Identifying Need for Digital Tools

What do we mean, when we say 'digital tools'? Essentially the term covers the wide gamut of digital tools including:

Digital Tools are used to:

Often, language documentation projects produce materials like digitized documents, audio recordings, images, applications, reference materials, and videos. These may be intended for use and storage in hard copy, and/or on computers, tablets or phones. Creating these materials may require access to computers, microphones, cameras, and other devices.

Once materials are created, you may need to use software applications (on computer, tablet, etc.) in order to edit or transform the data to usable format depending on the nature of your project. Additionally, you will need to have a plan for managing, storing, and sharing the data (materials).

In a documentation project, you will need to gain an understanding of your organization’s or community’s current capacity to carry out these tasks. You may want to do a quick inventory of:

• Current hardware infrastructure and obligations
• Current software infrastructure and obligations
• Connectivity capabilities
• Physical facilities (e.g., do you need a sound booth to record)

Starting with what you have access to, create an inventory of current capacity. That could include a list of the hardware already in use such as – desktop or laptop computers running Windows or iOS (Apple) operating systems, or tablets and phones running Windows, Android, or iOS.

Your organization might have contracts that specify refresh rates on these devices, and/or that determine what kinds of hardware you can purchase, and when. Similarly, you might have some departments that are Windows or Mac shops, and are obligated to remain in those ecologies. You may already license software from Microsoft, Adobe or Google – if so, these licenses can provide software that can readily be used in language documentation projects.

Most modern digital tools assume that you will use them over an internet connection, and they often are designed for high speed, unrestricted internet connections. You may already have access to physical facilities such as studios, microphones, lights, and sound booths – perhaps as part of programs in graphic design, media production, and the like.

Once we have a sense of what's already in place, that will help with decisions about what digital tools will work best in your particular environment or what you may lack and will need to acquire for a successful language project.