Difference between revisions of "Case Study UoS"

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== SCARLET+ at University of Sussex ==
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== Why SCARLET+ at University of Sussex? ==
  
 
[http://www.sussex.ac.uk/library/specialcollections University of Sussex Special Collections] has long been interested in how new ideas and technologies can allow our collections to be used in different ways, as our recent projects with [http://blogs.sussex.ac.uk/salda/about/ linked data] and Open Educational Resources demonstrate.  
 
[http://www.sussex.ac.uk/library/specialcollections University of Sussex Special Collections] has long been interested in how new ideas and technologies can allow our collections to be used in different ways, as our recent projects with [http://blogs.sussex.ac.uk/salda/about/ linked data] and Open Educational Resources demonstrate.  
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== MOP & Observing 1980s – OER and outreach ==
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== Mass Observation Project & Observing 1980s – Open Educational Resources and outreach. ==
  
 
Scarlet+ focuses on our [http://www.massobs.org.uk/index.htm Mass Observation] collections, with particular focus on material digitised as part of the JISC-funded project Observing the 1980s. Mass Observation was established in 1937 as a social observation project in which people around the country were recruited to become what Mass Observation’s founders described as “the cameras with which we are trying to photograph contemporary life”.  
 
Scarlet+ focuses on our [http://www.massobs.org.uk/index.htm Mass Observation] collections, with particular focus on material digitised as part of the JISC-funded project Observing the 1980s. Mass Observation was established in 1937 as a social observation project in which people around the country were recruited to become what Mass Observation’s founders described as “the cameras with which we are trying to photograph contemporary life”.  
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== Voices In Your Pocket - creating the structure of an AR app ==
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== Creating the structure of an Augmented Reality app ==
  
 
After the first workshop no actual decisions were made on what Sussex would build as its SCARLET+ AR app, so the university staff involved met for an hour the next day to do this.  
 
After the first workshop no actual decisions were made on what Sussex would build as its SCARLET+ AR app, so the university staff involved met for an hour the next day to do this.  
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Matt Ramirez took my counterpart from University of the Creative Arts and me through the process of AR app creation step by step over the course of a day.  
 
Matt Ramirez took my counterpart from University of the Creative Arts and me through the process of AR app creation step by step over the course of a day.  
 
The importance of face-to-face contact for anyone venturing for the first time into the world of code, and webspace, and php files cannot be overstated. Having a real person, an expert with practical experience, to ask questions of is a powerful learning tool. This is particularly true of such new technology, where how-to guides and the like are few and far between.  
 
The importance of face-to-face contact for anyone venturing for the first time into the world of code, and webspace, and php files cannot be overstated. Having a real person, an expert with practical experience, to ask questions of is a powerful learning tool. This is particularly true of such new technology, where how-to guides and the like are few and far between.  
By providing us with carefully explained lines of code to and showing us what happens when different sections are changed, Matt gave us the framework and confidence to create my own AR applications. My understanding of the way AR works increased exponentially and this was the tipping point were I fel able not only to build the application but also to explain to others how it works and show them how to create their own; embedding the skills into our department as we have wanted to from the beginning.
+
By providing us with carefully explained lines of code to and showing us what happens when different sections are changed, Matt gave us the framework and confidence to create my own AR applications. My understanding of the way AR works increased exponentially and this was the tipping point were I felt able not only to build the application but also to explain to others how it works and show them how to create their own; embedding the skills into our department as we have wanted to from the beginning.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
== Voices In Your Pocket - University of Sussex Special Collection's first AR app. ==
 +
 
 +
[[File:QR code scan toolkit.png]] [[File:GLUE image scan toolkit.png]]

Revision as of 14:23, 25 March 2013

Why SCARLET+ at University of Sussex?

University of Sussex Special Collections has long been interested in how new ideas and technologies can allow our collections to be used in different ways, as our recent projects with linked data and Open Educational Resources demonstrate. In the SCARLET Augmented Reality project we saw the chance to be involved in a developing field which promises to expand teaching and outreach opportunities for archival collections, which by their very nature cannot be used outside a very specific environment. Although there is no experience that can recreate looking at the original documents, not everyone can, will, or knows they can visit an archive. AR and other tablet based digital technologies seem to offer a way to take archives out of the reading room and present them to new audiences in as authentic a way as is possible.


Mass Observation Project & Observing 1980s – Open Educational Resources and outreach.

Scarlet+ focuses on our Mass Observation collections, with particular focus on material digitised as part of the JISC-funded project Observing the 1980s. Mass Observation was established in 1937 as a social observation project in which people around the country were recruited to become what Mass Observation’s founders described as “the cameras with which we are trying to photograph contemporary life”. The move in the 1970s of the Mass Observation Archive (MOA) material to the University of Sussex inspired the establishment of a second phase of collecting which began in 1981, named the Mass Observation Project (MOP), a living archive which continues to this day. Mass Observation provides researchers with a vast collection of qualitative data on many subject themes, and over the past ten years the archive has been involved in various projects to increase their accessibility, both to researchers and to anyone wishing to use it to teach at all levels. The importance of the Observing the 1980s Open Educational Resource (OER) is that it gives easy access to MOP material and allows its free use for educational purposes. The OER will also be embedded in a 2nd year History course, run at Sussex by Dr. Lucy Robinson, academic lead for the University of Sussex SCARLET+ project.


First Sussex Workshop - the importance of a pedagogical approach.

For our first SCARLET+ workshop, we were lucky to be joined by Sussex staff members with experience in E-Learning Developer and Educational Development, our academic lead from the Department of History, the Project Manager Observing the 1980s, and a variety of Special Collections staff. Having input in this initial brainstorming stage from people who have such different skills and experience was invaluable as it widened our ideas of what was possible both in teaching and with the technology itself. 1stSussexWorkshop.jpg

When using Observing the 1980s as the basis for our AR app was first suggested, it was with the intention of using the app to give access to the whole OER in a different format. As we listened to Team SCARLET’s experiences during their first visit to us it quickly became apparent that this was not only not appropriate for AR, but vastly under-used its potential. AR is not just a new way to present archival material, it gives us the opportunity provide a unique experience for our users and researchers.

Stuart Lamour discussing SCARLET's pedagogical approach to Augmented Reality

Once we all had a better understanding of what Scarlet was and how AR had been used so far, we had a discussion where all attendees voiced concerns and ideas and the group discussed them. Points of discussion included:

Using AR to teach students what MOP is and how to use it.

Concerns as to how we use the actual objects from MOP. Do we use MO person codes, pages, folders, or boxes as triggers?

MOP is huge; can we use originals when only a small number of directives and panel members are in Observing the 1980’s? How do we guide the students towards using this.

Can we use the Observing the 1980’s material as a resource within the AR app. If so, how?

Using AR to give information on the panel members themselves when a directive response is being scanned.

Can students create their own piece of AR as part of the course? How might this be assessed.

University of Sussex tours using AR to delve into the past. Could this include the images used in Jeremy Deller’s postcard exhibition? Can students leave comments or upload their own content as they move around campus?

How much better it would be not to have to choose a channel, just to have a ‘University of Sussex AR’ app. that recognised which data set to draw from when scanning the triggers. Is this possible? Scanning the location barcodes on the boxes. Scanning a directive question.

Giving background information on the directives; videos on where ideas came from, information from staff, links to responses, relevant music, youtube clips, etc.

Using the time and space aspect of AR and the problems of GPS indoors.

Giving the current retrospective view of the directive subjects to compare with the actual material collected at the time by MOP.

Can we use the Observing the 1980’s necklaces as the items that are scanned? If so, can we put Margaret Thatcher’s head on Lucy when she is teaching?

Is the Observing the 1980’s material actually suitable to be used as the AR data for this project?


This extensive list, most of which has no connection to the final AR app we created, shows how widely the conversation ranged. I consider this to be an essential part of developing AR applications as it allows the partners involved to explore the idea of AR within the context of their own needs.


Creating the structure of an Augmented Reality app

After the first workshop no actual decisions were made on what Sussex would build as its SCARLET+ AR app, so the university staff involved met for an hour the next day to do this. Having limited time after being able to digest what we had learnt worked well, and we quickly created a structure that has not changed throughout the project.

Our purpose was to develop an AR application using material from the Mass Observation Project, to be used as part of Dr. Lucy Robinson's course on Thatcher’s Britain.

The team was eager to make sure that AR added something unique to Dr. Robinson’s teaching and the idea of using the application to present additional voices and their attitudes towards MOP seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

The app was named 'Voices In Your Pocket' and the three voices represented will be:

• A member of Special Collections.

• The Mass Observers themselves, through their writings mixed with biographical details.

• A student historian who has used the Mass Observation Project in their research.


A structure like this that concentrates on the interpretation of archival material could be applied to any discipline and any collection; for example an application could be created that uses part of our Bloomsbury collections to give voices to an archivist, Virginia Woolf herself, and a fan of her books.


Building an AR app for the first time.

The first thing to highlight in this section of our case study is that I have never before created Augmented Reality, never written code, never edited videos - most of the tasks I undertook to create Voices In Your Pocket were entirely new to me.

The first step in overcoming this lack of experience was a technical workshop at Mimas. Matt Ramirez took my counterpart from University of the Creative Arts and me through the process of AR app creation step by step over the course of a day. The importance of face-to-face contact for anyone venturing for the first time into the world of code, and webspace, and php files cannot be overstated. Having a real person, an expert with practical experience, to ask questions of is a powerful learning tool. This is particularly true of such new technology, where how-to guides and the like are few and far between. By providing us with carefully explained lines of code to and showing us what happens when different sections are changed, Matt gave us the framework and confidence to create my own AR applications. My understanding of the way AR works increased exponentially and this was the tipping point were I felt able not only to build the application but also to explain to others how it works and show them how to create their own; embedding the skills into our department as we have wanted to from the beginning.


Voices In Your Pocket - University of Sussex Special Collection's first AR app.

QR code scan toolkit.png GLUE image scan toolkit.png