August 26th, 2008 kyleroth Posted in application, technology, web 1 Comment »
Omeka
Today I spent the day at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia at the Center for History and New Media to learn more about Omeka, what it can do and more importantly, where it is headed. I have started using the open source software last year for some projects for Dr. Mark Tebeau at the History Department at Cleveland State University. He set this whole training session up for me, some of his grad students and project leaders to bring us all together and learn more about this powerful web app.
The application itself is pretty simple. It is used by libraries and historical societies to create archives of documents, photos and sounds. You can also create different “exhibits” with the software. It is open source, php software which makes it more affordable to these generally budget deprived institutions. What my role is in all of this is to enhance the visual experience through designing “themes” for the Omeka backbone. We have begun some initial testing through the Euclid Corridor data and based the theme upon the Cultural Gardens site that we did.
Having time to actually sit down with the developers and designers that made Omeka was very inspiring (thanks Jeremy and Dave for your time). It opened up discussions on some topics that I find fascinating like mapping functionality with yahoo or google and the exportation of information in xml format so that I can pull it into the environment that I love, Flash. These sessions will make future development easier as I will be able to comfortably ask for input from the developers.
Hopefully with these training sessions, we are able to tap into more of what Omeka can do and what it’s potential is in the future. It will give me and Epstein Design the knowledge necessary to be the Cleveland representative for Omeka.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Sounds like a pretty interesting app, and it’s cool that it’s all open source. I did a project in school using php and really enjoyed it, though I sadly have not gotten the chance to use it since I moved into the working world. I started in a Java shop, followed by two Microsoft shops, all of whom would scoff at the idea of using anything open source. If it doesn’t cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees, then it can’t possibly be good.