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Pachyderm Project

How can we help people and institutions create media-rich digital stories about their work and passions?

The Pachyderm project is addressing this question in two ways: with a multi-million dollar open-source authoring platform built by and for museum and university scholars and staff; and with a series of workshops and curricula that focus on the development of skills related to digital storytelling and an understanding of how to best use digital media. Since the release of the Pachyderm platform in October 2005, the focus of this initiative has been on building and supporting the community of Pachyderm users, encouraging its use in museums and higher education, and stimulating adoption of the tool and the materials created with it. The Edward and Betty Marcus Digital Education Project for Texas Art Museums is a major outreach activity under this initiative. The Pachyderm Project, actually part of both the New Media & Learning (NMLI) and New Collaborations Initiatives, is such a large project that it is held to the same standards as an NMC initiative.


  • Focus on: expanding the use of new media; digital storytelling
  • Stimulate: adoptions of Pachyderm and its creations, and understanding of how to use these media

Convene
people around ideas

Catalyze
dialog and new ideas

  • Storymining concepts and curriculum
  • Alliance with Steve Project
  • Open-source software development
  • Museum-higher education collaboration
  • Storytelling as a frame for new media production

Build Community
engage people

Contribute
produce things

 

The content below is related to this initiative and comes from various places across the NMC web site. Items are listed in reverse chronological order.

Pachyderm Initiative

2008 Pachyderm Conference to Be Held in San Antonio, Texas

Posted August 2nd, 2008 by NMC
in

The 2008 Pachyderm Conference will take place September 22-24, 2008, in San Antonio, Texas. This is the third annual Pachyderm Conference.

The focus of the conference is to bring together Pachyderm authors, developers, and others in an ongoing conversation about how to communicate effectively with digital media. The conference provides a forum for beginners to learn from established experts, and for those with more advanced skills to exchange ideas and gather inspiration from their peers.

The theme of this year’s conference is the power of story. Highlights will include final details about the next release of Pachyderm, as well as a special showcase of presentations that demonstrate the deep connection between story and audience.

Third Annual Pachyderm Conference

Posted June 27th, 2008 by NMC
in

Pachyderm Logo2008 Pachyderm Conference
September 22-24, 2008
San Antonio, Texas

The third annual Pachyderm Conference will be held September 22-24,2008, in lovely San Antonio, Texas! Each year, museum and campus leaders, trustees, and educators come together for a series of dialogs with content authors, developers, members of the open source community, students, and museum experts to discuss the outreach and programmatic use of digital media and Pachyderm in museums and institutions of higher education.

Pachyderm Services

Posted February 5th, 2008 by NMC
in

Thank you for your interest in Pachyderm! For more information, please see the Pachyderm Services web site.

Individual Pachyderm Accounts

Individual accounts are available on a yearly subscription basis. These accounts include unlimited authoring. Your media and presentations may be stored on the Pachyderm server as long as your account is active. Completed presentations may also be downloaded from the Pachyderm server.

Type of Account Annual Subscription
Individual, Basic $99
Individual, Premium* $149
*Premium Accounts include help desk support on the web and via phone during business hours.

 

To sign up for an individual subscription account, please complete our Pachyderm Account request form, and be prepared with a credit card for payment via our secure server.

Herd Ahead: The Promising Future for Pachyderm in the Open-Source Community

Posted September 30th, 2007 by NMC
in

Closing Plenary Keynote 2007 NMC Pachyderm Conference

Scott SayreSynergy is building in the Pachyderm user and development communities with Pachyderm’s entrance into the open-source realm. Linkages to other systems, new features, and innovative uses for the authoring tool are springing up from the community of developers. Looking ahead, key projects and initiatives are poised to pave an exciting future for Pachyderm. Nothing is set in stone, and you and the rest of the community can contribute, share, and change the future as Pachyderm moves ahead.

Scott Sayre, 2007 NMC Pachyderm Conference

Roll Up! Roll Up! The Magical Myth-History Tour

Posted September 30th, 2007 by NMC
in

Thursday Luncheon Plenary Keynote for the 2007 NMC Pachyderm Conference

Holly WitcheyA brief lunchtime journey down a road less traveled by in order to illuminate “the way we do the things to do.” What do James Burke, Douglas Adams, and John Cowper Powys have to do with Pachyderm? More importantly, why are hard-boiled eggs often more useful than sledgehammers in the educational process?

Holly Witchey, 2007 NMC Pachyderm Conference

Integrating the Arts: Phase Two of a Multi-Year, Multilayer Pachyderm Project

Posted September 29th, 2007 by NMC
in
Play Now

Wednesday Luncheon Plenary Keynote for the 2007 NMC Pachyderm Conference

Kris WetterluncThis presentation will demonstrate and discuss the second phase of a three-year, large-scale Pachyderm project called Integrating the Arts: Mummies, Manuscripts and Madonnas . This project, being produced for the Walters Art Museum by Sandbox Studios, is based on an interdisciplinary approach for K-12 teachers and students to a select number of ancient, medieval and Renaissance works of art in the Walter’s collection.

Kris Wetterlund, 2007 NMC Pachyderm Conference

Keynote Presenters

Posted September 22nd, 2007 by NMC
in

Opening Plenary Keynote

"What We Talk About When We Tag About Art"

Pachyderm Feautured in Edutopia

Posted August 29th, 2007 by Alan Levine
in

Edutopia , a publication of the George Lucas Foundation, has a new article highlighting the Pachyderm project -- see The Elephant in the (Class)room: Pachyderm’s Multimedia Tool

Something large, friendly, and highly capable may be in your future. It’s Pachyderm multimedia-authoring software, a tool that allows you and your students to incorporate audio, video, text, and images into classroom presentations, digital term papers, and any multimedia project you encounter. The completed presentation can then be put on a CD or DVD, or downloaded to the author's Web site.

Pachyderm Project

Posted April 5th, 2007 by NMC
in

What is Pachyderm?    Pachyderm is an easy-to-use multimedia authoring tool. Designed for people who have little or no multimedia authoring experience, Pachyderm is accessed through a web browser and is as easy to use as filling out a web form. Authors upload their own media (images, audio clips, and short video segments) and place them into pre-designed templates, which include built-in functionality for playing video and audio, linking to other templates, and other features. Descriptive text can be copied and pasted in, or authored directly in Pachyderm. Once screens have been completed and linked together, the presentation is published and can then be downloaded and placed on the author's website, on a CD, or elsewhere.

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