Week 15 and Finals Week: What have we contributed to the digital humanities community?

We’re almost there — just one more week to go! First, let me thank you for your enthusiasm, your collegiality, and your willingness to experiment with new things. You have helped make this semester one of my best, and I hope you feel similarly satisfied with what we’ve accomplished as a class. Second, let me encourage you to finish the semester on a high note. We’re so close to the end, but we’re not there yet. Don’t forget about the last few tasks and deadlines:

• You should wrap up your work on The Gray Jacket project no later than Wednesday, May 7. The tasks we need to complete are listed in the “Special Collections Feedback” file in our class’s shared Google Drive folder. When you are done with your issue, the last step of this assignment is to write a one-page memo about your work on the project, as described on the assignment sheet. Next week, we will officially launch the site and start sharing it publicly.
• Your individual project should be nearing completion. If you would like to meet one last time before you submit your work, please stop by during my office hours (T 1–4; W 9–12) or email me to set up an appointment at a different time. The deadline for this project is Monday, May 12, at 7:45 a.m. (our university-assigned time slot for the final exam). Your project should be live on the web, and your shared Google Drive folder should contain your final memo, as described on the assignment sheet.
• If you have not completed the Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) questionnaire for this course, please take a few minutes this weekend to do so. I’d like to know what you think went well this semester, but I’m especially interested in receiving your feedback about how I could improve this course next time I teach it.

Our class sessions during Week 15 will be dedicated to your oral presentations for the individual project. Each of you will have 10 (and only 10!) minutes to share your project with us. Although the format of these presentations is flexible, they are presentations, so don’t just wing it. Whatever approach you take, please make sure you prepare something. Here’s the lineup for each day:

• On Monday, we will proceed in this order: Ashley, Nathan, Kelly, Andrew K., Alexis, Michelle.
• On Wednesday, we will proceed in this order: Katie, Andrew W., Jennifer, Arian, Lindsey, Britt.

Because you’ll be submitting your final projects online, we will not hold a formal final exam. However, you’re all invited to kick off Finals Week with a breakfast at my house on May 12 at 9:00 a.m. I’ll send out my address and details via email, but for now I’ll just say this: my buttermilk pancakes will change your life.

And that’s it. Congratulations, you’re all certified digital humanists. Now go and build something amazing!