But what about if you are not interested in the Digital Humanities? Or are interested in them, but don’t consider yourself particularly computer literate? What are the computer skills you need to thrive in the traditional humanities or get started in DH?

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of tutorials on basic computer skills and tools for students of the Humanities. It should be of use to those just beginning their undergraduate careers, for graduate students hoping to professionalise their research and study, and for researchers and teachers who have other things to do that follow the latest trends and software.

What kind of thing can I learn from this series?

The focus of this series is going to be on basic tools. It is going to assume you know nothing other than how to turn on a computer and get on the internet. It will make some recommendations about basic software, starting with such simple things as browsers. It will also cover some basic techniques: how to use styles in word processors, how to use a citation manager or spreadsheet.

How often will they appear?

I’m going to mark this as a special cluster in my blog (using a special tag, basic computer skills). But I’ll publish them irregularly, as the mood strikes and I have the time. I’m also hoping to get some guest authors involved. Mostly students who have done presentations on these things in my classes.

What if I have an idea for a tutorial? What if I disagree with you?

If you have an idea for an article in this series, I’d love to hear from you. If you have already written something on a topic I’m covering and would like me to know about it or link to you, please let me know as well!

Articles in this series

The following are links to the other articles in this series. You can also find them using the tag basic computer skills

• Web browsers

tags: basic computer skills, computers, dh, humanities, pedagogy, research, tutorials

– Brown, Susan (School of English and Theatre Studies, University of Guelph, Canada), Brundin, Michael (Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory, University of Alberta, Canada), Chartrand, James (Open Sky Solutions, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), Knechtel, Ruth
(Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory, University of Alberta), MacDonald, Andrew (Open Sky Solutions, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), Rockwell, Geoffrey (Humanities Computing, University of Alberta, Canada), Sellmer, Megan (Humanities Computing, University of Alberta, Canada): “THE CWRC-WRITER BRIDGE: FROM CODER TO WRITER, XML TO RDF, DH TO MAINSTREAM” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Poster-782.xml)

– Brown, Susan (University of Guelph), Adelaar, Nadine (University of Alberta), Dobson, Teresa (University of British Columbia), Knechtel, Ruth (University of Alberta), MacDonald, Andrew (McMaster University), Nelson, Brent (University of Saskatchewan), Peña, Ernesto (University of British Columbia), Radzikowska, Milena (Mount Royal University), Roeder, Geoff G. (University of British Columbia), Ruecker, Stan (IIT Institute of Design), Sinclair, Stéfan (McGill University), Windsor, Jennifer (University of Alberta), and INKE Research Group: “PROBING DIGITAL SCHOLARLY CURATION THROUGH THE DYNAMIC TABLE OF CONTEXTS” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Poster-740.xml)

– Couture, Stéphane (McGill University, Canada), Sinclair, Stéfan (McGill University, Canada): “BEYOND THE TOOL : A REFLEXIVE ANALYSIS ON BUILDING THINGS IN DIGITAL HUMANITIES” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Paper-805.xml)

– Eberle-Sinatra, Michael (Université de Montréal, Canada), Sinclair, Stéfan (McGill University, Canada), Dyens, Olliver (McGill University, Canada), Vitali Rosati, Marcello (Université de Montréal, Canada): “CRÉER UN CENTRE DE RECHERCHE INTERUNIVERSITAIRE SUR LES HUMANITÉS NUMÉRIQUES AU QUÉBEC : DÉFIS ET SUCCÈS” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Poster-791.xml)

– Engel, Maureen (University of Alberta), Zwicker, Heather (University of Alberta), Frizzera, Luciano (University of Alberta), Pedraça, Samia (University of Alberta), Regattieri, Lorena (University of Alberta), Schoenberger, Zachary (University of Alberta), Windsor, Jennifer (University of Alberta): “VISUALIZING HOMELESSNESS” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Poster-516.xml)

– Martin, Kim (University of Western Ontario), Greenspan, Brian (Carleton University), Quan-Haase, Anabel (University of Western Ontario): “STAK – SERENDIPITOUS TOOL FOR AUGMENTING KNOWLEDGE: BRIDGING GAPS BETWEEN DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Paper-314.xml)

– Martin, Kim (University of Western Ontario), Quan-Haase, Anabel (University of Western Ontario): “DESIGNING THE NEXT BIG THING: RANDOMNESS VERSUS SERENDIPITY IN DH TOOLS” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Paper-425.xml)

– Montague, John Joseph (University of Alberta, Canada), Rockwell, Geoffrey (University of Alberta, Canada), Ruecker, Stan (IIT – Institute of Design, USA), Sinclair, Stéfan (McGill University, Canada), Brown, Susan (University of Alberta, Canada), Chartier, Ryan (University of Alberta, Canada), Frizzera, Luciano (University of Alberta, Canada), Simpson, John (University of Alberta, Canada): “SEEING THE TREES & UNDERSTANDING THE FOREST” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Paper-924.xml)

– Siemens, Ray (University of Victoria): “ZAMPOLLI AWARD LECTURE: Communities of Practice, the Methodological Commons, and Digital Self-Determination in the Humanities” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Plenary-11.xml)

– Sinclair, Stéfan (McGill University, Canada), Rockwell, Geoffrey (University of Alberta, Canada): “TOWARDS AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF TEXT ANALYSIS TOOLS” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Paper-778.xml)

– Van Zundert, Joris (Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), Jannidis, Fotis (Würzburg University), Drucker, Johanna (University of California, Los Angeles), Rockwell, Geoffrey (University of Alberta), Underwood, Ted (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Kestemont, Mike (Antwerp University), Andrews, Tara (Bern University): “WHAT IS MODELING AND WHAT IS NOT?” (http://dharchive.org/paper/DH2014/Panel-671.xml)

– Stéfan Sinclair and Geoffrey Rockwell have a workshop titled “My Very Own Voyant: From Web to Desktop Application” (http://docs.voyant-tools.org/resources/run-your-own/voyant-server/)