DeXTER, the alpha version
Amazing turn up for the online demo of the alpha version of the DeXTER app!!! This app allows users to explore visually and interactively textual material enriched with layers of information such as relations of people, organisations and locations, mapping, sentiment, and much more!
What happens in the passage from digitised sources to digital data? How unsupervised can this process really be? This is my experience of working with a digital heritage collection
So you've digitised your sources, now you have thousands and thousands of digital material and... you're lost. You thought you'd finally be able to access everything but you are struggling to navigate the abundance of material which paradoxically seems to have obscured information rather than bring it to light. Where do you start? These are some of the questions that inspired DeXTER - DeepTextMiner. You can read more about the technical description of DeXTER in my previous post here
The presentation
More than 40 people attended the online seminar From digitised sources to digital data on 17 February 2021. In the presentation, I discuss most of the struggles researchers find themselves confronted with when dealing with digital sources. I also stress the importance of a critical engagement with the digital as each step has direct, potentially heavy consequences on the material (and therefore on the results). The presentation is based on the following paper.
A critical engagement with the digital is fundamental as each step has direct, potentially heavy consequences on the material (and therefore on the results).
An app, you said?
DeXTER is a generalisable workflow that uses cutting edge deep learning techniques to contextually enrich digital material. For example, it allows users to identify referential entities such as people, organisations, and locations in the material, geo-coding the locations, identify the positive, negative, and neutral emotions that link the entities over time and across the whole collection. But how can users explore such an enriched amount of information? Instead of static visualisations, we created an interactive app that allows users to navigate the information independently. This means detached from any pre-conceived research question but also allowing researchers to truly explore the layers of meaning from multiple perspectives.
DeXTER allows researchers to access many layers of information visually and interactively and form multiple perspectives
Current and forthcoming developments
Currently, we are adding the final touches to the app. DeXTER will soon be released in the form of an Open Access app, of a GitHub repository and a tutorial so that researchers will be able to replicate the methodology with their own material. Stay tuned! In the meanwhile, please enjoy the video of the demo below :)))
What interests me about introducing social learning through school projects is how a broad idea becomes part of an ordinary day. A shared project can give pupils a reason to explain their thinking to someone else. I would keep that thought nearby when looking for ideas about social learning projects. A short discussion of an everyday example would make this easier for me to connect with, especially as someone still learning about the subject. What helps students learn from one another instead of only dividing up the work?
A conversation about finding a comfortable rhythm for school learning seems most useful to me when it leaves space for uncertainty and further questions. Small consistent habits can help pupils return to a task after a distraction. It gives me a more concrete starting point for thinking about school learning routines. I am still thinking through the details, and a small example would help me picture how this works in practice. Which routines encourage focus while still allowing an occasional change of pace?
I can see why building confidence through adult education would invite discussion, since different people will bring different experiences to the same question. A practical learning goal can make returning to a classroom feel more purposeful. I would keep that thought nearby when looking for ideas about adult skills courses. A short discussion of an everyday example would make this easier for me to connect with, especially as someone still learning about the subject. What would help an adult learner recognise progress early in a course?
Considering discovering Slavic languages and cultural connections, I keep coming back to the difference between knowing about an idea and putting it into practice. Comparing familiar-looking words can reveal both connections and differences between languages. For me, that is a useful way into the broader subject of Slavic language learning. I would be interested in a simple example, because it is often the ordinary details that make an idea memorable. How would you help learners avoid assuming that similar words always mean the same thing?
I find preparing for a language proficiency test easier to think about when there is a concrete question to start from. Practising the task format can help a learner focus on language rather than unfamiliar instructions. I would keep that thought nearby when looking for ideas about language test preparation. I would probably come back to this question after trying to work through one concrete example rather than deciding immediately. How would you balance test practice with everyday language use?