Here's the press release:
Contact:
Brett Oppegaard, project coordinator
fortvancouvermobile@gmail.com
360-521-8150 (c)
Behind-the-scenes blog: www.FortVancouverMobile.net
May 18, 2012
Want to learn about history at the
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in a new way? There’s an app for that, as
the Fort Vancouver Mobile app will make its public debut on June 9, in
conjunction with a Brigade Encampment as well as National Get Outdoors Day.
The free
app -- funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the
Clark County Commissioners, and Washington State University Vancouver – is the
first interpretation-oriented app in the National Park Service system. This
research project has been developed by a core of about 20 scholars, many in The
Creative Media and Digital Culture program at WSU Vancouver, with the support
of students as well as new media professionals in the region and bolstered by
the volunteer efforts of more than 100 people throughout the community. WSU
Vancouver faculty member Brett Oppegaard is coordinating the project, and
fellow faculty members Dene Grigar, John Barber, Will Luers, Michael Rabby,
Sola Adesope, and Steve Fountain all have contributed to the project.
While many
apps provide textbook-like information about people or places in history, or
connect users to wayfinding tools, the Fort Vancouver Mobile app distinctly is
designed as an interface for narrative immersion into a historical place. Those
who download the app (through the Android or Apple markets) will have access to
interactive stories connected to physical landmarks, which help to create a
synthesis of the digital and the physical at Fort Vancouver.
On June 9,
the focus of the festivities will be on the debut of the first two modules
created for the app:
· “Kanaka”
– About the native Hawaiians, or “kanakas,” who began coming to Fort Vancouver
in the 1820s to serve as laborers. Many toiled in the sawmill, but others, such
as the protagonists of this story, pastor William Kaulehlehe and wife, Mary
Kaai, were drawn to this place for other reasons. Created in partnership with
the Ke Kukui Foundation.
· “Kane’s
Wanderings,” about Irish-born painter Paul Kane, who stopped at Fort Vancouver in
the winter of 1846-1847, in the midst of traveling and documenting the people
and places of the Pacific Northwest. Created as part of a WSU Vancouver class
on Digital Storytelling.
Other modules, such as a story focused on gender and women’s
issues, will be released at later special events. A behind-the-scenes blog on
the project is being kept at: FortVancouverMobile.net.
The Fort Vancouver
National Historic Site, which attracts more than 1 million annual visitors to
its Vancouver, Wash., campus, has been seeking out younger patrons
through various pioneering approaches to historical interpretation, including
podcasting, digital archiving and social media feeds. The Fort Vancouver Mobile
team, including Chief Ranger Greg Shine, was assembled in response to the
potential offered by mobile devices, such as iPhones and Droids. Through investigations
into the affordances of these integrated media devices, clips of audio, video,
animation, and text, have been mixed to be delivered to visitors at the most
ideal times in the most ideal places at the site to generate a sense of Fort
Vancouver’s story.
The Fort Vancouver National
Historic Site, 1001 E. Fifth St., Vancouver, Wash., will offer the Brigade
Encampment and related activities, including the app launch, from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. June 9. Admission to the event is free, and download cost of the app is
free.
For more information about the
Fort Vancouver Mobile project, please contact: Brett Oppegaard, 360-521-8150, fortvancouvermobile@gmail.com.
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