If you’ve logged in to the RIT  THATCamp site, my friend, you’ve used WordPress! Want to learn more about this tool? This session consists of overviews of two free website content creation tools: WordPress (blog content management system) and Tiki-Toki (web-based timeline maker).  First, we will review the ins and outs of WordPress, including site types (.org and .com),  themes, imagery, and layout. Following this, we will examine four digital exhibits and take a peek at the backend interface of each. Second, we will move into the timeline portion of our session by developing content on Tiki-Toki.

While the projects discussed are base in museum studies and archival research, the tools and approaches may be of interest to other disciplines and practices.

Users should bring laptops or tablets to use during this session. And, if possible, please create an account on WordPress.com and Tiki-Toki.com before joining the session.

Looking forward to sharing and learning with you!

Collaborative world building is a process by which students learn to think critically about social forces at play in a given place at a specific moment in history and how these forces influence the lived experiences of the people who live in the world. Students write a metanarrative describing the governance, economics, social values, and cultural influences and then populate a wiki with entries for people, places, and things and pin them to a map.

Collaborative world building is useful for creative projects such as creating post-apocalyptic futures, alternate histories, or fanfiction in preexisting worlds  and could be used in courses in literature, history, or other humanities. Participants will learn about the pedagogical theories underlying collaborative world building including its roots in role-playing games and will participate in the creation of a brand new world of their choosing.

In a 45-minute session we will create a world from scratch. In a 90-minute session we will create a world from scratch, then add some people, places, and things to a Google map.

For the 45-minute session, no computer needed though it might be useful. For the 90-minute session, laptops are required (it’s very finnicky to work on tablets, fyi).