Project Scope

Project goals and a timeline were developed by the graduate students from the University of Michigan's School of Information in conjunction with the Ann Arbor Girls Middle School (AAGMS) students. The goals and timeline helped guide the project. The timeline was succinct enough to keep the project, and project team members, on track, but flexible enough to allow for change.

Project goals ranged from having the graduate students learn how to use a digital video camera to having the AAGMS students learn local history and the richness of oral history and personal contact with community elders and storytellers. The AAGMS students also learned the interviewing skills necessary for the project. The AAGMS students maintained 'ownership' of the project. Graduate students and AAGMS students discussed their mutual role in the planning and implementation process; the AAGMS students assumed most of the decision-making power. To facilitate discussions and the implementation of the project, the project was divided into four sections:

1. Training for the students at the AAGMS: The training took place over two class sessions.
2. Interviews mediated by the students: Each interview lasted approximately 45 minutes.
3. A reflection session: AAGMS students wrote about their experiences and their favorite parts of the interviews.
4. Website creation: The initial website was created by the graduate students who developed the oral history project in conjunction with the AAGMS students. Later redesign of the website was done by graduate students on the Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach (CHICO) team at the School of Information.

Project Methodology

The graduate students worked with school teachers and administrators to schedule training sessions and interviews. Since the interview content was to appear on the World Wide Web, consent forms were created that addressed privacy concerns for the interviewees and the AAGMS students. To ensure the students' protection, it was decided that their faces and full names would not appear on the website.

Finding the Interviewees: The interviewees were people with whom either the AAGMS teachers or University of Michigan graduate students had previous, personal, contact. Those interested in conducting a similar project, who are new to a community or don't know where to start, can seek assistance at local schools, churches, mosques, synagogues, and nursing homes. Professionals and volunteers at local libraries and historical societies are also valuable resources. Our project team was fortunate in locating a diverse group of people with a variety of backgrounds.

Development of Interview Techniques: Two interview training sessions were conducted with the AAGMS students. The first focused on appropriate behavior; the second on question formulation. In both sessions, brainstorming techniques were used to generate a list of questions for the interviews. It was decided to make the focus of the interviews the childhood and early adolescence of the interview subjects. The thought was that the AAGMS girls might thus be able to have a greater sense of connection with the interviewees. This focus also helped to guide the questions-generating sessions. In addition, questions were generated that related to the AAGMS students' curriculum on Ann Arbor and the Huron River Watershed.

Conducting the Interviews: For a variety of reasons, the interviews were the most challenging part of the project. In preparing for these, the graduate students, and the AAGMS administrators and teachers, decided to divide the AAGMS students into groups of three. Small groups seemed ideal, providing both a framework of support and helping to bring focus to the process. When the interviewee arrived, graduate students and AAGMS students introduced themselves. The interview subject and the AAGMS students sat down at a table, and the interview got underway. The graduate students were responsible for videotaping the interviews and for letting the AAGMS students know how much of the allotted interview time was left.

Reflection: Once the interviews were completed, there was one reflection session conducted by the graduate students with the AAGMS students. A "reflection" worksheet was created for this session. The AAGMS students were asked to put themselves in the shoes of the people they had interviewed and to reflect on each person's life.

Website Creation: This site was created by graduate students at the School of Information at the University of Michigan in collaboration with students from the Ann Arbor Girls Middle School. It was substantially redesigned, and supplemented, during fall semester 2001 by graduate students on the Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach (CHICO) team at the School of Information. The process of project concept and execution, website design, and later redesign and amplification, is an example of some of the potential for creativity, storytelling, and exploration made possible by the resources of the Internet and the coming together of new and old traditions, sensibilities, methodologies, and technologies.