on the road + online

Lake Ponchartrain Causeway, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.
Photo courtesy of the New Orleans Virtual Archive (coming soon!)

I'm working on a method of translating the processes learned in this semester's course into a system for capturing the digital photos taken by summer study programs and travel fellowships. I have a number of recommendations for integrating or mashing up different technologies. The online toolkit includes: EditGrid, MapBuilder, Flickr and Blogger.*

ITINERARY IN EDITGRID.

Before the trip, I can assist the faculty in setting up a spreadsheet for the base itinerary in EditGrid.** EditGrid is a online spreadsheet that can be shared and updated by multiple users. It's a great tool for a collaborative project.

ITINERARY DATA WILL BE USED TO GENERATE DESCRIPTIONS AND TAGS FOR PHOTOS.

1. We will keep the data simple and relevant:building name, architect(s), and location (street address, city, country).
2. We will also add a group tag or ID to all sites: This could be a course ID (DSGN652) or relevant word string (TSAJapan08). Essentially, this tag that will identify any images uploaded to different Flickr accounts as being part of this image collective.
   

ITINERARY UPDATES.

1. The EditGrid itinerary spreadsheet should be updated regularly to reflect actual sites visited.
2. This task can be delegated and shared by members of the group.
3. If anyone in the group has an iPhone, the itinerary can be updated in real time.

MAPPING THE INTINERARY.

1. In EditGrid, export as csv.
2. Then go to MapBuilder, and import the intinerary.
3. MapBuilder will generate coordinates for latitude and longitude.
4. One can also then export the data from MapBuilder and import it into Google Maps or Google Earth via GPSVisualizer.

IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS IN FLICKR.

• Upload images to Flickr using the Flickr Uploadr relevant to your OS:
• Upload images of a single building at a time
• Place them into a Set
• Set name = Building name
• Copy and paste the relevant line of data from the EditGrid itinerary
• into the description
• and into the tag
• Photographers should also add their own name
• into the description
• and as a tag
• Tags
• Place phrases in quotes.
• Individual words do not need quotes.
• ex. "Bibliotheque Nationale" "Henri Labrouste" "11 Quai François-Mauriac, Paris, France" tsaParis08 "Victor Jones"
• Images should also be mapped / geo-tagged in Flickr.
• Flickr> Map> Organize > Your Map
• Select: Your non-geotagged content
• Shift-select images to map
• Find a location: enter location data
• Drag images to the appropriate point

BLOGGING THE TRAIL. Travel groups or fellowships may wish to set up a blog to create an online travel journal. Then one can simply select an image in Flickr and click "blog this" to generate a post.

Presentation at Tulane School of Architecture on Wednesday, April 30 at 11 am. Richardson Memorial Hall (#4 on campus map) room 204.

*One will need to register in EditGrid and MapBuilder. Flickr requires a yahoo mail account and Blogger requires a Google mail account.

**I would have used EditGrid in our course mapping project, but I only discovered it (with thanks to Alan Gutierrez) after the maps had been created.