Rideau Timescapes, a heritage visualization app that allows users to access the history of the Rideau Canal, was launched May 17.
The app was a collaboration between the Centre for Public History and the School of Information Technology at Carleton, and was created for the iOS platform for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad.
The idea was conceived in a meeting that Carleton held to bring research areas together using digital media, according to Anthony Whitehead, director of Carleton’s school of information technology.
Whitehead and James Opp, co-director of the Centre for Public History said they decided to create this app because the Rideau Canal is not only a World Heritage site that spans over 200 km between Ottawa and Kingston, but it also has historical significance to Carleton due to the close proximity of the Hartwell Locks.
Opp was notified that their application was approved in April 2011. For over a year, Opp and Whitehead oversaw the project, but “all of the actual work on the app was performed by undergraduate and graduate students,” Opp said.
The app was truly a collaborative effort, said Opp. Students from the school of information technology designed and built the app, while students from the history department developed the content including images and written collections and even assigned GPS coordinates. The Sprott School of Business also played a role in marketing the app.
According to the app’s website, the program is more than just an archive of over 700 photos. It also provides the histories of the various lockstations along the canals and includes a function that allows users to see how the lock has changed overtime.
Rideau Timescapes aims to take history out of museums and put it into the hands of the public while they are viewing the site itself.
“When a historian looks at these photographs in an archive, they speak to particular histories of the time in which they were taken,” said Opp. “But when you look at them on site, where they were taken, you get a very different sense of the changes in the historical landscape.”
Opp anticipates a positive response from the public and said the app has already been downloaded over 200 times since being launched.
“People really like to spend time around the locks watching boats,” he said. “So we felt there would be a very good market and interest in the app from both first-time tourists and frequent users of the Canal.”
