History SPOT has now left the beta testing stage thanks to ULCC (University of London Computer Centre) who have recently worked hard to get the site completed. Over the coming few months you will see History SPOT expand and grow as we add much more content and elements to the site. In the meantime we have updated the project page on the IHR website which I thought worthwhile to repeat here. In the coming days and weeks you will also see an increase in blog posts here as well as content appearing on History SPOT itself as we attempt to work through the backlog especially of seminar podcasts. More news soon!
—
History SPOT [Seminar Podcasts and Online Training] provides an archive of Institute of Historical Research seminars, conferences, lectures and workshops as podcasts or live streamed events and is host to our online research training materials including handbooks and training courses.
Research Seminars, Lectures and Conferences
History SPOT is brimming full of podcasts from IHR seminars, conferences and lectures from 2009 to the present. In addition to our extensive archives you will have access to all new podcasts from the IHR in the coming months and have the opportunity to discuss, comment upon and debate their content online. Unlike many other podcast sites History SPOT attempts to embed the podcast within other resources such as abstracts, bibliographies, and discussions.
Live Streamed Events
A small selection of our events are now streamed live on History SPOT with the additional capability for viewers to not only listen and watch in real time but to also comment and ask questions of the speakers in the post-paper discussion. Slide show presentations and twitter feeds are also available to enable online viewers to get as close to ‘being there’ as possible.
Historical Research Training
History SPOT presents to you for free and for the first time material from our research training courses and from our expertise’s as a research institute. Initially we have provided several research handbooks but training courses will follow shortly.
Link to Historical Research Handbooks
Interact
History SPOT is not just a place to search for content it is also designed so that you can interact with the subject matter. When you listen to one of our podcasts let us and other users know what you think. Is there something that you disagree with or do you have something to add to what our speakers discuss? You can also add your own tags to the podcasts to help others find the resources they want more easily.
In addition you can create your own profiles, take part in social networking through Groups and Friends and create basic web pages. You can also write your own blog posts and discuss our activities with each other in various group forums.
Link to History SPOT Collaborate
Project Background
The History SPOT platform was developed between March 2010 and March 2011 as a pilot entitled IHR Digital Seminar and Research Training Project. Its purpose was to re-develop IHR core activities as online resources. This “Phase One” focused on establishing procedures to record the IHR Research Seminars as podcasts and to develop live streamed events in both audio and visual media. The greater part of Phase One was focused upon the development of a new multi-system platform which would enable the IHR to lead the way in the provision and use of digital technologies in the humanities. This platform went live as a beta (test) site on 19 September 2011 and became fully active in January 2012.
The initial project had two key aims;
- To deliver the IHR Seminars online through podcasting and live-streaming with additional content
- To develop an online presence for the IHR postgraduate research training programme
The Project Team
The project is managed by Dr Jane Winters, IHR Head of Publications and IHR Digital, with Dr Matthew Phillpott working as the Project Officer. It is also more generally supported by the IHR Digital team. Design and development was provided by the University of London Computer Centre (ULCC) and by IHR Digital’s website manager Martin Steer. The content of the Research Training Programme is being handled by the IHR’s Dr Mark Merry and Dr Simon Trafford.
Project Links:
History SPOT Platform: The online home for IHR podcasts, live streams and research training content
History SPOT Project Blog: The Project Officer’s blog and home to the SPOT Newsletter (a regular summary/review/opinion piece, for resources uploaded to History SPOT).
Reports:
Scoping report (2010) – Exisiting services for online lectures and seminars
Survey report (2010) – IHR Online Research Seminar Delivery Survey