necc08

=Digital Investigators: Using Digital Media for Project-Based Learning=

**//Last updated: 7/2/08 6:00 PM Central//** NECC 2008 Session BYOL: Bring Your Own Laptop Session Wednesday, 7/2/2008, 1:30pm–2:30pm; Grand Hyatt Lone Star Ballroom C **Participants: Please bring ear buds or headphones.**

Introduction
[|Teaching American History Grant] [|Voices Rising Project website]

Definition of Primary Source
A primary source is a document, speech or other evidence written or created during the time that the historical event occurred. Examples include autobiographies, diaries, letters, official records, artifacts, etc. (Although transcriptions are included by definition as primary sources, it is the goal of //Voices Rising// to provide images of original sources whenever possible, and to include transcriptions as tools to assist in the reading of materials that lack visual clarity, due to handwriting style or damage to documents.) http://www.library.unr.edy/instruction/primary.html [|http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html]

Digitization
Digitization is the process of taking a physical object and converting it into digital information. The //Voices Rising///[|Boston Public Library] partnership provided access to the BPL's Digital Lab. BPL's digitization service features: Participants were encouraged to locate primary source materials from the library's sizable collection, for use in their project based lessons. Items were transferred to the Imaging Lab to be digitized. Other sources were located at state archives, local historical archives and area museums. Whenever possible, the librarian liaison arranged to have materials from other locations transferred to BPL Imaging Lab. Some organizations employed their own imaging services to fulfill these requests. Read about the digitization of 1950's architectural drawings on the [|Voices Rising blog].
 * A Sinar camera system can capture RAW files sizes of up to 500 MB.
 * Derivatives such as TIFF or JPEG's can be created from RAW files.
 * Built-in software ensures even illumination over the entire object, eliminating hot spots.
 * Distortion-free images are produced using lenses made especially for two-dimensional objects.
 * Oversized objects can be digitized on a horizontal surface, reducing the risks posed by hanging delicate objects.

Project-Based Units (PBUs)
Instructions: Investigate your assigned PBU by visiting the digitized versions of primary sources located in the row. For instance, the //Saugus Iron Works// PBU has one artifact, the Saugus Pot, a film, and a letter from John Winthrop Jr. Remember, you are an **investigator.** To find embedded primary sources scroll through the web pages that are linked below. Download and open to record a digital version of your research. Transcription ||  ||   || ||  ||   ||   || [|Diary Entry & Transcription] || [|Map Comparison] ||   ||
 * **PBU** || **Artifacts** || **Audio & video** || **Printed text** || **Handwritten text** || **Maps** || **Diagrams Illustrations** ||
 * (A) The Saugus Iron Works[[image:sauguspot_icon.gif align="center" link="siwpbu:briatico"]] || [|Saugus Pot] || SIW Restoration Film ||  || [|Winthrop Papers]
 * (B) The [|Grass is Always Greener]
 * [|(C) Emigration and Immigration][[image:emigration&immgr_icon.gif align="center" link="http://w2.pbubuilder.org/PBUFiles/301/Student/GriffinRoss_20080516152842/GriffinRoss/index.html"]] ||  ||   || [|Download "Riot in Lowell"] ||   ||   || [|Political Cartoons] ||
 * ([|D) The Boston-to-Lowell Connection] [[image:bostontolowell_icon.jpg align="center" link="http://w2.pbubuilder.org/PBUFiles/305/Student/Middlesex_Canal_20080519110756/Middlesex_Canal/index.htm"]] || [|Canal shovel] ||  || [|Currency] || [|Pay Voucher] ||   ||   ||

ISTE Session Evaluation
http://www.iste.org/byol2008 Thanks for completing!

POST SESSION MATERIAL
Here's the summary report (PDF) from the session **S**tudent **R**esponse **S**ystem activity.

Door Prize Drawing
You must be present to win. Thank You to Adobe Systems Inc. and Qwizdom Inc.


 * Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional (Windows only)**
 * Qwizdom Q7 Presenter Tablet**

Underwritten by a Massachusetts DOE Technology Enhancement Grant.