Remote Collaboration Institute Launches

In October, we officially kicked off NetWorkLab, our year-long course focused on remote collaboration methods and best practices for Digital Humanities scholarship! After over a year of planning this NEH-funded institute, we were beyond excited to convene with our participants - a diverse group of scholars and practitioners in Digital Humanities and allied fields. Since our initial meeting, we've gathered for two additional workshops, exploring essential topics such as values and ethics in Digital Humanities collaboration, as well as crafting a collaborative charter. 

It has been a delightful experience hearing participants share their insights and engaging in collaborative learning. While NetWorkLab currently enjoys a well-deserved winter break, we eagerly anticipate resuming our journey in early January to delve deeper into design essentials and remote collaboration techniques.

Design Thinking Workshop Facilitation

On November 14th, we facilitated a design thinking workshop for Connecticut Humanities at the Windsor Historical Society. The participants included a diverse group of Connecticut cultural organizations with expertise ranging from archives and digital preservation to public history and high school education. Throughout the day, attendees engaged in various activities aimed at gathering input for the development of the Digital Heritage Aggregator, a project designed to make Connecticut historical materials more accessible and more discoverable. The morning commenced with an activity encouraging participants to delve into possible long-term visions for the aggregator, considering how it might enhance access to Connecticut’s digital heritage. This was followed by an exploration of potential user groups, their individual needs as well as the needs of the communities served by different organizations. After a lunch break, participants developed prototypes for a home page and interface for the aggregator. 

We were deeply impressed with the level of engagement and the visions developed by the participants, and we cannot wait to share these insights with Connecticut Humanities. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our attendees for their fantastic participation, and we are excited to witness the development of the Digital Heritage Aggregator.

Bringing Edith Coliver’s Story to Life:
Developing Characters Based on Real People in Learning Games

The current work for the Beyond Nuremberg, a VR game project, formerly known as Courtroom 600, includes integrating historically accurate representations of people who were involved in bringing Nazi perpetrators to justice during the Trial of the Major War Criminals at Nuremberg. One of these people is Edith Simon Coliver. A Jewish woman, who was affected as a child by the Third Reich’s antisemitic policies and, with the help of her family (who later joined her), fled the country. The VR experience will feature primary source evidence related to Coliver’s experiences. Through her writings, photographs from the period, and other materials, players will learn about key moments in Coliver’s life, from fleeing Nazi Germany to later serving as an interpreter at Nuremberg l. We aim to authentically communicate Coliver’s quick thinking and language skills, which were crucial to pioneering the simultaneous interpretation techniques introduced during the historic major and subsequent trials. The example shown here illustrates how Aida Gradaščević is distilling key events and relevant primary sources to develop a historically accurate and ethically conscious biography as well as a rich learning experience for Beyond Nuremberg.