University and Life Resources
Student Support and Advocacy Center: 703-993-3686 https://ssac.gmu.edu
Counseling and Psychological Services Offices: 703-993-2380 https://caps.gmu.edu
Crisis Support: 703-993-2380 https://caps.gmu.edu/crisis-consultation/
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
Mason Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence Crisis Line: 703-380-1434
The Steve Fund (for students of color): Text STEVE to 741741
Trans Lifeline (for the trans community): 877-565-8860
The Trevor Project’s TrevorLifeline (for LGBTQ+ students): 866-488-7386
Veterans Crisis Line (for Veterans): 800-273-8255, Press 1
Title IX Office: 703-993-8730 https://diversity.gmu.edu/equity-access-services/title-ix
GMU Police and Public Safety: 703-993-2810 https://police.gmu.edu/
Technology Resources
In this course, we’ll be using a lot of programs and tools you might not be familiar with. That’s okay! You’re not supposed to be! However, that does mean that sometimes you might get lost, confused or frustrated and need help. I’ll keep a collection of tutorials and links here for your use over the course of the semester, but if I haven’t covered something, here are some steps to take towards finding a solution:
- Read the documentation
- Documentation is what the tech world calls a user manual. Every tool we’ll use in class has documentation. Reading through the documentation should always be your first step when trying to find a solution to your problem with a program.
- Search online
- You are probably not the first and only person to run into the problem you are having. If the documentation fails you or is too confusing, give searching online a whirl. There are many online forums for technical difficulties and some of the programs we’ll be using in class have their own dedicated forums. If you have a specific error message, be sure to include that in your search!
- Post in the #tech-help channel in the class Slack
- Once again, you probably aren’t the first and only person to run into a problem, even within this class. Post in the #tech-help channel to see if someone else already knows the answer. Work with your classmates over Slack to find a solution. I will also appear in the #tech-help channel to help you out.
- Direct Message me on Slack or via email
- This should be your last resort! Not because I don’t like talking to you (because I do!) but because if everyone messages me the exact same problem, I could have just answered it in the #tech-help channel for everyone to see instead of sending the same thing to twenty different direct messages. Someone else online or in the class may also be able to answer your question faster than I can. If you direct message me with a tech problem, I will go check the #tech-help channel before answering, so be sure to post there first (and give it some time to get some responses). However, if you’re dealing with something private or something you don’t want to share with others, you are of couse always welcome to direct message or email me at any time.
Tech Hacks
How to Bookmark a Website on different browsers and devices
Project Specific Resources
Resources for Project #1
Setting your website on Reclaim Hosting and WordPress: A video tutorial from Dr. Abby Mullen
Getting to know your WordPress Dashboard: WordPress Dashboard Overview from WordPress
Installing a theme on your WordPress blog: How to Choose and Install a Theme from WordPress
More on WordPress Themes: Work with Themes from WordPress
How to write a blog post: WordPress Block Editor tutorial from WordPress
Resources for Project #2
Installing Zotero: Install Zotero and Connectors by Zotero
Generating a bibliography with Zotero: Creating Bibliographies by Zotero
Finding sources in the library catalogue: Using the Library Catalogue by Dr. Abby Mullen and Dr. George Oberle
Finding journal articles through the library: Using the Library’s Journal Database by Dr. Abby Mullen and Dr. George Oberle
Resources for Project #3
Intro to Metadata: What is Metadata (with examples) from Dataedo
GMU’s Infoguide to Tropy, including install, first steps and more: What is Tropy? by Alyssa Fahringer, George Mason University Libraries
A complete guide to Tropy: Tropy’s documentation from Tropy
A video quickstart guide: Getting Started in Tropy from Tropy
Resources for Project #4
Setting up a Gmail Account: Create a Gmail Account from Google
How to use TimelineJS: A step-by-step tutorial video from Knight Lab
TimelineJS’s Help section, FAQ and Documentation from Knight Lab
Can I use this image for this project? Consult Dr. Abby Mullen’s Public Domain Guidance.
Finding Public Domain & Creative Commons Images: Finding Images from the Gettysburg DH Toolkit
Is this image supported by TimelineJS? Check Knight Lab’s Supported Media Types page.
Adding an HTML Custom block to your blog post: Adding Content Using Blocks by WordPress
Resources for Project #5
Script Writing: “How to Write Scripts for Your Podcast” by PRX & “Going Narrative” by Karen Given
Using Audacity, Video Tutorials: “Audacity Basics” by Kyle Stedman, “Audio Editing 101: Audacity” by WFAE News
Audacity’s Documentation: “How to Use Audacity” by AudacityTeam
Royalty-Free, Public Domain Music: Free Music Archive
Royalty-Free, Public Domain Sound Effects: FreeSound
Embedding Audio into Your WordPress Blog Post: A tutorial from SitePoint
On Transcripts, How-To and Their Importance: “How to implement podcast accessibility” from PodcastAccessibility
Resources for Project #6
A guide to everything you could possibly need to know about Twine: Twine Reference from Twinery
A guide to everything you could possibly need to know about Harlowe, the Twine story format: Harlowe 3.3.8 Manual from Twinery
Using Variables in Twine (Harlowe): Variables in Twine by Caitlin Hartweave
Can I use this image for this project? Consult Dr. Abby Mullen’s Public Domain Guidance.
Finding Public Domain & Creative Commons Images: Finding Images from the Gettysburg DH Toolkit
Embedding an HTML file into Your WordPress Blog Post: A guide from Kinsta