Thinking about Omeka?
What is Omeka good for?
So you're thinking about using Omeka for your next project? That's great! Omeka can be a very useful platform for a variety of projects including online exhibitions, classroom projects, presentations and more. Omeka is similar to site building tools such as Wordpress, but with a greater capacity to expand on metadata and relating information to eachother. There are certain plugins / modules you can use to enhance your project. Please read the following to learn what Omeka can do for you, as well as see some working examples of sites created by Union College faculty, students and staff.
Students: Using Omeka for your class project:
Omeka has the following features that you can use.
- You can present your research in the form of text, images, video & audio.
- You can present your data in the form of a timeline and mapping feature.
- You can organize your data into categories and have it be searchable by others.
- You can create a form for others to submit data to contribute to your project.
Below are some examples of student initiated sites created at Union, that you can look to for inspiration for your site.
This site uses a form to collect students' recreations of the Nott building as a work of art.
Nott from a Distance
This site utilizies the timeline & mapping module.
The Erasure of Native American Culture in the Adirondacks
Faculty: Using Omeka for your classroom:
Omeka has the following features that you can use, which will especially enhance remote learning.
- Students can contribute images, text, video and audio.
Students can have the ability to submit their contributions to an assigment through a form on the site, which you can opt to automatically be published and available to view on the site (you can also opt to moderate as well).
This information can be presented in the form of "items" that can be categorized any way you wish and searched on the site. This information can also be presented in the form of a map & timeline feature. (see below)
- Students can comment on items, including what other students submit.
- Students can tag items
- You can present your syllabus and your own data in the form of a timeline or basic pages, like a website.
Here are some examples of faculty initiated websites that you can view:
This site utilizes Omeka's interactive collection form and commenting features to collect and present student submissions automatically.
MTH-110-05 Calculus 1
This utilizes Omeka's timeline and mapping module, along with a collecting form and a tagging list to showcase and organize student submissions on a timeline and map.
Reform and Revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean
A faculty member's positive feedback for using Omeka in their course:
This platform provided an effective way for engaging students and a new tool integrating formative and summative assessments. Every two weeks students created a short real-time video aimed at their peers towards one learning target. Through this process, not only did they elaborate, communicate, and evaluate ideas, they also structured a more enduring understanding of the material. This allowed students to demonstrate mastery of a concept, as well as making connections of the content and with the real world. In addition, this platform helped the members of the class, including myself, to get to know each other better and bridge the distance in e-learning through viewing and commenting on each other's work. As a long-term positive outcome of the project, the collection of videos will benefit future teaching and learning.
Using Omeka for an online / digital exhibition:
With Omeka, you have many flexible options for displaying your exhibit content, from text and images to audio and video. You can utilize visual tools that apply to your content, such as maps & timelines. A couple of our digital exhibits took advantage of Omeka's collecting form in order to engage visitors' stories that relates to the exhibit. Here are some examples of digital exhibition sites:
It can be a challenge to move an exhibit that is planned for a physical space to a virtual one. Or, even if it is planned to be digital from the beginning, there are different aspects to consider. Read up on some best practices to build a digital exhibit here.