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A Quick Intro to Digital Publishing Options

November 21, 2017
Domain of One's Own homepage
Domain of One's Own homepage

If you're a student, staff or faculty member who wants to start publishing on the web, there are a couple of popular options:

1) WordPress. According to their website (as of November 2017), 29% of the web runs on WordPress.

2) Omeka. Used by classes, museums, and archives to create online exhibits, with detailed metadata.

3) Scalar. Upload objects, annotate videos and images, weave a path through the site with digital storytelling, use interactive graphics, and more.

4) MediaWiki. Make your own Wikipedia-type sites.

Digital Bryn Mawr Domains

These tools are all free to sign up for and use, but have some limitations. If you find you want greater flexibility, a good option at Bryn Mawr is Digital Bryn Mawr Domains. This platform lets you build these different types of websites on your own domain (i.e., yourname.digital.brynmawr.edu).

Digital Bryn Mawr Domains lets you:

  • Access advanced functions of these web tools more easily (usually you'd have to set up and pay for your own server)
  • Sign in with your BMC login
  • Take your Domain with you after you graduate (unlike blogs at Bryn Mawr or Moodle)

Domain of One’s Own programs are running at a few colleges, but it’s still pretty new. The idea is that students keep and control their own data and build their own identity online. For more on the philosophy of Domains, see Audrey Watters, “The Web We Need to Give Students,” 7/15/15.

Documentation is available here. You can also contact the help desk to connect to someone to help you get started with any of these tools.