The Digital Scholarship Summer Symposium at Lafayette College was a new experience for me. I had never presented at a symposium before, and I had no idea what it was like. I was nervous when I saw so many people at the event. Their projects were all very interesting to me, and they were very excited to share their progress. I learned a lot from the event.
First of all, I got a sense of what a symposium is like. Although there will be a large audience, there is nothing to be afraid of. People are very inclusive and are willing to give sincere suggestions. It is a place to share and gain feedback for your own project. I enjoyed listening to what technologies others used to accomplish their project. There are many useful methods I did not know about. I was amazed by how many forms digital humanities can take and how creative it can be.
More importantly, I felt like I developed a deeper understanding of my own project through talking to people about it. It helped me organize my thoughts. I got a sense of what aspects were people more interested in, so that I could narrow down the information I wanted to include. I felt very motivated after the symposium.