I would like to lead a discussion on why we use digital maps. I will share some of the ways that I am using maps in my research, specifically by creating a collaborative and interactive activity that employs Google Maps to augment and mediate our experience at THATcamp on the UAB campus.

As teachers and researchers, I want to discuss the affordances and constraints of map assignments. Have you tried group work, collaborative, or “crowd-sourcing” activities with students? If so, please share your tips and tricks. I envision this session as one in which we share examples, questions, and possible uses of digital maps and mapping tools. Since pedagogy should drive the use of technology, greater emphasis is given to “why” we might use maps than “how” to map complex data sets.

I’d love to hear from anyone interested in the technical and interpretative potential of mapping personal, literary, or historical spaces.

I’d love a crash course in Python. Many of my students seem more likely to have Python skills than other programming language skills. Too bad I don’t! Time to fix this problem. Let’s hack at Python together and try to come up with 3 cool digital humanities coding examples for the complete Python newbie.

I’d like to propose a talk session about makerspaces on our campuses and in our communities. I’m part of a group working to establish a makerspace on the UA Tuscaloosa campus. I’ll share information about our project and would love to hear from others about how we can work together more effectively.

Faculty have been using technology in humanities teaching and scholarship long before the “digital humanities” became ubiquitous. However, at many universities, faculty and staff work on digital humanities projects in silos. People in these silos have ideas, expertise, and resources that would benefit faculty, staff, and students campus-wide. Inspired by the report Sustaining the Digital Humanities Host Institution Support Beyond the Start-up Phase (from Ithaka S+R), I’d like to discuss ways to bring these silos together and/or give individuals at institutions without digital humanities centers ideas for collaborating with others on their campuses.

Bring your questions and share your experiences related to campus collaborations in digital humanities. Here are a few questions to get us started:

• In which units on your campus are faculty and staff building digital humanities projects, or, more broadly, incorporating technology into teaching and research?
• Lacking a formal digital humanities center, how can an institution support digital humanities projects?
• What are the opportunities for collaborating with community groups outside the institution?