Group Project - War of 1812 Smart Phone App

(Note: I started this blog post on April 24, the day we handed in our final project, as per usual life got in the way, and as a result I have just now finished it!)

This morning, I handed over the final draft of our public history group project.  A good portion of our time this academic year has been devoted to the development of content for a War of 1812 Historical and Commemorative Smart Phone App.  This project has certainly been a learning experience, and not just about local history related to the War of 1812.

A little background about the project:  We partnered with the War of 1812 South Western Ontario Region, Tecumseh Parkway Committee, and Western Corridor Alliance to produce a regional smart phone app.  Our portion was to provide the historical content about Procter's retreat from Fort Amherstburg in the fall of 1813.  This included researching 22 sites from Amherstburg/Windsor area to London relating to this campaign which culminated in the Battle of the Thames where Tecumseh was killed.  To make the project a bit easier to manage, we were divided into four groups of three, and each group was given a selection of geographically close sites.  (My group had all the sites in the Amherstburg/Windsor area.)

Tour of 1812 Sites

We started by taking a bus tour of most of the sites last fall.  We were accompanied by representatives from South West Ontario and Tecumseh Parkway, to give us some background on the area and the 1812 sites (as much of this was new to us.) We learned how after the Battle of Lake Erie, the armaments from Fort Amherstburg (present-day Fort Malden) were used to outfit the HMS Detroit, leaving British General Procter low on supplies and with little choice but to retreat from the approaching Americans lead by General  Harrison and Commodore Perry.  The leaders of the First Nations alliance, most notably the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, did not wish to retreat.  However, retreat they did, up the Thames River, until the two sides met on October 5, 1813 at the Battle of the Thames, just two miles outside of Fairfield.


It was a significant victory for the Americans, seeking revenge for what they considered the River Raisin Massacre.  It was also quite a blow to the First Nations - whose leader Tecumseh was killed during battle - and the British.  General Procter found himself court-martialed the next year as result of the retreat and the battle, effectively ending his military career.  (This has been your cliff-notes version of Procter's Retreat...)

Once the groups were decided and sites assigned, we commenced our secondary source research.  Books such as Glenn Stott's Greater Evils: War of 1812 in Southwestern Ontario, Sandy Antal's A Wampum Denied, and George Sheppard's Plunder, Profit, and Paroles: A Social History of the War of 1812 in Upper Canada were passed around the office, and each small group hunted for resources pertaining to their particular sites.  

We started to visualize what we wanted the app to look like, and how we hoped people would use it.  Grand visions of interactive time-lines, moving maps, and fancy interfaces left many of us feeling overwhelmed and in over our heads at first.  As we started to scale back and just concentrate on our content - developing an interpretive plan, and coming up with a narrative - the project started to seem more manageable.

After turning in our secondary source research report, we had an opportunity to talk with the company we were told would probably be handling the technical side of the app.  We had been contracted for content, they were taking the content and creating the actual app.  Reality set in as restrictions on images, audio, and video became a reality.  But at least now we had a framework we could work in.

Image from Windsor Community Museum

Following the winter break it was time for primary source research.  My group made plans in January for a trip back to Amherstburg and Windsor to spend the day at the Windsor Community Museum, as well as visiting the sites we hadn't had time to stop at on our first tour.  The visit to the museum was extremely helpful in acquiring many of the images that were ultimately used in the app.  We also spent many afternoons going over the resources at Western's Archive and Research Collections Centre, and hours pouring over digitized documents and images from Library and Archives Canada, National Archives and Records Administration, and the Library of Congress.

We turned in our carefully detailed primary source research reports, and it was time to start writing.  Hours of research now had to be summed up into 300 word text boxes with images and audio.  For some of us, keeping it short, sweet, and to the point was not easy.  We had to discuss with others what they were writing as well, to make sure not to waste precious words repeating ourselves.  Along with the 22 sites, we had also decided to address some of the themes we found reoccurring throughout the research, such as farming, transportation, and family participation during the War of 1812.  It was also necessary to provide an introduction, not only to the war, but also to Battle of Lake Erie to put the retreat in to context (as it is all about context...), and have a conclusion to the retreat and the war itself.  

Mock-Screen Shot for First Draft

Once assembled, this first draft needed to be edited.  We were taking content  about 29 different sites and themes, authored by 12 different people, and making it into one cohesive narrative.  That was a very long weekend for the group leaders and editors...


During the time between the first and second drafts were were thrown a curve-ball.  The partners had contracted an entirely different company to create the app.  The technical framework with which we had been working was going to change.  Work temporarily paused, and we knew that new specification from this company could change some of our plans.  How many images would there be per site?  What were the format requirement for the audio and video?  Was there a limit on the number of sites?  These were all important questions we had to address before we could start ordering digital copies of our images, paying for the rights to use them, and record our audio.

After a Skype call between our team, the partners, and Weever (the app company) we were all - for the most part - on the same page, and we kept working toward a final draft.  Weever was eager to start adding content as they were planning on a launch date in May, but we were still waiting for feedback from the partners on our second draft.  I had been serving as a large group facilitator, and I lost track of the number of email sent with images and audio.

Final Draft PowerPoint

Finally, I sent the last of the content to Weever, and gave Professor Mike Dove a hard copy of our final draft, along with a final budget and permissions for all of our images, audio, and video.  It is hard to express the relief that followed.  


There have been a few changes since turning in our final draft.  We were sent a temporary link to the app in progress, which I opened to discover our sites had been combined with dozens more in the south west Ontario region.  It had been decided rather than to do several small regional apps, to just do one large app.  This meant that while our narrative was still there, it was a bit lost among all the other sites.  There were also some edits that needed to be made to the content, and missing captions (which provided information about where we got our content - which was sometimes a condition of permission to use it.)  These issues are being addressed, and I look forward to having a final product I can proudly show to prospective employers when I start interviewing for a job this fall.

Like I said at the beginning, this whole process has been a learning experience.  Those of you who know me, know that I take great pride in my work, and like to have control over the process (that may be what lead me to the role of large group facilitator...) as well as the final product.  I had to keep reminding myself, especially toward the end of the project, that we were just providing the content.  It isn't solely our app, we were contracted to work on it.  

This also became part of one of the biggest lessons I learned about graduate school - it isn't always about the product, sometimes it's about the process.  Is this project what I envisioned it would be when we started? No, not even really close.  Did I learn a lot in the process?  Absolutely.  I researched in archives, made contacts with local historians, sought permission to use images, work on maintaining a project budget, wrote historical text for public consumption, leaned how to be flexible in a contract position, lead group meetings, and with my small group presented our project at a national conference.  So regardless if the end product is what I thought it would be, it was certainly a successful one!


Stay tuned for the Route 1812 app!  As soon as the final app is available I will be sure to let my faithful readers know!

Winter Break Book Selections

As a child (and I may be dating myself here) I can recall one of the things that signaled the beginning of the holiday season was the arrival of the Sears "Wish Book" in the mail. This fabulous catalogue displayed all the toys that my brother and I could possibly hope to find under the tree on Christmas morning (along with clothes, and other less desirable items.) We would spend hours pouring over the pages, dogearing the items we intended to include in our letters to Santa.

These days catalogues have given way to online shopping.  I remember the shocking news of Sears discontinuing their "Big Book" in 1993, and now the company offers an online version of the catalog - complete with Wish Book.

Canada had a similar store in Eaton's.  T. Eaton & Co. a dry goods store and haberdashery opened in Toronto on December 8, 1869.  The store was successful and grew rapidly, becoming the first store in Canada to have electric lights and elevators.  In 1884, Eaton's introduced the first mail-order catalogue to Canada, it offered everything from clothing to farming equipment, and even pre-fabricated houses. 

As Canada's population became more urban, shoppers were less reliant on catalogue purchases.  In 1976, Eaton's announced that the Spring-Summer catalogue would be their last.  Many Canadians were in shock.  Unfortunately, the whole chain folded in 1999 and Eaton's corporate assets were acquired by Sears Canada. 

Fortunately, for those feeling nostalgic this time of year, Internet Archive provides a window into Christmas shopping past.  The Eaton's Fall and Winter Catalogue 1913-1914 is available in its entirety online for perusing pleasure.  These days my desire to browse for toys has lessened (unless I'm shopping for my nephew) and I've never had much success purchasing clothes I couldn't try on, but the book selection looked interesting.  While nothing beats walking into a bookstore and diving into the stacks, end of semester assignments often allow little time for shopping.  Plus, with the magic of the internet I can browse the 1913 selection.

With winter break just around the corner, I'm looking forward to some leisure time and a little reading for pleasure - a luxury grad students can't often afford.  So I picked out a handful of books from the 1913 catalogue and using more internet magic, managed to locate some grad-student-budget-friendly (read:free) copies.  Here are some of my holiday reading selections.

Since this time of year always inspires me to try new recipes in the kitchen i decided to check out the cookbook section.  What better women to turn to for hosting advice than the First Ladies?  The White House Cook Book: A Comprehensive Cycolpedia of Information for the Home, is touted as being "comprehensive, filling completely, it is believed, the requirements of housekeepers of all classes.  It embodies several original and commendable features, among which may be mentioned the menus for the holidays."  While this 600 page book full of the "choicest recipes" would have set me back $0.75 in 1913, the full text is available online for free today. 


While preparing my meals fit for a President, I thought I might want to brush up on my table manners as well.  Fortunately for me, right under the cookbooks are numerous books on etiquette.  The Encyclopaedia of Etiquette: A Book of Manners for Everyday Use, seemed like a promising resource.  Eaton's describes it as "a guide for your every-day conduct on all occasions, whether in private or public.  Deals with calls, cards, dinners, table manners, balls, wedding, receptions, musicales, invitations, correspondence, etc."  With this handy manual I never have to worry about not knowing the proper use of a finger bowl or if it would be appropriate to bring my ladies maid to the next house party.


The next book I found is one that was on the shelf in my childhood bedroom.  I think it may have belonged to one of my parents as it had seen a lot of love before I started reading it.  The Little Lame Prince is a story for children about a young prince whose legs are paralyzed due to a childhood injury.  The prince is given a magical traveling cloak by his fairy godmother; he uses this cloak to go on various adventures, and develops great wisdom and empathy in the process.  I can recall enjoying, if not fully understanding the story as a child, and though my hard copy is packed away in a box somewhere, I can enjoy this digital copy as an adult.  "If it draw a few tears, they run into smiles; and the last page leaves us with a gentle, quite feeling, such as grown men and women call peace."

There are a handful of books that I frequently reread, each time enjoying as much as the first.  It doesn't seem to matter that I know what is going to happen, or how the story will end, it still touches me each time I pick it up.  Stepping Heavenward is one of those books, and I'm glad I came across it in the Eaton's catalogue and managed to find it online.  My paper copy is well loved, but like so many of my books right now, it too is packed away in a box in the basement.  I can think of no book I would rather take a break with over this holiday season.  This is a journal-like account of a 19th century girl who learns, on the path to womanhood, that true happiness can be found in giving oneself to others.  It reminds me so much of my halting attempts at a journal in my youth and I am captivated by Katherine's story.


Earlier this year, I went on a history field trip which included a stop at Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site.  This site commemorates the life of Reverend Josiah Henson.  An active abolitionist and participant in the Underground Railroad, Henson's memoirs served as a source for Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.  While at the site, I was inspired by Henson's story, one that I knew nothing about prior to this visit.  I was familiar with the book, but have never read it.  But with a full text version available from the Internet Archive, I am able to tackle this 19th century best-seller whenever I find the time.


Along with the books with which I was familiar, I wanted to look into a couple new titles.  This highlighted one of the downsides of the book selections in Eaton's catalogue.  Though there was an abundance of fiction titles from which to choose, there were no descriptions.  So as much as we are warned to not judge books by their covers, I was forced to pick on title alone.  My first choice Not Like other Girls, sounded promising.  I hopped over to Amazon.com to see if they had a summery of the book.  I was in luck, "this is a ripping yarn written in the manner of Jane Austen.  Three daughters and their mother fall into gentile poverty after their father's death left them somewhat destitute...They are 'not like other girls' as the book is titled, because they manage to earn admiration and respect despite their reduced circumstances...The book is an interesting window into gender politics of the late 19th century."  One of the things I discovered trying to find a copy of this book online is that it was published in volumes.  The first one I opened was just the second volume - or the middle part of the book.  Something to keep in mind if you undertake a scavenger hunt like this in the future.


The final book that I selected was from the "high-class recent fiction" list of books in the Eaton's calalogue.  The Woman Haters by Joseph Lincoln sounded like an entertaining read.  This one, like my last selection, also posed a bit of a problem when I looked for the full text online.  There was a misprint in Eaton's and the book was listed as The Woman Hater (singular, not plural.)  Turns out there is a novel by Charles Reade of that name.  It was easy enough to sort out the difference, and find the book by the correct author.  Without a description I Googled the title and manybooks.net provided me with a summary for my last read, a "light and amusing tale of a Cape Cod lighthouse keeper and a young new Yorker who becomes his assistant."  I especially enjoy the depiction of the salty lighthouse keeper on the books cover.

I wasn't entirely surprised at the selection of books available online, I am familiar with many Epub books.  I expected to find the well-known titles easily, but the lesser-known ones were a pleasant surprise.  Not only are you able to read all the books I selected online, but they can also be downloaded to a mobile device, like an e-reader.  I have a Nook Color, so I can add all my winter reads to this device and bring them wherever my holiday travels take me.  I was hesitant at first to get on the e-reader bandwagon, I am such a fan of books, and there is nothing like browsing in a bookstore.  But it's hard to beat the convenience of holding dozens of books and magazines (not to mention pdf articles for class) on one device.  With so many of the classics accessible on sites such as Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg, Google Books, and Hathi Trust, my personal digital library need never be empty.