Dr. Kit’s History Lab was created as an online resource center for students working on digital scholarship projects for Dr. Tomoko Kitagawa’s fall 2011 courses (Japanese History 146: Kyoto; and East Asian Studies 131: Math and History in East Asia). Students used this website to find campus resources, see example videos, and follow step-by-step guides for creating the media elements of their projects. Not only did students get a better sense of project expectations and how to achieve high-quality work, but they also felt less intimidated by the new technology that many were working with for the first time. 

ATG staff developed a comprehensive website to serve as the main resource for students’ digital scholarship projects; created custom tutorial guides and videos for movie editing and audio recording; provided example videos on which students could model their assignments; and supplied information on resources available both on campus and on the web. Some students created audio podcasts, others documented the process of creating a historic scientific instrument through video, and still others created a 3D tour of Kyoto. Projects were scaffolded so that students could ramp up technical skills and learn how to make a successful argument in this new medium.

After the first semester of doing these multimedia assignments, ATG staff made short videos of students talking about their experiences. This enabled other faculty members to get a better sense of whether this type of assignment would fit into their teaching.

The tools and technologies used for this project included:

• iMovie and Final Cut
• GarageBand and Audacity
• Course iSites
• Video and audio recording equipment
• Green screen recording in the ATG and MPC studios

Learn more at Dr. Kit’s History Lab.