Student Research Using the ELMCIP Knowledge Base

This talk describes ways in which we have used the Knowledge Base in teaching and independent student research at the University of Bergen, and proposes ways of integrating the Knowledge Base into new courses. We have found that the Knowledge Base works well as a reference resource for first-year students, whereas more experienced students can learn about multiple aspects of digital-humanities research (bibliographic, literary, methodological, institutional) by adding entries to the Knowledge Base, which provides the opportunity to write in a networked, digital enviornment in which their contributions will help to build a field by making the activities that constiute it visible.

Advice for integrating the Knowledge Base into a course:

1. Design the syllabus in the Knowledge Base before the course begins.

2. Set students up with accounts at the start of the semester.

3. Give compulsory assignments. For instance:
--- each student is assigned one of the creative works on the syllabus and asked to find two critical works that reference it, and to enter these into the Knowledge Base with abstracts.
--- each student is assigned one of the critical works on the syllabus and asked to write a description of it for the Knowledge Base and to add links to any creative works it cites

4. Run a peer-to-peer review session in the class, encouraging students to read, comment, and revise each others' work. Discuss when the class group regards an entry as complete, and what the requirements would be for a record status to be changed to "approved".