user friendly and engaging. According to Shawn Medero, “Paper prototyping can also help improve the final product: the prototyping stage is the right time to catch design flaws and change directions, and the flexibility and disposability of paper encourages experimentation and speedy iteration” (“Paper Prototyping”). By drawing each screen, I came to the conclusion that I needed a section that allowed the audience to take part in this project. So, I added two additional sections: Cultural Events and Remembering Koreatown. Similar to the Hurricane Digital Memory Book, Baltimore Uprising, and A More Perfect Union, I added sections that valued the audience’s experience and contributions in order to build the project to its full potential. I also came to the conclusion that I would like to add another language, Korean, to my site after viewing Gulag: Many Days, Many Lives. Including another language in one or more sections of the site will add another level of audience engagement. Overall, the storyboarding activity provided an opportunity to reassess the narrative that I want to present in each exhibit as well as engaging the audience to share their narrative interpretation.

As always, content is very important. In Erin Kissane’s article, “A Checklist for Content Work,” she argues that “good content is user-centered.” While working on the infrastructure of my Digital Public History project site, I had reconsider the content. I had to think about the goals that I want my users to accomplish when they visit the site. This part is a work in progress because “content must adopt the cognitive frameworks of the user” (Kissane). I need to work on the diction and tone to capture my audience’s attention.

Modules 4 and 5 have shaped my thinking process for designing my project site. At times, I had to stop myself from doing too much and just think about it. When I was gathering my sources, I had to reconsider my personas. I realized that I had to scale down my personas from 4 to 2. Also, I had to think about the items and how they were going to be displayed. I had to revise the metadata and descriptions. This part is still a work in progress. In agreement with Suzanne Fischer, I had to “seek patterns” and take the time to think about my project because “synthesis is a creative skill that public historians can learn and teach” (“Developing your Synthetic Powers”). By looking for patterns in my project, I was able to pinpoint certain things that I had to scale back on since less is more.
I didn’t want to overwhelm my audience and lose their attention. I had to take a humanistic approach with technology. Therefore, maintaining a clear communication with the audience via the interface is very important when designing a Digital Public History project.

Project Proposal for “Koreatowns in North Texas”

“Koreatowns in North Texas”

The proposed “Koreatowns in North Texas” project will convey the importance of preserving an unrecognized part of American history. Currently, there is no website that allows the audience to access information about the history of Asian Americans in Texas. Multiple Asian American communities in Texas continue to prosper, and they contribute to the socio-economic development of the surrounding communities. Unfortunately, the history of the Asian American communities goes on undocumented by the Dallas County and the Dallas Historical Society. The proposed project will help inform people about an important part of the Dallas cultural and socio-economic history in order to bring awareness to a diverse community. It will emphasize the significance of immigration and the sustainability of urban and suburban development in diverse communities. The project will begin with the Korean American communities of Dallas County. There are two Koreatowns in North Texas: Koreatown Dallas and Koreatown Carrrollton. Each Koreatown is different, but both of them play a significant role in their community.

The proposed “Koreatowns in North Texas” project will ask the audience history questions pertaining to what they know about the history of Korean American communities and their connection to the two Koreatowns in North Texas. Here is a sample of the following history questions: What do you know about Korean American history in North Texas? What historical information about Koreatown Dallas or Koreatown Carrollton would you like to learn? How often do you visit Koreatown Dallas and/or Koreatown Carrollton? Describe your personal connection to one or both of the Koreatowns. What do you think makes Koreatown Dallas and/or Koreatown Carrollton interesting? Describe your earliest memory of Koreatown Dallas and/or Koreatown Carrollton. Describe your fondest memory of Koreatown Dallas and/or Koreatown Carrollton. What do you think stands out the most in Koreatown Dallas and/or Koreatown Carrollton? (e.g. the architecture, the cafes, the building signs, etc.). Some of the statements were revised from questions to non-questions to encourage the audience to provide more information.

Also, the project’s website will include a collection of digital images, short descriptions/narratives to connect with the audience, and information about important people who have contributed to the sustainability and development of the communities. Another component will be added for audience participation; they will be able to add their images and narratives that are related to the development of the Korean American communities. Their contributions will help build a historical collection online. Also, it will include digital maps to show the locations and spatial components in order to depict community integration and neighborhood gentrification.

In order to inform, persuade, and engage the audience, the website will implement digital tools. Omeka, an open source web publishing platform, will be used to feature the images as items. After the metadata is added for each item, the items will be organized into Collections or Exhibits. A Geolocation plugin will be added for mapping the locations of the items. Another plugin, Juxtapose will be used to show a side-by-side map comparison of both Koreatowns. Also, it will be used to show a map comparison of Koreatown Dallas in 1980s or 1990s versus now. An additional plugin, Commenting, will be added for the audience to add their comments. A Zoom It plugin will be added to allow the audience to zoom into the image and view it from different angles. Eventually, a social media plugin will be added.

For the target audiences, there are four different personas. Persona 1 includes the 1.5 and 2^nd generation Korean Americans. They visit the Koreatowns with family and friends. Some of them have contributed to the building or development of Koreatown Dallas or Koreatown Carrollton. Persona 2 includes an audience who is non-Korean American but is familiar with Korean culture and history from different levels, and they visit the Koreatowns. Persona 3 will be the audience who does not know anything about Korean culture and history, and they do not know that Koreatowns exists in North Texas. Persona 4 is the audience that is comprised of first generation Korean Americans who moved to North Texas during the late 1970s to 1990s and they have contributed directly to the development of Koreatown Dallas, or they have very strong personal connections to it.

Revised Personas

Persona 1

Name: Amy

Demographic: early 30s, female, Korean American, college educated, architect

Descriptive Title: Amy (Digital Native and Foodie)

Quote: Life is about Food, Culture, and Social Media.

A Day in a Life Narrative:

I am a second generation Korean American. I do not know that much about my Korean heritage; however, I am interested in learning more about Korean history and culture. I am also not familiar with Korean American history, especially in Texas. My job requires me to work on a computer on a daily basis. As an architect, I have a strong interest in learning about different cultures and how certain infrastructures influence sustainability and maintain a balance with surrounding communities. I pay attention to the use of space and how it interacts with people and nature. I also enjoy learning about different foods from around the world, and I enjoy purchasing various kitchen gadgets and appliances in order to learn to make different culinary delicacies. I am an avid user of technology and devices. I am on social media most of the day. I use social media to stay connected with friends and family. I also use it to learn about cultural things. The site on Koreatowns in Dallas and Carrollton will help me to explore both of them and to learn more about my heritage as a Korean American.

End Goals:

I don’t like to search through a plethora of information. I want to find my interests and explore them with minimal reading and more engagement in learning about Korean American history and culture and Koreatowns Dallas and Carrollton.

Persona 2

Name: Josephine

Demographic: 60s, female, African American, college educated, retiree

Descriptive Title: Josephine (Cultural Enthusiast and Social Learner)

Quote: Life is short; it’s best to learn something new each day.

A Day in a Life Narrative:

I am a recent retiree. I live with my husband and adorable dog. I like meeting people and making new friends. I enjoy being around younger people because of their vibrant and youthful energy. Working for an international company has allowed me to explore new cultures. Before I visited the two Koreatowns, I began learning the Korean language at a local community college. My interest in K Pop steered me toward learning Korean. To brush up on my Korean, I joined a Korean meetup group that meets in Koreatown. The group meets in Koreatown for an informal language learning and cultural excursions to a Korean restaurant or karaoke bar. I am not a native Korean speaker; however, I enjoy learning about Korean culture, history, and traditions. I use the internet to pay my bills, purchase items, and read news articles. I use social media to connect with my friends and family. The site will help me learn more about Korean culture and history.

End Goals:

Learning keeps me staying young, so I like to be informed and engaged by using minimal technology. I would like to use the site to learn about the different places and upcoming events in Koreatown and to continue practicing the Korean language.

Persona 3

Image not available.

Name: Chris

Demographic: 18-20s, high school graduate, lives at home with parents

Descriptive Title: Chris (Tech savvy and goes everywhere with smartphone)

Quote: I live one day at a time, but I don’t like waiting long for fast food.

A Day in a Life Narrative:

I am a recent high school graduate. I live with at home with my parents. I enjoy hanging out with my friends. I do not know anything about Korean culture and history. Also, I did not know that Texas had Koreatowns. Some of my friends are KPop fans, but I am not. However, I do not mind visiting a new place while I am with my friends. I use the internet to check up on my friends, watch my favorite shows and new movies, track upcoming festivals and concerts, and skim news articles. I use social media to connect with my friends and make new friends. The site will help me break away from my usual environment and learn something new. I might be able to convince my friends to visit one of the Koreatowns with me.

End Goals:

I use social media to learn about the current events since I do not watch the news. I enjoy reading about technology as long as the articles are short. My smartphone is with me at all times. I enjoy learning new things as long as it interests me and my friends.

Persona 4

Image not available.

Name: Mr. Kim

Demographic: 70s, retiree, middle-class, college educated from South Korea

Descriptive Title: Mr. Kim (Family Oriented and Korean Culture Enthusiast)

Quote: I am proud to be a Korean American who still believes the past can teach the new generations about the present and the future.

A Day in a Life Narrative:

I retired after owning a business with my wife for over 25 years. My wife and I are first-generation Korean Americans. We moved to Texas in the early 1980s. Since our degrees from Korea were not accepted, we worked very hard to save money and own a business in Koreatown Dallas. We raised our two children to excel in their studies, so they do not have to work hard like us. At the same time, my family and I were connected to the Korean community by being members of a local Korean church. After more than 25 years of owning a business, my wife and I were persuaded by our children that it was time to enjoy life and not worry about work every day. During my retirement, I learned to use the internet off and on. I do not like to use the internet every day; I still like to read the printed newspaper, especially the Dallas Korean newspapers. I use social media to connect with my children and grandchildren. The site will introduce my children and grandchildren to learn about the Korean American history and culture in Dallas. I would like to include my stories and pictures about Koreatown Dallas.

End Goals:

I enjoy being around my family. I use social media to stay connected with my children and grandchildren. I like to teach my grandchildren about Korean culture and history because I don’t want them to forget about their Korean heritage.

A Summative Blog on Audience, Engagement, and Co-Creation

Conducting research for building a prototype for a digital public history project comes with some interesting challenges. One of the challenges that I have encountered is creating a set of questions to find out more about my audience. During the early planning stage, I thought I had great ideas for whom the project will target. After interviewing my users, I realized I needed to revisit my set of interview questions. My questions were almost linear, and I needed to take less control and let the audience tell me what they are looking for. One of the audiences that I did not consider at the initial planning of my project is the audience who does not have any knowledge of both Koreatowns and Korean American history and culture in North Texas. If I could find a way to engage this type of audience, then I will have a better understanding of my audience.

According to Shlomo Goltz, “personas are one of the most effective ways to empathize with and analyze users.” Learning about personas and creating two personas for my project has helped to step back and see my project from another angle. Then, I began to understand my audience. I am currently in the process of creating a third persona to acknowledge another group of audience. Another challenge I have encountered is the technology aspect. I made the assumption that if my audience uses technology, then it will be less difficult to engage them. However, I needed to pay closer attention to different patterns of data and the data that was missing. Both users access social media, but the type and time spent for each one differs depending on what they need and want from each one. The users not only want to search for information, but they also want to learn and to be acknowledged. I plan to study more social media platforms in order to understand how each one serves a purpose for different audiences. This will help me to learn which ones serve a greater purpose in engaging the audience with the project, and it will help me to select the appropriate digital tools to engage my audience.

Furthermore, engagement becomes a key factor for keeping the audience interested, informed, and valued. They want to be part of the project in some way. Just like visiting and engaging in the physical spaces, the audience wants that similar experience in a digital space; and they want to leave a physical and digital space knowing that they have learned and/or contributed in some way. The shared inquiry between the audience and the project creators create an interesting dynamic. By inviting the audience to become part of the project, the level of engagement goes from minimal to valuable. Also, carefully researching the audience and the different types of engagement adds a humanistic approach to the project. I plan to integrate activities that both the audience and I can co-create or build the project together. In the meantime, I will continue to research the end goals of different users. Overall, the user research has helped me to view audience from a different perspective and how they play a significant role in the designing and planning of our digital public history project.