Taking the next step...

Working in Zooinverse

Hey there transcription friends!

I have officially started working in Zooniverse. The best part of that is so can everyone else. The PRINT Team has created tutorials and fun field guides that help making transcribing less intimidating through a finicky website. Do not get me wrong it is not flawless but I have found it has made more a bit more confident in my transcription process that I did not anticipate. It also made me realize you can never be fully confident in any transcription and there will always be something that makes you doubt.

Let's walk through the process of starting out before you begin transcribing on the website. First, when you choose which type of letters you are choosing to transcribe make sure you pay attention to letters that are retired vs available. There are so many letters that I promise you will find something that fits for every level of transcriber. (Yes, even letters for those just starting out) Once you have selected your letter you must (I can not stress this enough) read the tutorial page. Transcribing is rough on a good day even for people who do this on the daily so reading the READ ME page will help facilitate this process and answer any questions and quell any fears you may have going in.

I suggest next taking time before you get started. Play with the different buttons on the side of the digital image and get to know what each button does. These are here to help you better transcribe. Also, there are tools you can use that I find the most helpful. Personally, I like to transcribe the letter on my own before I begin typing into the website. Using the 'hide all mark' selection allows me to see beyond the lines created. Also I tend to change the background in order to get a better visual. Sometimes this grey scale document can play tricks on the eyes and changing the background color can give you a new perspective. Also the zoom in and zoom out tools are always helpful but remember to use the arrow keys when you are doing that. It took me ages to figure that out but once I did the ease of the program clicked in.

Here you can also find the field guide. This will become your best friend and very quickly. Most of the questions I had about frequently confused letters as well as abbreviations used during this time were all answered here and it was a life saver. Honestly, I can't imagine trying my hand at Zooniverse without at least looking through the field guide. It is filled with so much information so do not feel you have to commit it to memory it is always there to help you out. From here you can start your transcription process.

Next time I will go over the start of the actual transcription process but I figured the beginning process needed to be planned. Plus spending time in the field guide before ever actually begining to transcribe is crucial.

Talk Board

Zooniverse also has another wonderful feature called the Talk Boards. Here you can not only find fun facts about the people and places you are transcribing but you can connect with others who are working on the same projects. This is also used to ask questions and find help when each other is struggling. Sometimes it's transcription help and other times it's website help. I can admit I have used this talk board for both. I personally like the Talk Board for the Research and Education tab. Here is where you find the fun facts about the people you are transcribing. Chat is also good as this is where you talk to others about what you have found that they should look at to or if you find interesting information and you want to share, here's the place to go. These Talk Boards are built for the volunteers and are a vital part of the remote transcription process.

As stated earlier the next post will be about the process of actually transcribing on Zooniverse. I'm still working through myself so then I will have a full list of my victories and struggles for you!!

Until Next Time...