Digitized History and Interactive Timelines: Lots of examples and links for your exploring pleasure!

One of my tech-savvy daughters is a history buff. She decided to research our family's genealogy, and through this process, has uncovered a treasure trove of interesting things during her on-line research.  


Technology has made it possible for historians, archivists, genealogists, antiquers, and other to digitally curate and share items on-line.  One example is the work of the 2 million-plus members of Ancestry.Com, a website that provides a fairly easy way for novices to create their own family trees, search digitized records, and share their findings with cousins, near and distant, about the stories they've come across along the way. (Please excuse the formatting problems!)

My daughter discovered that one of my great-great grandfathers worked as a conductor and yardman for the railroads before he became a miner and prospector, who apparently died penniless, according to an article she found in the Chronicling America website. This website is part of the Library of Congress and supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. (The picture of my great-greet grandfather was taken from an article in the Salt Lake Tribune)


Screen Shot:  Chronicling America

Knowing that my great-great grandfather worked for the railroad in Utah led to the discovery of related information on-line. Below are two screenshots from the interactive timeline of the history of the Union Pacific railroad.  This website provides an opportunity for people to share their stories about the railroad's history. The timeline provides multiple means of accessing content related to the the railroad and the role of the railroad in the history of the United States.

Screen Shot: 150 Years: The History of Union Pacific

By clicking on the timeline, the viewer can dig in deeper into each specific era or location by viewing pictures, watching video clips, and reading text, as shown above. The timeline can be downloaded for use on iPad's iBooks 2 or on any computer with iTunes.

Screen shot: Golden Spike Ceremony, Promontory Summit, Utah

  

After my daughter commented that many of our relatives died at a very old age, without the benefits of the life-extending know-how of modern medicine, I wondered what old age might have been like for my elders. This led me to the Elder Web site, which provides an interactive timeline of the history of elder care.  The timeline links to a wealth of pictures and tidbits of information. Links include information obtained from the Library of Congress American Memory Collection. 


For those of you interested in timelines that focus on more recent events and history including the history of the arts, the following examples are fun to explore:

Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music (swf), v2.5 (I'm waiting for 3.0)
Note: Ishkur uses colorful, strong language to express his viewpoints and opinions about musical trends.
History of Modern Music: All Genres (Guardian UK)
Interactive Modern Art Timeline
CNN's Interactive Map and Timeline of Iraq and Afghanistan Casualties "Home and Away"
New York Times:  10 Weeks of Financial Turmoil (the credit crisis of 2008)
New York Times: The History of Overhauling Healthcare
New York Times: European Debt Crisis
New York Times: Major Events in the Afghanistan War
Screen Shot: Hard Rock Cafe Interactive Memorabilia



RELATED
Digital Heritage
The American Memory Project
The Ninteenth Century in Print:  The Making of America in Books and Periodicals
Chronicling America
I take up my pen:  Letters from the Civil War
Digital NC: North Carolina's Digital Heritage
Digging Into Data Challenge and List of Online Data Repositories for Humanities and Social Sciences (Includes lots of links!)
U.S. Yearbooks (searchable via Ancestry.com)
What Was There: Digital versions of historical photographs of places are compared with locations on Google Maps, with the goal of creating a means to explore history through photography.
ImageFlow: Streaming Image Search (Microsoft)
Interactive Timelines using Timemap.js
Digital Storytelling Platforms and Multiple Perspectives:  A look at the work of Jonathan Harris (Food for Thought for Interactive Timeline Design)
List of Digital Preservation Initiatives (Wikipedia)

DIY Timelines (more to come)
Tiki-Toki
Dippity
Timetoast
The Best Tools for Making Online Timelines (Larry Ferlazzo)

Comment:
One unfinished project on my "Tech Bucket List" is a multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary. multimedia interactive timeline.  Although the concept is far-reaching, it would be a useful tool for students, historians, genealogists, and more.


Please excuse the formatting problems!

User Experience and Windows 8, link to Steven Sinofsky's post.

Steven Sinofsky is an author of an informative MSDN blog. His recent post about user experience and the new Windows 8 operating system provides an interesting, detailed "back-history" of the development of the Windows UI over the ages. Steven's post is worth setting aside a chunk of time to read and reflect!

Creating the Window 8 User Experience

 

BTW, the numerous comments from readers of Steven's post are worth skimming.

Interactive Digital Media on a Tablet: 1994 video from the Information Design Lab (lots of related "tablet" links)

Since I'm a fairly new owner of an iPad2, my first tablet, I've been having a blast using it with students at work as well as watching my nearly 9 month old grandson play around with it.  Although I am happy that I have this "innovative" technology at my fingertips,  I know that the concept of tablet computing has been a round for a very long time.


If you are curious to learn more about the history of ideas behind the tablet/iPad/eReader concept, take a look at the video below.  It features the work of Roger Fidler and his team at the Information Design Lab, reviewing their work between 1992-94.   Also explore the links in the "Related" section - I've included links to articles, a dissertation, and a book that mightof interest to those who are researching this topic.   (A must-read is Alan C. Kay's "A Personal Computer for Children of All Ages", written in 1972.)


The Tablet Newspaper: A Vision for the Future
Information Design Lab, 1994,  Knight-Ridder, Inc.




RELATED
History of the Tablet
Chandra Steele, PC Magazine, 8/7/11
A Short History of the Tablet Computer
Thom Holwerda, OS News, 1/15/10
A Personal Computer for Children of All Ages (pdf)
Alan C. Kay, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, August, 1972
(Alan C. Kay came up with the concept of the DynaBook, basically an early version of the tablet PC/ iPad/eReader. I especially like the picture of students using Kay's version of tablets, located on page 2.  Be sure to take a look at the reference section.)
Tracing the Dynabook: A Study of Technocultural Transformation (pdf)
John W. Maxwell, PhD. Dissertation, Centre for Cross-Faculty Inquiry, University of British Columbia, November, 2006
Roger Fidler and his Early Vision of the Newspaper Tablet
Juan Antonio Giner, What's Next: Innovations in Newspapers, 1/4/10
The Man Who Imagined Tablets and E-Readers
Curtis Brainard, Columbia Journalism Review, 6/17/10
Roger Fidler, Journalism Futures Lab

Mediamorphosis: Understanding New Media (Book, 1997)

Roger Fidler

The Tablet Newspaper: A Vision For the Future
Teresa Martin, Knight-Ridder Information Design Lab, CHI '95 Proceedings
Abstract: "The Table Newspaper: A Vision for the Future overviews tomorrow's portable information appliances and the ways in which we may interact with information. It explores the role a newspaper may have in the digital era and the form a newspaper may take as an electronic product."
The Media Business;  Knight-Ridder Shuts Down Research Lab
New York Times, 8/3/95
Below is a quote from the NYT article, written in 1995:

"Knight-Ridder Inc. has closed a research lab it established to explore electronic publishing alternatives like the flat-panel newspaper.

The Information Design Laboratory, which opened here three years ago, was developing a notebook-sized computer for receiving and displaying electronic newspapers. The electronic tablet weighed less than two pounds and displayed a screen image that looked like the front page of a newspaper. The lab never designed a product that was marketed by Knight-Ridder.

"I.D.L. made a valuable contribution to the company's long-range vision of electronic publishing and helped to further the flat-panel newspaper concept," P. Anthony Ridder, Knight-Ridder's chairman and chief executive, said Monday. Knight-Ridder plans to concentrate its electronic publishing efforts on existing technologies like the Internet and on-line services, Polk Laffoon, vice president of corporate relations, said."

NEWSEUM, a highly interactive museum in D.C. with an online component -I want to visit!

What is a newseum?

"The Newseum -- a 250,000-square-foot museum of news -- offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.  Within its seven levels of galleries and theaters, the Newseum offers a unique environment that takes museum-goers behind the scens to experience how and why news is made."

"The Newseum is one of the most technologically advanced museums in the world. The Newseum ordered 100 miles of fiber-optic cable to link up-to-the-second technologies that include electronic signage and interactive kiosks, two broadcast studios, 15 theaters and a 40-by-22-foot high-resolution media screen."


Below are some examples of what visitors can experience at the Newseum, located in Washington, D.C.:


Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery

-Newseum
Time Warner World News Gallery

-Newseum


The New York Times --Ochs-Sulzberger Family Great Hall of News 
Surrounded by the flow of information

-Newseum
"Around, above and below, visitors to the Great Hall of News are surrounded by a continuous flow of news. Instant, breaking, historic news that is uncensored, diverse and free."


NBC News Interactive Newsroom

Photo by Maria Bryk/Newseum

"In this 7,000-square-foot interactive gallery, visitors can select any of 48 interactive kiosks or experiences where they can immerse themselves in the many roles -photojournalist, editor, reporter, anchor — required to bring the news to the public. The gallery features eight “Be a TV Reporter” stations that allow visitors to choose from a variety of video backdrops, take their place in front of the screen, read their report from a TelePrompter and see themselves in action." -Newseum










NEWSEUM exhibits have an on-line component.  Here are a few:

Time-Warner World News Gallery Press Freedom Interactive Map

Online Virtual Tour of the Newseum

Newseum Online News Trivia Game

Newseum Microsite (Great for use on an interactive whiteboard to introduce students to the museum.)

Video:  How to Be a TV Reporter

Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Online Exhibit

Pulitzer Prize Photograph Gallery

CHI 2011, Bill Buxton, and the Buxton Collection: Explore 35 years of interactive devices, online!

Bill Buxton is a researcher at Microsoft who focuses on Human-Computer Interaction and is known for his work in user experience design and natural user interfaces such as multi-touch surfaces.   His talk at the recent CHI 2011 conference, held in Vancouver, Canada, was an overview of the Buxton Collection, an on-line historical archive of interactive input devices spanning over the past 35 years.  


It was interesting to note that at the time of the presentation, the Vancouver Conference Center, where the conference was taking place, was having serious problems with the network/internet connections, and as a consequence, Buxton was not able to demonstrate the on-line version of his collection as planned.  

Not to worry.  The physical version of the Buxton's archive was on display during the conference, along with Buxton, who was happy to tell the story behind every device and gadget in the archive, with much enthusiasm. The slideshow below provides a glimpse of the Bill Buxton archive displayed at CHI 2011:

My Buxton Collection Slideshow, CHI 2011, Vancouver, Canada

Buxton's archive of gadgets comes with a rich history, accumulated over the years. Much of this history, until now, has resided in Buxton's head.   Holding and touching the items in the archive while listening to Buxton's passionate stories about each one, was unlike anything I had ever experienced.  His archive is a labor of love, and the interactive, on-line version of the Buxton Collection is his way of sharing his knowledge with the world.


During his talk, Buxton pointed out that in computer science programs, students are not required to have much exposure to the "history of ideas" in the field.  Huge chunks of work are often ignored in the literature,  and in some cases, the wheel is unknowingly reinvented, and this is something that must be addressed within the CHI community, according to Buxton. 


I agree.

RELATED
Previous IMT posts about Bill Buxton
Bill Buxton's Presentation Video: "A Little Tale about Touch" (Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, 2010)
Two good articles by Bill Buxton: The Mad Dash Towards Touch Technology; The Long Nose of Innovation
Buxton Collection
Buxton Collection, PivotViewer
Back to the Past: Bill Buxton Shows Off 36 Years of Tech Devices
Microsoft News Center, 5/9/11
Microsoft's Bill Buxton exhibits gadget collection 35 years in the making
Donald Melanson, engadget, 5/9/11
Bill Buxton's Haptic Input References (pdf)
Bill Buxton's website
Multi-touch Systems that I Have Known and Loved (Bill Buxton)
CES 2010: NUI with Bill Buxton

On Engineering and Design: An Open Letter Microsoft Research Principal Scientist Bill Buxton calls for engineers and user experience designers to learn to appreciate one another

Bill Buxton, Bloomberg Businessweek, 4/29/09

CHI 2011! - Today's Highlights from the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

I'm happy to share that I was approved for a press pass for the CHI 2011  conference I'm attending in Vancouver, Canada.   (I was one of the organizers for a pre-conference workshop held on Saturday, "Child Computer Interaction: Workshop on UI Technologies and Educational Pedagogy" and will share more information from the workshop in future blog posts.)


The press pass will provide me the opportunity to meet a number of key thinkers/researchers related to the field of Human Factors/Human Computer Interaction.  Here are a few of today's press highlights:


A conversation with ...Howard Rheingold
CHI 2011’s opening session features Howard Rheingold, an acknowledged authority on mobile communications, discussing the evolution and future of social media in teaching and learning. Rheingold, the author of Smart Mobs, innovator, and Stanford University lecturer, explains, "use of social media in higher education teaching sessions can provide opportunities for innovative and meaningful interactions that extend far beyond the traditional face-to-face classroom experience." -CHI 2011


A conversation with...the "PaperPhone Team"
Hang up the iPhone - here comes the paper phone: Bending the device will allow users to make calls and play music Gillian Shaw, Vancouver Sun, 5/5/11
UltraThin 'PaperPhone' bends to user's will Emily Chung, CBC News, 5/5/11


An Interview with Conference Organizers and Interaction Researchers ...
Desney Tan, Conference Chair and Microsoft Research
Bo Begole, Technical Program Co-Char and XEROX Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)
Wendy Kellogg, Technical Program Co-Chair and IBM


I can't wait until 4:00 PM - a special tour of the interactive demonstrations - here is the information I received from the CHI 2011 PR coordinator:



SPECIAL PRESS PREVIEW of the Interactive Demonstrations 4:00 - 5:30 PM  INTERACTIVITY PRESS TOUR
"This event will be highly visual & interactive http://chi2011.org/program/interactivity.html Press Release: Interactive Technologies Showcased at ACM Conference on Computer-Human Interaction http://chi2011.org/press/presskit/interactivity.html"


I'm sure this will be interesting:
Collecting the History of Interactive Devices
"An exhibit of interactive devices from the past 35 years that point to ways of interacting with computers in the future. First shown at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2004 (and updated for 2011), the collection documents the history of pen computing, pointing devices, touch technologies, and illustrates the nature of how new technologies emerge." - CHI 2011


Stay updated!
To keep up with my blog posts during the CHI 2011 conference and afterwards, sign up for the RSS feed.  Another option is to follow me on Twitter,  and you'll receive an automatic "tweet" with a link whenever I post something on this blog. 

Virtual History of Rome for the iPad, Created with Unity

RELATED
Unity iOS Publishing
Unity Game Development Website

Virtual Rome Featured by Steve Jobs

"Where am I in this information space?" Bifocal Display Concept Video, 1982, via the Interaction Design.org Encylopedia

The following video about the Bifocal Display concept is an interesting look at how a set of ideas unfolded in the early 1980's. These ideas took flight and influenced many of the design concepts we view as "new" today.


The video was posted on the on-line Interaction Design Encyclopedia, a free, open source multimedia resource that includes a range of chapters written by leading researchers and practitioners from fields related to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design (IXD), User Experience (UX), Information Architecture (IA), Usability, and more.



"People want to see context...." -Robert Spence

1980's Paper Prototype of  Carousel Concept (screen shot from video)

"Let's apply this idea to my in-tray,  an information that is quite varied, and often full of surprises..." -Robert Spence


For more information, see the article by Robert Spence and Mark Apperley on the Interaction -Design.org website.  Scroll down to "The Bifocal Display Explained" for great sketches of the concepts discussed in the video.  


Also take a look at the recent videos from InteractionDesign.org related to this topic.  What a great way to gain insight about the design and development process!


Video 1: Introduction to the Bifocal Display
Video 2. Main guidelines and future directions
Video 3: How the Bifocal Display was invented and launched


REFERENCE
Spence, Robert and Apperley, Mark (2011). Encyclopedia entry on Bifocal Display. Retrieved 9 February 2011 from Interaction-Design.org: http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/bifocal_display.html


RESOURCES
Interaction-Design.org YouTube Channel
Interaction-Design.org