MY BLOG – KHARUM RANA

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=d978503f7fb046f9a535484c16da046d

– Kharum

During my first year of university I took an introduction class on computer sciences that heavily relied on the use of HTML code. However, that was in the fall 2016 term and I have long forgotten what I had learned. The coding language Python isn’t a new term to me, as we touched on the program shortly during my previous computer science class. Python is a high-level programming language. Similar to HTML, Python code is used in order to create webpages, web applications and desktop GUI applications. From my own experience, I believe that HTML is the gateway into Python. I found HTML easy to learn and that it could be picked up by beginners to learn coding quite easily. When one wants to expand their knowledge on coding, Python may be the next great step for a user to expand on their ability to code programs to a much higher extent.

I found the lessons on The Programming Historian quite intimidating and as I sat in the computer lab trying to make my way through the different lessons I found that I still wasn’t grasping the basics of Python. As a “beginner” to coding I struggled my way through the different lessons. I’m not sure that I always completely understood what the author was trying to demonstrate and found myself having to read over instructions over and over again. When it came to lesson 2, it was quite a nice refresher of HTML. In the introduction computer science class that I took we heavily relied on the use of W3Schools. W3Schools made learning coding for me in 2016 a lot less intimidating as it had essentially instructions on every code that you would ever need to create a HTML page. I decided as I worked throughout The Programming Historian that I would also pull up the Python introduction on W3Schools.

Having made my way to lesson 6 of The Programming Historian I thought it would be suitable for me to express my difficulties that I faced with Python. From the get-go I had difficulties trying to open files from the webpage. I also continuously forgot that I had to type “print” to create information. Other difficulties and challenges I faced were inputting the exact code correctly, even the slightest mistake of missing a bracket would throw the entire chain off. It took time for me to get used to the language used for Python, but when I eventually did it made working through the lessons slightly less challenging.

Having already put in a couple of hours into coding Python in the computer lab, I think it is safe to say that I am still quite the beginner when it comes to the Python language. I’m not sure if I would be able to learn Python to an extent where I was able to go off on my own to code. I think I need more than just online lessons and would only be able to grasp a true understanding of Python if I took a class dedicated towards it.  For those relying on The Programming Historian I highly suggest running through the early lessons multiple times so you feel more comfortable to proceed onto the next lessons. The concepts of Python are complex and require time and patience before you become more comfortable with the code (something I didn’t have).

I don’t know enough on the subject of Python to talk for all digital historians, however, I can see how it may make digital historians lives much easier. Python can be used to create applications in order to help manipulate texts and words in order to help historians research. Although I plan on staying far away from Python, I clearly see why digital historians use the code in order to make their lives easier when it comes to researching.

– Kharum

HGIS or a Historical Geographic Information System, may be used to display, store and analyze geographical information. This data can then be represented on an interactive map. For the last 2 weeks in HIST 396 we have been studying exactly what HGIS is. In simple terms (my own understanding), GIS systems are a way for historians to link together spatial and attribute data. Spatial data consists of vectors, which can then be broken down into, points, lines and polygons. Attribute data consists of spreadsheets and databases. HGIS, a subfield of GIS can be used to digitize historical geographic information. Systems such as HGIS help to solidify the relevance of digital history in the modern day world. In much simpler terms HGIS allows us to represent time.

In class for the last few weeks we have viewed multiple HGIS projects. Recently we had Prof. Cheryl Troupe come in to present her work on the urbanization of the Métis population around Qu’Appelle River. Using GIS systems, Cheryl Troupe was able to map out the progression of the urbanization of Métis families around the Qu’Appelle River. After 2 weeks of learning what exactly GIS was, it was our turn to head to the computer labs to create our own maps.

Once we had headed down to the computer labs we opened up the software, ArcGIS. ArcGIS is a geographic information system that allows you to create maps and geographic information. Geoff Cunfer, has posted numerous lessons on Geospatial Historian to teach newcomers on how GIS software works. As someone who can easily pick up on instructions and follow them precisely, completing the lessons was quite easy for me. I found that I could get through his lessons within 20-30 minutes. His lessons were precise and clear. For anyone who wishes to pick up and learn GIS, I highly suggest downloading ArcGIS and following the lessons 1-5 by Geoff Cunfer. I found that as the lessons progressed, so did my confidence with ArcGIS. I was beginning to perform tasks on lesson 2 without needing to see the in-depth guide on where to select a tool. By lessons 3 and 4, I was able to skim through his lessons. However, by trying to complete the lessons as fast as I could, I believe I missed plenty of valuable information. I was skimming through his work, performing repetitive tasks. I knew exactly what tools to click but I wasn’t so sure what I was exactly creating. So I went back to his lessons to re-read them and to see if there was more I could learn. There are blocks and blocks of texts of Geoff Cunfer actually breaking down important definitions. I believe that these definitions of spatial data and attribute data are just as important as being able to fluently use GIS software. It’s one thing to perform a repetitive task over and over again but it is more important to understand what you’re creating.

Instead of just explaining what steps I followed and the geographic maps that I had created, I believe that it is just as important for me to reiterate what I have learned from my use of ArcGIS then to just paste multiple screenshots with me writing exactly what I did from Geoff Cunfer’s lessons. So what have I learned?

A GIS project usually begins with the process of collecting and loading data into a software program such as ArcGIS. Geoff Cunfer had already provided us with the necessary GIS data in order to create a map on the spatial distribution of populations in the Great Plains. Spatial data represents geographic features such as lines, points and polygons. A great example of spatial data is to look at google maps to view all the separate lines, points and polygons that create the map. A Feature Class is typically a individual layer in ArcGIS which consists of a collection of similar features. Each feature class can then be manipulated independently from the map and be represented by color or shapes on the map. Attribute data, which goes hand in hand with spatial data, consists of digitized data. All of this data can then be connected. Connection is the process in which attribute data and map data can be connected. By not only understanding how the software works but how the map is also created, historians are then able to answer historical questions.

In conclusion, ArcGIS is a great tool which allows users to create historical geographic maps. We see many of these maps featured on historical websites. HGIS gives us a never before seen visual representation of the past. Unfortunately we can’t travel in time to physically see historical events and cities but with HGIS projects we are able to obtain an accurate representation of what the past would have looked like. When it comes to challenges with creating HGIS projects one of the main issues that historians face is funding. Learning the actual software can be relatively easy. I couldn’t find any flaws in the software which prohibited the use of it. I never experienced any glitches/crashes while performing tasks. The only concern I ever faced was some of the lessons being a little vague. I believe that all historians should practice the new methodology of digital history. HGIS is just as important as regular old history. Textbooks can only provide us with certain information, however HGIS and digital history are breaking these barriers and providing us with new insights to the past.

 

Here are a few of the maps I had created using ArcGIS.

The lessons used to create these maps can be found at: https://geospatialhistorian.wordpress.com/

– Kharum

Audacity is a free open-source (meaning that original code may be edited and modified by anyone) digital audio editor and recording application software. Audacity is currently available for Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems. Audacity was released on May 28th, 2000, during the web 1.0 era and was created by Dominic Mazzoni and Roger Dannenberg at Carnegie Mellon University. FossHub, a website dedicated to hosting free public downloads, boasts a large number of 69 million downloads of Audacity. This number however does not represent the download numbers from the official Audacity download page, we can only assume that the true download number is in the hundreds of millions.

So, what can Audacity do? Audacity is able to perform a multitude of tasks from recording to importing/exporting, sound quality performance, internal and external plug-in use, editing, effects, accessibility, and analysis for visualizing and selecting frequencies. To break down these features even further I shall try my best to explain the many features of Audacity through my own understanding of them.

Recording: When a microphone is plugged in through a USB port, Audacity can record live audio. This is a great tool in which users can also dub over existing tracks to add layers of audio onto a project. Audacity can also use a internal sound card to capture streaming audio.

Importing/Exporting: Audio files can be can be imported into Audacity and then edited with a vast amount of features to help improve the quality or too just be edited into a new or pre-existing audio file. Once the imported file is up to par with the users preference it can then be exported in different file formats.

Sound Quality: Once a file has been recorded or imported, sample rates in 16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit can be converted using high-quality resampling. In other words 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit audio files are now obsolete, computers nowadays run on a 64-bit operating system.

Plug-Ins: A multitude of plugins are compatible with Audacity whether they be internal or external. Plug-ins can also be modified in a text-editor or can be created by users.

Editing: Editing is made easy with Audacity. Users can chop up audio files and combine them with other existing audio files. Users can scrub to certain chunks of audio in order to edit with ease. Multiple layers of audio can be stacked on top of each other and blended together in projects.

Effects: Internal audio effects integrated within Audacity allow for users to modify pre-existing audio. Plug-ins can also help to modify/create new audio effects. A great effect within Audacity is the ability to remove white-noise.

Accessibility: Dragging a mouse across a screen to click on multiple commands can be slow and time consuming when trying to complete a project in a specified amount of time. Audacity allows for the use of keyboard commands in order to complete tasks with a swift press of a key on the keyboard.

Audacity generally tends to pull on support from the public in order to achieve the best quality possible. The credit page lists at least a hundred or so names that have helped in order to create the best possible product on the market. These names vary from team members to contributors and translators. It is clear to see that Audacity is a product for the people, created by the people. Contributors are typically listed for contributing to code (plug-ins), translations, patches, feedback and donations. Audacity makes it quite clear that contributors help to support Audacity and are quite thankful for it.

However, although it is a popular tool; during my first initial practice run I found it quite hard to grasp the software. The overall aesthetic of Audacity makes it feel quite outdated and it does genuinely have a early  2000s feel to it. The program still works as one would expect it too. I would not recommend Audacity to a beginner in the field of audio editing as it can be quite eerie when trying to learn. Thankfully contributors and youtubers have posted numerous guides for beginners to help polish up skills. With practice and time anyone can grasp the workings of Audacity. It is user-friendly in the sense that someone without any knowledge of Audacity can easily import and scrub through audio files, but when it comes to removing and cleaning up certain areas of audio whether it be through the use of plug-ins or effects it can be quite daunting. Once users have the hang of it, it can then be easily used to clean up audio for a presentation, you tube video or podcast. Audacity can do it all.

If you would like to download or find out more about Audacity, you can do so here: https://www.audacityteam.org/

– Kharum

http://cityofguelph.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=f39b056d38fe460f8269eed11eb3cd66

Guelph Museums have taken on the historical task of creating an online museum dedicated to the life of Canadian lieutenant-colonel, John McCrae. In may of 2015, the life of John McCrae was celebrated, with the 100th year anniversary of his notorious war-poem In Flanders Field. The infamous poem helped to popularize the red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who  have fought for us. The famous poppy is now typically worn on Remembrance Day, on the 11th of November each year. The flower has now been adopted by Britain, France, the United States and Canada, including a number of other commonwealth countries, to remember those who have fallen.

When visiting the website for the first time, users are greeted with a brief synopsis on the purpose of the website (on the left side of the webpage), indicating that its main purpose is to serve as a map journal. Also on the left side of the webpage is an embedded plugin (similar to the Timeline JS ones we learned about in last week’s lab tutorial). This plugin allows for a friendly user navigation system that allows the user to explore the website with ease. Taking up the majority of the webpage on the right side is a portrait of John McCrae. Arrows keys on the left side of the webpage allow users to easily navigate between different stages of John McCrae’s life. As users explore the life of John McCrae the right side of the webpage is typically used to show images, maps, and embedded videos that relate to the story being told. These maps which are historically accurate to the time period in which historical life events are being told are powered by Esri, a GIS mapping software. With the use of such plugins, the developers of the website are able to craft a beautifully put together map journal that remembers the life of those who have fallen. To top it off users are able to show their support at the end of the slideshow by signing the guest book. Those who have chosen to sign the guest book can opt to have their location geocoded to then have a poppy placed on where they are viewing the site from. This feature allows the developers of the website to bring multiple communities together on which they all share one common goal, to remember those who have fallen for us.

The online museum journals the life of John McCrae. It lays out a historical map that begins with his birth in the city of Guelph, Ontario and maps its way out all the way to his death, and his legacy that he left behind. Accompanied by critical points in his life are maps that help to clarify certain historical dates (created with Esri, a GIS mapping software) in his life. For example, the developers of the website created a slide expanding on his love for travel and exploration. Using GIS, the developers have created a map which outlines his travels from Guelph, Ontario, through the Hudson Bay all the way to Montreal, Quebec. The info of his travels and life can be found within his diary, which is heavily pulled on throughout the website to record his life.

The website and development crew over at Guelph Museums have done an exceptional job in creating a map of John McCrae’s life that truly honors his legacy. It is clear to see who the target audience is. The website makes for a great learning resource for young teens and even for adults. The website is user friendly in the sense that teachers can even use the page to have kids in middle school all the way to high school learn through a interesting visual guide.  The website has and will continue to act as a memoriam for John McCrae and those who have lost their lives across all wars for the future generation to come.

– Kharum Rana

Hi,

My name’s Kharum. I was born in Leicester, England and moved with my family when I was 8 years old to Switzerland. After spending 2 and a half years in the Swiss Alps my family packed up again and moved to Canada. I graduated from high school in 2016 from Calgary and originally began my education at the UofR (Regina) for 2 years before transferring to the UofS in September of 2018. I’m also in the 3rd year of my History degree and would love to go to graduate school after I am done with my 4 year degree program.

Countries I have visited:

• England
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Mauritius
• Switzerland
• United States