History UK sponsored a panel at the inaugural Heritage Dot conference, held at the University of Lincoln on 3-4 June 2019. The conference was hosted by the University of Lincoln, Imperial War Museums, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Our panel, “Digital Heritage in the University History Curriculum: Opportunities and Challenges” addressed the relationship between digital heritage and the teaching of History at university and beyond.
Abstract: Technology is playing and increasingly important role in the History curriculum at university, both within and outside the lecture theatre. At the same time, students engage with a bewildering array of online sources of information in the course of their studies, and their everyday lives. It is therefore important that greater efforts are made to develop the digital information literacy capacities of students and staff so that they can traverse the emerging digital history landscape with confidence. The papers in this panel will explore a variety of ways that teachers of History at University have sought to meet these challenges.
Charles West, University of Sheffield, “Wikipedia and the Ivory Tower: a postcard from the classroom” In this paper, I’ll talk about the relationship between Wikipedia, the world’s most important source of historical knowledge, and academic history, drawing on my experience of integrating it into my teaching. [slides available here]
Katherine Fennelly, University of Lincoln, “Teachable moments from teaching digital heritage” This paper will critically examine the process of teaching digital reproduction methods in higher education. 3D scanning and digital modelling are exciting new methods for analysing heritage sites. Teaching those methods to large groups can be challenging, however. Most history and heritage students have no background in computer modelling or graphics; as such, it can be difficult to know where to start. This paper will outline the challenges in teaching digital modelling to heritage students, and will explore the different ways in which these methods can be refined in future.
Kelly Foster, “The potential of “radical sharing”: ethics and equity in Open GLAM in the UK” This session will address realities and expectations of equity, access and inclusion in digital archives and the wider GLAM sector in the UK. Kelly Foster is a public historian, working both online and “on road” as a London Blue Badge Guide. She is the chapter lead for Creative Commons UK and founding organiser of AfroCROWD UK, an initiative to encourage more people of African heritage to contribute to Wikipedia and it’s sister projects. Kelly has worked with community/independent archives in London for over 15 years and is a founding member of TRANSMISSION, a collective of archivists and historians of African descent.