Aug. 31, 1999
Contents:
Cover Page Grant Number: ED-20822-97
Project Title: Transcriptions: Literary History and the Culture of Information
Project Director: Alan Liu
Grantee Institution: University of California, Santa Barbara
Date Submitted: September 22, 1999
Narrative
During the period from Feb. 1 to July 31, 1999, the Transcriptions project concentrated on four main goals:
- Prototyping courses and instructional technology in preparation for the first year of instruction in the project (scheduled for academic year 1999-2000)
- designing and preparing to roll out a new, integrated design for the project's Web site and course pages
- moving from a development phase into production mode (addding more equipment, outfitting classrooms, creating course materials, etc.)
- publicizing the project and making connections with other information-technology programs and centers at UCSB and the U. California system.
Development of the project during this period generally exceeded expectations. Especially notable was the stabilization of the project around a relaxed but efficient model of collaborative work (exemplified in the the series of successful colloquium workshops in Spring 1999 and the new "jam" sessions for developers started in summer 1999). (For a chronology of the main project activities from Feb. 1999 through Aug. 1999, see the online project log at http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/project/logs/project-log.shtml).
1. Tasks Required by the Original ScheduleTranscriptions filed its original work schedule with the NEH in the document titled, "Revised Work Plan" of May 27, 1997. The discussion of progress below follows the order of the categories in that document relevant to the present interim period:
A. Workplan for Development and Maintenance of Computing StudioTranscriptions expanded the capabilities of its computing studio (first placed in operation in Dec. 1998) through the installation of the following equipment and software:
- Two new 500 Mhz PCs with large monitors and DVD. One of the machines was outfitted with dual monitors and additional RAM for use as a second graphics workstation in the studio.
- Two XGA multimedia projectors, ceiling-mounted in the studio and in the English Dept. seminar room (where many Transcriptions courses will be conducted beginning Fall 1999). A VCR was also donated by one of the project members to be used for video presentations with the projector.
- Filemaker Pro database software with Web Companion on the NT server.
- Upgrades to the Macromedia Dreamweaver HTML editor (the project's primary Web authoring tool) plus other software products.
A new conference table was also ordered for the room. With the present complement of six advanced workstations, server, and meeting table, the studio is ready for production-scale work on course Web pages as well as a full series of colloquia in 1999-2000. The studio may in the future add two or more workstations depending on need. For a fuller description of the studio, see http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/studio.shtml).
B. Workplan for Assignment of Student Assistant Positions
The recruitment and selection of graduate-student research assistants for summer 1999 and academic year 1999-2000 proceeded on schedule, though there was a month-long delay in the announcement of the positions (and some necessary adjustment of the roster of students) due to the need to synchronize with the announcement of other assistantships and fellowships at UCSB. The selection of undergraduate research assistants, delayed during the last reporting period (as mentioned in the prior interim report), now succeeded in a very satisfactory way with the hiring of a graphics and Web design specialist.
C. Workplan for Course Development (including Web pages for courses)During Spring quarter 1999, Transcriptions fielded two prototype undergraduae courses to help develop the technology and instructional means for the project's first official courses in academic year 1999-2000. Alan Liu taught English 188, "Theory of Postmodernism" (undergraduate); and William Warner taught English 197, "Techno-Gothic." The courses' Web sites - not yet integrated into the new Transcriptions Web design - are at the following URLs:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/courses/liu/english188/default.htmhttp://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/courses/warner/english197/ syllabus.html
These prototype courses developed a number of technologies and instructional methods, including most importantly:
- Filemaker Pro database with Web interface. Transcriptions
created a pair of relationally linked databases designed to allow
both project participants and students to add/edit records over the
Web. One database is a "Timeline" of events (allowing students
to build chronologies of events relevant to a topic); and the other
is a "Linkbase" of annotated links. Students were given
team assignments to develop content for the databases. The ability
to edit the Timeline and Linkbase over the Web proved to be a very
successful motivator of student effort. For an example of Timeline
and Linkbase built by students in English 188, see:
http://english.ucsb.edu:591/transcriptions/topics/postmodernism/db/index.html
Students were provided with an online guide for using this tool at:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/resources/timeline-and-linkbase-guide.shtml
- Exchange Server threaded discussion forum. Students were
assigned the task of organizing and managing a class online discussion
both through regular e-mail and through the Transcriptions Exchanger
Server, which allows for threaded discussion and the posting of word-processor
and other files. This experiment helped clarify the different uses
to which e-mail and threaded discussions may be put in a class. Students
were provided with an online guide for using this tool at:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/resources/exchange-guide.shtml
- Integration of student presentations with the class Web site.
Transcriptions experimented with ways to put segments of student in-class
presentations on the course Web site. See:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/courses/warner/english197/ syllabus.html
- Course entrance and exit surveys. Transcriptions developed
a set of standard entrance and exit questionnaires for use in its
courses. The entrance survey assesses the state of technology and
skills among students in a particular course, and the exit survey
(used in conjunction with normal course-evaluation forms) assesses
student experience with the technical side of a course. Currently
the project is putting an expanded version of the entrance survey
online. See:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/courses/liu/english165/ assessment.html #entrance-survey
- Course team-assignment activity logs. Transcriptions experimented
with ways to track and assess student progress during team assignments.
One means was a required weekley activity log, which was only partially
successful because log forms were not dependably turned in by students.
Currently the project is making an expanded online version of the
form available in an attempt to improve the return rate. See:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/courses/liu/english165/cgi/project-log.html
The lessons learned from the prototype courses were applied in summer
1999 in the creation of the syllabus, Web site, assignment structure,
and technology of the first official Transcriptions course to be given
in Fall 1999: Alan Liu's English 165CI, "The Culture of Information."
Additional technologies created in preparation for this course include
a listserv with threaded Web archive and the Adobe Acrobat authoring
program (to experiment with "paperless" grading and correcting
of student papers). For the online site of the course, which is soon
to start, see:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/courses/liu/english165/
Research and early Web-site develop continued through summer 1999 for Transcriptions courses scheduled for Winter and Spring quarters of academic year 1999-2000, including Carol Pasternack's "Scroll to Screen," William Warner's "Cultural Representations: Free Speech and Censorship," and Chris Schedler's "Native American Literature, Oral Tradition, and the Internet."
Transcriptions lost one course scheduled for academic year 1999-2000 due to the unforeseen leave of absence of one of its faculty. Christopher Newfield's "Business Culture" will not be taught this coming year and is now scheduled for the subsequent academic year. In general, Transcriptions is learning that it is difficult to field as many courses per year as it had originally planned due to constraints imposed by the following three factors: lack of sufficient funding for research and programming assistance (the project was forced to stretch its resources more thinly after its original NEH proposal was substantially scaled back), faculty leaves, and the smaller number of graduate seminars that can be taught each year (due to a reduced graduate student body during the job crunch in the humanities in recent years). The project is on track, however, to establishing a stable repertory of courses that will make it a candidate for the status of an "emphasis" in the English major as recently restructured by the UCSB English Dept.
D. Workplan for Development of the Project's Central Web Site
Intense work was done on the Transcriptions Web site during spring and summer of 1999. The hiring of a research assistant with specialized experience in graphic and Web design was instrumental. In addition, other research assistants and faculty in the project have become accomplished enough in the main software tools in the project's computing studio to move from a learning phase to a production phase.
In terms of Web design, Transcriptions has built the prototype pages
and graphics for a new "look and feel" for its site. The site
will have variant templates for its top-level pages, its course pages,
and its theme-oriented "topics" pages. At the present time,
the project is in transition between the Web pages it created at its
origin last year and the new design, which is gradually being rolled
out and will be in place by early fall 1999. The main project site is
at:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/
The new design for the site is being readied behind the scenes. See,
for example,
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/project.shtml
In terms of content, significant work has begun on course pages for the Transcriptions site (see above). Prototyping work has also been done on the "Topics" pages for the site. For an outline of possible future topics pages, see:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/topics.shtml
For an example of a prototype topics page, see "Weaving Webs: Native American Literature, Oral Tradition, Internet" at:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/topics/weaving-webs/home.html
A series of online research and technical guides for students (and instructors) has also been prepared on such topics as "Teaching with Information Technology," "Evaluating and Citing Online Resources," "Online Research Resources," "Online Reference Resources," "Online Resources for Writing and Speaking," "Resources for Web Authoring," etc. These guides focus on providing a selective, high-quality, annotated survey of resources and approaches. For the guide pages, see:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/resources.shtml
2. Changes and AdditionsThe following categories of activity are new since the project's original NEH proposal. They have grown to become major components of Transcriptions:
- Colloquia: As forecast in
the Feb. 28, 1999, Interim Report, Transcriptions started a series
of workshops/colloquia in Spring 1999 on topics that bear both on
the internal interests of the project and on the research interests
of a broader audience. The colloquium series, which featured presenters
from across the disciplines and from both inside and outside UCSB
has been very successful. Particularly instructive has been its mix
of theoretical and practical emphases. A full roster of approximately
nine colloquia has now been planned for academic year 1999-2000, including
the appearance of J. Hillis Miller as the first of the official evaluators
of the Transcriptions Project. In addition, the Transcriptions colloquium
series has been approved by the UCSB English Dept. as a one-credit
colloquium course for graduate students. It will be an experiment
in allowing graduate students to intermix with a variety of intramural
and extramural faculty. For the schedule of colloquia, past and future,
see:
http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/colloquia.shtml
- "Jam Sessions": As a means to improve the coordination and oversight of research-assistant work in the project, Transcriptions initiated during summer 1999 the tradition of holding what it calls a "jam session" every few weeks in which faculty and research assistants (plus other interested parties) meet without a formal agenda to show each other what they have been doing and share problems/solutions in the areas of content and technical development. These sessions have been very successful in helping to create a model for collaborative work that allows humanists to emulate selectively the climate of work in other disciplines (e.g., in a science lab or art studio).
- Associates Program: Transcriptions has recently invited faculty and graduate students outside its group (primarily at UCSB but also elsewhere) to become Associates of the project. Associates have access to the project computing studio and take charge of one or more of the project's "topic" pages. There are currently two Associates of the project; emeritus research assistants are also Associates.
- Publicity and Cross-Project Initiative: In spring 1999, Transcriptions publicized itself and its approaching first year of courses to the undergraduates at UCSB. The project has also begun frequently to present its idea and work-in-progress to a variety of funding groups (see below) as well as other information-technology projects at UCSB and the U. California system. These latter cross-disciplinary projects, with which Transcriptions or its faculty may ally include: a proposed multi-campus research unit in the U. California system called "The Culture of Information" (to be headquartered at UCSB with William Warner of the Transcriptions project as Principal Investigator), the U. California system DARNet collective (an association of digital art faculty), the new UCSB Center for Information Technology and Society (on whose steering committee the PI of the Transcriptions project sits). Not all of these cross-project initiatives will come to fruition. But it appears that the Transcriptions project has started up just in time to give the humanities a place at the negotiating table. Transcriptions seems to be acting as a catalyst or leverage point for the entry of the humanities at UCSB into a wider network of information-technology related developments.
Transcriptions has stepped up its fund-raising activities, but so far with disappointing results. The project was presented in May 1999 to the UCSB Foundation with the assistance of the UCSB Chancellor, Dean of Humanities, and university development officers. The project was also presented to the UCSB Friends of the English Department group. These extramural funding initiatives, however, have as yet produced no result, though the project has been moderately successful at raising intramural support (which does not qualify for matching funds). Transcription's most successful efforts to date, as reported in the Feb. 28, 1999, Interim Report, have been solicitations to private alumni and other affiliates of the UCSB English Dept. Though initial results have been disappointing, the project will be continuing to explore funding opportunities in hopes that a cumulative argument can be made that the traditional humanities disciplines - including those that are text-oriented and focussed on training analytically-skilled and broadly knowledgeable students - are of value in the information age.
4. AppendicesSupporting material for this interim report consists of the Transcriptions Web site (which includes project-development documents). The URL for the site is http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/
