Understanding Complex Landscape of Memory, Commemoration, and Culture with Location-based Technology

Current and emerging technologies provide increasing levels of situation- and location based information. It is critical in an increasingly information- and knowledge-based society that visitors, citizens, and students are prepared to access, think critically about, and process that information.
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Understanding Complex Landscape of Memory, Commemoration, and Culture with Location-based TechnologyVNU Journal of Science, Vol. 32, No. 1S (2016) 149-157Understanding Complex Landscape of Memory,Commemoration, and Culture withLocation-based TechnologyAndy Mink1,*, Chris Bunin2, Matt Dunlevy3, Christian Lentz41National Humanitites CenterAlbermarle County Public School3Radford University4University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill2Received 06 October 2016Revised 18 October 2016; Accepted 28 November 2016Abstract: Current and emerging technologies provide increasing levels of situation- and locationbased information. It is critical in an increasingly information- and knowledge-based society thatvisitors, citizens, and students are prepared to access, think critically about, and process thatinformation. This panel will illustrate a series of proof of concept projects that leverage theemerging technologies of location-based technologies to enhance the educational experience atsites in the United States and Europe. This projects leverage technology to not only accessinformation, but to build materials for formal (classroom-based) as well as informal (site-based)learning. These materials have value for teachers and students in classrooms across America, andthey also be important additions to the on-site and at-memorial visitor experience.Keywords: Memory; commemoration; culture; location-based technology.1. Moderator Andy Mink Will frame thesession with a detailed summary of educationaltrends in the digital age with a particularemphasis1on memory and commemoration. Asaccess to big data increases, schools anduniversities must provide new opportunities forstudent investigation, inquiry, and production.The National Humanities Center is the onlyresearch center in the world dedicated to thehumanities, and these emerging technologicaltools provide a powerful means toaccomplishing a greater understanding ofcultural landscapes.2. Chris Bunin Will feature the use ofgeospatial technologies allows the interactionsof place, space, time, and scale to be moreobvious to teachers and students. Often there isan over-emphasis on the chronology ofhistorical events and without a strongconsideration for their connections togeography. We expect these technologies toraise the critical ability to answer not only theimportant of “where?” but also “why, there?”In 2012, ESRI launched ArcGIS Online(AGO) which allows users to upload,symbolize, filter, and display data sets in realtime. Unlike other Web mapping tools, AGOfosters interdisciplinary connections becausethe user is allowed to collect, upload, and_______*Corresponding authorEmail: amink@nationalhumanitiescenter.org149149150A.Mink et al. / VNU Journal of Science, Vol. 32, No. 1S (2016) 149-157interact with the data in real time in the cloud.Most other geospatial tools limit the usersaccess to the data, which in turn limits theinquiry process. The possibilities for classroomapplication are tremendous. Rather than writinga research paper on a historical event, studentscan interrogate the sources and materials (e.g.,publications, historic maps, primary sourceaccounts), geo-tag the information, and presenttheir findings in the form of an interactive map.Activities and lessons allow students to utilizeAGO to translate digital archives intointeractive maps that visualize and explainpersonal, political, and cultural narratives fromIa complex landscape.Of course, due to time constraints someteachers may shy away from such an immersivelearning experience. To address this need, wewill also create classroom materials that areready to go in the form of a series of StoryMaps based on ABMC materials andresources. Story Maps use geography as ameans to organize and present information.They tell the story of a place, event, issue,trend, or pattern in a spatial context. Theseinteractive maps also contain other rich contentlike photos, video, and audio that are basic andintuitive to the user.These digital maps will provide access tothe narrative stories of each individual and eachsite featured in this project. We will shareIseveral project examples, including the MeuseArgonne region of World War I, the AmericanCivil War, and the Transatlantic Slave TradeA.Mink et al. / VNU Journal of Science, Vol. 32, No. 1S (2016) 149-157151i3. Matt Dunleavy Will focus on the use ofAugmented Reality, which by its nature is sitebased, adding content to the environment inwhich the user currently resides. FreshAiRwill used to add on-site, location-based oraugmented reality (AR) tour experiences thatwill supplement currently offered tours, bolsterself-guided tour options, and increase overallvisitors’ understanding and appreciation for theexperience, service and sacrifice of specific sites.FreshAiR is a lightweight mobile appdeveloped at Radford University that allowsdigital assets to be geo-tagged to a location.These assets can be in the form of text, image,audio, or video, and the device allows forinteraction with these materials while on awalking tour of a landscape or site.http://www.playfreshair.com/FreshAiR provides two clear applicationsthat will benefit this project as well as informall NCA site-management initiatives:Browser-based Editor: NHC can createcustom AR experiences using our intuitiveediting website, which enables them to embedan interactive layer of digital information intothe grounds at and around the designated sites. Smartphone-based App: The story-based,participatory FreshAiR tours are experiencedon a smartphone and use location-basedtechnologies (i.e., GPS and compass) to presentlocation-specific information to the visitor asthey explore the grounds. As the visitor walksaround the sites, a map on their phone displaysdigital objects on the smartphone display. Asusers explore their ...