BibleTech08 good stuff

This really turned out to be a fine experience: interesting presentations and lots of good connections meeting people otherwise only known via the Net. Some things I want to remember:

• Sean Boisen made a good case for encouraging those who are sharing material on the Net with biblical references to use a "Bibleref" markup. More info here. The idea is one of those commonsense things, and it really isn't that difficult to implement. There are, however, a number of questions (how to indicate version, alternate versification...) that might complicate it. There are already plugins available for Wordpress, e.g., Holy Scripturizer.
• Stephen Smith from Crossway (and the ESV Bible) walked us through a much more nuanced and thorough way of thinking about how people read and use their Bibles. We also heard about the open policy they have had with sharing the ESV. It seems pretty clear to me that their free sharing of the text has led to it quickly pervading the cloud, but it doesn't really seem to have hurt physical sales of the product. Thanks to Crosswary and another plug for open source...

• Now this is really neat. Reiner du Blois shared work on the Semantic Dictionary of the Hebrew Bible, a project carried out under the auspices of the United Bible Society. The dictionary itself is a bit like a Hebrew OT companion to the Louw-Nida Lexicon for the NT, but the SDHB is using a significantly more nuanced approach that considers both lexical and contextual domains. The example he used is the word "sheep." Lexically, it fits in with animals and more particularly, domestic animals. Contextually, however, it might be associated with shepherding and so associated with words like shepherd, flock, pasture, staff, etc. It might also be contextually associated with Temple, however, in which case it is associated with words like priest, knife, sacrifice, blood, etc. He showed the tool that they are using to create this lexicon and then demonstrated the work that has been completed so far in the online application. Note that user comments are being solicited. It really provides a fascinating view of the language. Check it out.
• I have highlighted the wonderful work done at zhubert.com, now The Resurgence Greek Project. Zack Hubert told a bit of his story. It is a fascinating story of how he got from Amazon to the Pastor of Technology at Mars Hill Church... with zhubert.com sort of happening on his spare time. He has a great sense of technology and ministry and the kind of community he is trying to support at his church.
• Neil Mayhew and Larry Waswick from SIL talked about that is involved with their organization in the work of Bible translation. It is an incredibly 'thick' process that involves far more than just translating. Not only does it take a great deal of training for translators, but it also requires all sorts of supporting software to render languages appropriately. One of the tools they use is the SIL Fieldworks. I'll quote from the site:

A suite of software tools to help language teams manage language and cultural data, with support for complex scripts.

Language projects begin with careful study of the language and culture of a community by:

1. entering cultural and linguistic observations
2. analyzing and capturing linguistic and cultural rules and precepts
3. writing papers, including dictionaries and writeups of linguistic and cultural phenomena

FieldWorks is a set of software tools that help manage cultural and linguistic data from initial collection through submission for publication. A sampling of what FieldWorks supports:

• the Dictionary Development Process which defines an approach for building and refining a dictionary
• categorizing cultural observations using the Outline of Cultural Materials
• complex non-Roman scripts using Unicode and SIL-developed Graphite
• most writing systems (except vertical script at this time)
• limited multi-user capacity which opens the door to cluster project work over the Internet or a LAN

FieldWorks stores data in a common set of databases which allows for:

• integrated data
• integrated task work
• normalization of data

• What fascinated me was the cultural and ethnological sensitivity required for good translation, but this is exactly the same thing that is needed for seminary students translating the Greek NT into English. The Fieldworks suite is a free download that allows for journaling of cultural observations that can later be recalled in the actual work of translation. I'm going to check it out and see how it might be used with my Greek classes.
• I got to meet Troy Griffitts of The Sword Project of the Crosswire Society. He pointed out to me the FlashCards program. It's free, has both Greek and Hebrew, and has a nice variety of lists based on frequency and grammars. He also showed me the beta of a very neat online app he has developed that calls up images of manuscripts (e.g., Sinaiticus, P46, Aleppo Codex) that makes it easy to do transcription work. (It's still beta, so don't bug him about it...) I'll use it with my Advanced Greek classes.

All in all, this was an excellent experience. Thanks to Logos for hosting this event! (And now I can look forward to the redeye flight back to the east coast, but it will have been worth it.)

Digital Resources for Biblical Mapping

I'll have more to report on BibleTech08, but I want to share the material I presented on "Digital Resources for Biblical Mapping." HERE is the link to follow. I have provided a PDF handout of the presentation and a quick summary outline of it. There is also a link to a spreadsheet comparing features of the biblical mapping programs. Most importantly, I have collected all the links to mapping resources and provided some comments on many of them.
My conclusions after my survey of all the biblical mapping resources?

1. There is not yet any biblical mapping resource that does it all. Ideally, I think what we want is a resource that has these elements.

• It is adaptable to various kinds of presentation: projection, web, handout. This requires a variety of base terrains, colors, etc.
• It seems that transitory, non-profit or educational uses of images are acceptable, but copyright is an issue for which greater clarity is needed. (E.g., I think it is legal for me to post the PDF handout online, because it comes under the category of criticism or review, I am not charging for the data, I am not inhibiting the sale of the mapping resources by their owners, I have reduced the quality of the images so that they are not able to be used as replacements of the originals, my PDF only has a very small percentage of any of the resources used.)
• In many ways, it is helpful to think of the old overhead model; i.e., a base layer where it is possible to add overlying images/filters.
• (In contrast, I am not sure how many people really want to have the power to create and edit maps. Unless you really have a need to make a highly specialized map, I would rather count on the expertise of others and not have to spend the time to generate my own map. As stated in the previous point, however, it is nice to be selective in the data I display, but it is better to choose or enable sites/overlays rather than have to create them.)
• It has bi-directional links between the Bible text, map locations, reliable reference works, multimedia resources, and online links.
• It is desirable to have at least some kinds of interactivity: turning and tilting, 3D, flyover, animations demonstrating sequence of events, etc.

2. For Mac users, Accordance Bible Atlas is an easy choice. It doesn't do everything on my list, but it nicely implements many of the features I describe.
3. For Windows users, BibleMapper is a good choice for map editing and creation, but the status of this program is currently in transition.
4. If you just want a static map, you can probably find one online.
5. I think the future lies with something similar to GoogleEarth. The capability to add overlays, edit sites, and link to all sorts of data (e.g., even now there are links to one's own images in Picasa that are geotagged, Panoramio images, YouTube videos, Wikipedia articles, etc.) really makes this a rich environment for development. What is needed is a reliable package of overlays with links back to Bible software resources.

Some interesting comments that resulted from my presentation include:

• the need by teachers to quickly create maps for geographical quizzing, i.e., with location markers but no labels
• the ability to rotate maps but have label orientation remain constant
• Take a look at what Sean Boisen (Logos) is doing with Bible places and names at his SemanticBible site. What are some possibilities of linking sites with the people connected with that location?

I've also been encouraged to check out a couple other resources. I was aware of and had linked to iLumina, but I had not experienced it first hand. PreservingBibleTimes is not exactly a mapping resource, but it provides some of the geographical overview.

Enough for now, but again, HERE is the link to follow for my stuff.

Live from BibleTech!

This has really been fun so far. It's great to connect some people I know from online with their real selves. Some things I've learned:

• James Tauber had a fascinating presentation, and I was able to talk with about some of the Greek linguistic work he is doing. (I blogged about it here.) He has some ideas about creating a Greek graduated reader that looks pretty neat based on his vocab usage studies.
• I really need to learn CSS and redo my other web sites and in doing so make sure they are fully accessible.
• I discovered YouVersion.com. It's an interesting way of creating a personal journal as well as engage with a community commentary on a biblical text. I have a pastor friend who is using a blog to read through the Bible with his congregation, but this YouVersion looks to be a more robust implementation.
• There are a lot of interesting people doing interesting things related to the Bible. Open source is a repeated refrain.

I'll post quite a bit of material related to my presentation on biblical mapping tomorrow.

Digital Resources for Biblical Mapping - Help?

I am scheduled to present at BibleTech08 on Digital Resources for Biblical Mapping. I have been blogging on this topic for some time, but I am wondering if any of you have suggestions, complaints, recommendations, wishes, etc. pertaining to this subject that I might use to improve my presentation. Please note that I am focusing strictly on biblical (ie, just OT and NT periods) maps and mapping resources that are intended to be used on a computing device (computer, PDA, etc.) either as a software program or part of a program or as a resource on the internet.
I have my opinions..., but I would be interested in hearing from you.

1. How are you using digital mapping resources now?
2. What would you hope to be able to do with such resources? (projecting them, printing, how are you using in classroom/church/synagogue, etc?)
3. What types of maps do you find most helpful? (Or, what makes a map not useful?) Are there some maps that you find yourself using most often?
4. Are there features you would like to see/use in a biblical mapping resource, especially given the potential of digital/electronic tools?

Thanks for any comments/suggestions you can share.

NOTE: >>>>
To see what I have done so far, the easiest collection of links I have created is here, and here is a summary of that post noting the resources I've been checking.

• So far, I've looked at map resources in Logos, BibleWorks, eSword, and OnlineBible. (This includes both the resources that come with the programs as well as other user-created addons.) I know there is an Atlas module for Accordance, but I have no experience with this one. (Any comments?)
• I've spent a good deal of time looking at GoogleEarth and the user-created biblical resources. (cf. OpenBible.info) I have also been reviewing BibleMap.org and Todd Bolen's BiblePlaces.com. (I'm hoping that Todd will be assisting me. He knows a lot more about the actual geography!)
• I have the HolyLand 3D program, as well as BibleMapper, Interactive Satellite Map of the Holy Land. I have used the older Logos Bible Atlas and the Logos Deluxe Map Set.
• I am aware of but do not have the programs from Carta, Manna, Nelson's 3D Bible Mapbook, Walking in Their Sandals, or iLumina. (Amy comments?)
• I have been compiling lists of online collections of biblical maps (eg NTGateway, StudyLight.org, NET and NeXt Bible maps...)

BibleTech 2008 News

I'm happy to report that I've received notice that my proposal to be one of the speakers at BibleTech 2008 in Seattle in January has been accepted. I'll be reporting on some of my work with digital resources for biblical mapping. I'm working with Todd Bolen of The Master's College who is in Jerusalem and works on the BiblePlaces site. We are hoping to get an an 'article' out on the topic to be published at the SBL Forum. For more info/registration for BibleTech2008, check here.

BibleTech08

Hosted by Logos but not a Logos software demonstration, BibleTech08 will:

explore the intersection of Bible study and technology. This two-day conference is designed for publishers, programmers, webmasters, educators, bloggers and anyone interested in using technology to improve Bible study. BibleTech 2008 is an opportunity to meet others who share your interests and hear from industry leaders.

January 25/6 in Seattle, WA. I'll have to see if I can make it out there...