Community-Focused Technology Development Proposal

Overview

CLIO is a toolkit to create digital interactives for cultural heritage institutions. These interactive activities can be displayed on-line and in-person, as a facilitated experience or a static exhibit. You can use your own electronics; follow the guides to recreate POP, a portable prototype touchscreen kiosk; or host it online through a publicly accessible web server.

CLIO and POP are entirely open-source, meaning you can use them however works best for you.

Proposal

I will work with the Evergreen State College to create digital interactives – using CLIO and POP – that will be displayed alongside on-campus exhibitions.  This project will be a collaborative effort to create exhibition content that engages the expertise and educational resources of multiple project partners.  I will work with the Evergreen Natural History Museum, the Daniel J Evans Library, the House of Welcome and the Evergreen Gallery to provide physical items, digital media and text-based interpretation for these exhibits. I will work with Evergreen faculty and community members to receive additional project feedback.

Each digital interactive kiosk will contain activities that supplement traditional museum-style interpretation and add further context, such as history, core themes or related information. Each exhibit kiosk will have at least one interactive activity.  These digital interactives will be primarily new additions to existing exhibition content, such as artworks in the Library or architecture on the Indigenous Arts Campus.  These activities will be created using the sixteen pre-defined CLIO activity templates.  

These exhibit kiosks will be located in the Daniel J Evans Library, Evergreen Gallery or indigenous Arts Campus. I will be loaning three POP kiosks for the duration of the development process, tentatively planned to conclude Spring 2023.  I will seek funding through the Student Capstone Fund, President Equity Fund or other available budgets to fabricate kiosks that can be kept as a permanent fixture. I will relinquish control of the kiosks created through allocated funding and provide a long-term maintenance plan.

I will provide avenues for other Evergreen faculty and students to directly engage with the creation process for exhibit interpretive content.  Activity content can be drafted using templates editable through a synchronous word processor, such as Google Docs, allowing for remote content development within a team.  I will provide graphical and technical work or advice, as able. I will code the final interactive activities based on the submitted content templates.  I will provide remotely-accessible interactive activity previews for content proofing throughout the development process.

I will be designing an evaluative instrument to run preliminary user testing of the kiosk software, hardware and interpretive content.  This may include an in-person survey for faculty and students with questions relating to the hardware, software, user interface, user experience and content.  CLIO is accessible online and there is potential to create a completely remote evaluative survey option for activity content.

During the exhibit, I will examine how the interactive kiosks are interacted with.  This process may include directed interviews, undirected discussions, surveys or observation.  I will be recording this data for later analysis and integration into the CLIO toolkit.

At the conclusion of the exhibit, I will write a final report about the exhibits and all evaluation that was completed.  I will perform the final internal evaluation using the MUSETECH model to consider and document unanswered problems and avenues for improvement going forward.

Potential Interactive Kiosks

House of Welcome

Longhouse Self-Facilitation Kiosks

Interactives

These kiosks will startup directly into the desired activities without the need to configure them.

• Botanical garden.  This activity could use flashcards to display additional information (such as images and text) about the species of plants located in the Gifts Garden.
• Campus overview map. This activity could use one or multiple annotated images to provide a broad overview of the indigenous arts campus buildings.
• Display Case Interpretation. These activities could provide digital interpretation to the existing display cases.  It could be possible to overlap common themes between the gallery and longhouse activities to use them in multiple locations.

Hardware

This interactive could use one or two kiosks, based on available funding.  Each kiosk could have any configuration of activities.  The case will be printed using a sustainably-sourced and industrially biodegradable PLA filament.  The protective bumper will be printed using recyclable TPU filament or molded silicone. These kiosks could be mounted to a wall or attached to a floor stand using a VESA-compliant solution.

Aesthetics

The kiosk case will be a glossy light brown.  There is the option to use a finished PLA wood composite filament.  The protective screen bumper will be a medium reddish brown.  The interface will have a white to light brown background color with reddish brown accents.  The House of Welcome name will be displayed when the kiosk is starting up or the screensaver is engaged.

Evergreen Gallery

Indigenous Artists

These kiosks can be configured to startup into facilitator mode, allowing the desired activities to be selected each time the kiosk powers on.  They could also be configured to startup into an exhibit displaying the desired activities.

Interactives

• Artist Biographies. These activities could use a simple slideshow containing background images and text to provide supplemental information about artists within the collection.
• Portfolio Examination. These activities could use annotated images to explore specific artist’s works.
• Common Themes. These activities could use a simple slideshow containing background images and text to highlight common themes present in artworks from the collection.  It could be possible to overlap common themes between the gallery and longhouse activities to use them in multiple locations.

Hardware

This interactive could use one to three kiosks, based on available funding.  Each kiosk could be configured to show different activities or the same activities.  The case will be printed using a sustainably-sourced and industrially biodegradable PLA filament.  The protective bumper will be printed using recyclable TPU filament or molded silicone. These kiosks could be mounted to a wall or attached to a floor stand using a VESA-compliant solution.

Aesthetics

The kiosk case will be a matte white. The protective screen bumper will be white or light gray.  The interface will have a soft white/gray background color with soft gray accents.  The Evergreen Gallery logo will be displayed when the kiosk is starting up or the screensaver is engaged.

Daniel J Evans Library

Rare Books Room

Interactives

These kiosks will startup directly into the desired activities without the need to configure them.

• Rare Books Room Content: Archive and collections content related to the rare books room.

Hardware

This interactive would use one kiosk containing all the activities created for the Rare Books Room.  The case will be printed using a sustainably-sourced and industrially biodegradable PLA filament.  The protective bumper will be printed using recyclable TPU filament or molded silicone. These kiosks could be mounted to a wall or attached to a floor stand using a VESA-compliant solution.

Aesthetics

The kiosk case will be a matte black. The protective screen bumper will be dark green.  The interface will have a soft green background color with dark green accents.  The Evergreen College logo will be displayed when the kiosk is starting up or the screensaver is engaged.

Chicano Art Collection

Interactives

These kiosks will startup directly into the desired activities without the need to configure them.

• Chicano Art Collection Content: Interpretive content related to the Chicano Art collection.

Hardware

This interactive would use one kiosk containing all the activities created for the Chicano Art Collection.  The case will be printed using a sustainably-sourced and industrially biodegradable PLA filament.  The protective bumper will be printed using recyclable TPU filament or molded silicone. These kiosks could be mounted to a wall or attached to a floor stand using a VESA-compliant solution.

Aesthetics

The kiosk case will be a matte black. The protective screen bumper will be dark green.  The interface will have a soft green background color with dark green accents.  The Evergreen College logo will be displayed when the kiosk is starting up or the screensaver is engaged.

Responsibilities and Requirements

Student

I will assist with basic graphical, technical and interpretative work as required by the exhibits.  I will provide avenues for Evergreen faculty and students to directly engage with the creation process for exhibit interpretive content.  I will code the final interactive activities based on these content templates.  I will provide remotely-accessible interactive content proofs throughout development.

I will design an evaluative instrument to run preliminary user testing of the kiosk software, hardware and interpretive content. I will fabricate the interactive kiosks and relinquish control to the appropriate partner.  I will provide a maintenance plan.

Partners

I will require interpretive content to display as part of the interactive exhibits.  This could include: the selection of objects or media to put on display, drafting interpretive language surrounding it, and providing research support.  There will be monthly partnership meetings to review standing questions, content and project timelines.

At the conclusion of the project, I will require written approval to permanently host these kiosks within the applicable location.  I will require assistance with the oversight of student involvement and contributions if they are engaged in the development process.

Maintenance Plan

I will relinquish control of the hardware purchased through allocated funding to the Library or applicable department where the exhibit will be hosted.  

I will provide a step-by-step guide for constructing new POP kiosk electronics using readily available commodity hardware.  This will assist in the maintenance and repair of damaged kiosk hardware in order to extend their longevity.

I will provide all of the 3D-printable object files for the enclosure in the event of damage.  The case can be printed in the Evergreen Computer Applications Lab using standard settings on most FDM printers (such as the Makerbot).  I will provide a guide containing the recommended print parameters for these parts using FDM printers.

I will provide a step-by-step guide and a flashable SD card image used to clone or replace the exhibit kiosk software.  This can be completed on a Mac, Windows or Linux computer using free and open-source software.

Proposed Budget

Overview

The overall budget is for $2500.  Of this overall budget, $2000 is being requested through the President’s Equity Fund while the remaining $500 is being applied for through the Student Capstone Fund.

This budget allocates $1000 to the creation of five complete production-grade kiosks, including hardware, a 3D-printed case and protective bumper.  Currently, the electronics for each kiosk will cost approximately $200.  Hardware costs have been fluctuating during the COVID-19 pandemic and may be subject to change.  This may result in fewer overall kiosks being created or funds being used from different budgets.

There is a $500 allocation to procure or create a mounting solution for each kiosk.  The POP kiosk can be attached to a standard 75mm by 75mm VESA-compatible mount.  Permanent wall and tabletop mounting solutions range from $30 to $80, while mobile floor stands range from $130 to $300.  There are also cost-effective options to create 3D printed kiosk mounting solutions or work with the Evergreen Woodshop to create wooden stands.

The $500 budget allocation for prototyping supplies was the basis of a Student Capstone Fund grant application.  This project is under active development and will require prototyping case designs, mounting solutions and protective bumpers.  Hardware components (such as cables, panel mount connectors and cooling fans) will be a part of this prototyping process.  There will be a trial-and-error development process of using new filaments and production techniques. These funds are also going to be used for the purchase of filaments and resins to create the final production-quality kiosk cases. Additionally, another $250 will be used for trialing and testing different finishing techniques to create the final production-grade kiosks.

There is a $250 budget to cover miscellaneous and unforeseen expenses during the development process. This project will focus on supplementing existing exhibitions, but there still may be unforeseen circumstances that require the evaluation of existing interpretation or creating new interpretative materials.  

Per Interactive Kiosk Cost

Item	Unit Price	Qty	Cost
Raspberry Pi Official 7″ Touchscreen	$80.00	1	$80.00
Raspberry Pi 4 Kit	$100.00	1	$100.00
USB C Panel Mount	$10.29	1	$10.29
Case Fan	$9.99	0.25	$2.49
Nuts and Bolts (misc)	$3.50	1	$3.50
PLA Filament (1kg spool)	$50.00	0.285	$14.25
Total Unit Cost:			$210.53

Exhibit Cost Estimate

Item	Price	Qty	Cost
POP Kiosk Hardware (Raspberry Pi kit, touchscreen and production case)	~$200	5	$1000
Mounting Solution (Stands, bases, arms, mounts, etc.)	$100	5	$500
Prototyping Supplies (filament, resin, silicone, hardware components, etc)	$500	-	$500
Finishing Supplies (Sandpaper, primer, paint, polyurethane, clearcoat, etc)	$250	-	$250
Misc Expenses (Unforeseen expenses; labels, banners and interpretive materials; tools)	$250	-	$250
Total Exhibit Cost:			$2500.00

Timeline

Winter 2022

Find Evergreen Partners; Look through collections; Brainstorm exhibit ideas; Consider funding.

I will be finding partners within the Evergreen State College to create an interactive exhibit using CLIO and POP.  I will be searching through accessible collections so that I can brainstorm interactive activity ideas.  

This quarter will include interview processes with partners gathering information about collections, goals, desires, ideas and concerns.   I would like to explore the possibility of extending the offer to make content for CLIO and the exhibit(s) with other students, faculty or departments.

I have existing procedures for creating POP and CLIO content alongside a team; where they can create the language and decide on images, while I provide the design and development prototypes based on a template they fill in.

Spring 2022

Design and Prototype the Exhibit with Evergreen Partners; Draft CLIO content

I will be working with the Library, Longhouse, and Museum to design and prototype interactive kiosks that will be displayed in the applicable public space.  These interactives will provide digital interpretation that is supplemental to traditional museum-style interpretation.  Project partners and students will draft the activities using established procedures.  I will be investigating, improving and documenting the activity creation process, procedures and techniques that I have been developing through my internships with the Burke and Slater Museums.  I will provide online interactive previews for activities still in development.

Fall 2022

Design evaluation instrument; Continue drafting content; Run evaluation on the prototype.

After finishing the initial prototypes for the CLIO exhibit and content, I will take time to design an evaluative instrument to run preliminary user testing.  This will include an in-person survey for faculty and students with questions relating to the hardware, software, user interface, user experience and content.  CLIO is also accessible online, meaning there is potential to create a completely remote evaluative survey option for activity content.

Winter 2023

Run Exhibit; Gather observational and evaluative data; Complete interviews.

During this time, I will run the exhibit, perform any necessary troubleshooting and observe how it is being interacted with.  This process may include directed interviews, undirected discussions, surveys or observation.  I will be recording this data for later analysis and integration into the CLIO toolkit.

Spring 2023

Write final exhibit report; Finalize CLIO project; Perform final evaluation; Release toolkit beta.

After finishing the exhibit run, I will be writing a final report about the exhibit and all evaluation that was completed.  This quarter will be used to finalize the CLIO toolkit by finishing the wiki, ensuring that it is accessible through the web, and making the software available through the use of an open-source repository.  I will also be performing the final internal evaluation of CLIO, using the MUSETECH model, to consider and document unanswered problems and avenues for improvement going forward.