Teaching History and Languages with a Strategy Computer Game: 0 A.D. in the Classroom

[hawc2]

Programming Historian in English has received a proposal for a lesson, 'Teaching History and Languages with a Strategy Computer Game: 0 A.D. in the Classroom' by @historical-theology.

I have circulated this proposal for feedback within the English team. We have considered this proposal for:

• Openness: we advocate for use of open source software, open programming languages and open datasets
• Global access: we serve a readership working with different operating systems and varying computational resources
• Multilingualism: we celebrate methodologies and tools that can be applied or adapted for use in multilingual research-contexts
• Sustainability: we're committed to publishing learning resources that can remain useful beyond present-day graphical user interfaces and current software versions

We are pleased to have invited @historical-theology to develop this Proposal into a Submission under the guidance of @scottkleinman as editor.

The Submission package should include:

• Lesson text (written in Markdown)
  • For guidance, we recommend Sarah Simpkin's lesson Getting Started with Markdown
• Figures: images / plots / graphs (if using)
• Data assets: codebooks, sample dataset (if using)

@historical-theology has already shared their Submission package with our Publishing team by email, copying in @scottkleinman. Our Publishing team will now process the new lesson materials, and prepare a Preview of the initial draft. They will run any questions by the contributor and post a comment in this Issue to provide the locations of all key files, as well as a link to the Preview where contributors can read the lesson as the draft progresses.

Our dedicated Ombudspersons are Ian Milligan (English), Silvia Gutiérrez De la Torre (español), Hélène Huet (français), and Luis Ferla (português). Please feel free to contact them at any time if you have concerns that you would like addressed by an impartial observer. Contacting the ombudspersons will have no impact on the outcome of any peer review.

[charlottejmc]

Hello @scottkleinman and @historical-theology,

You can find the key files here:

• .md: /en/drafts/originals/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game.md
• images: /images/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game
• assets: [none]

You can review a preview of the lesson here:

• http://programminghistorian.github.io/ph-submissions/en/drafts/originals/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game

I noticed a couple things when setting this file up, which I've listed below:

• Figure 1 was very large, so I cropped the top and bottom to be able to size it down to 840 pixels on the longest size, without losing too much of its quality. We try to keep to this size to ensure images load for users using slower internet connections or less powerful devices.
• Figures 4-12 were also very large. Sizing them down to 840 pixels across meant the tab to the left became illegible, so I only sized them down to 1700 pixels. If you think that part of the image is not necessary though, we could crop it out, which would allow us to size the images down even further.
• I noticed you've provided alt text for your images, but it isn't exactly what we're looking for. Ideally, alt text gives a visual description of what a sighted reader would see in the image, in a way which is meaningful to visually impaired readers.

[anisa-hawes]

Hello Corey @historical-theology,

I've sent you an invitation to join us as Outside Collaborators here on GitHub. This will give you the Write access you'll need to edit your lesson directly. (There's no need to use the Git Pull Request system in our ph-submissions repository).

What's happening now?

Your lesson has been moved to the next phase of our workflow which is Phase 2: Initial Edit.

In this Phase, your editor Scott @scottkleinman will read your lesson, and provide some initial feedback. Scott will post feedback and suggestions as a comment in this Issue, so that you can revise your draft in the following Phase 3: Revision 1.

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timeline
Section Phase 1 <br> Submission
Who worked on this? : Publishing Assistant (@charlottejmc) 
All  Phase 1 tasks completed? : Yes
Section Phase 2 <br> Initial Edit
Who's working on this? : Editor (@scottkleinman)  
Expected completion date? : May 5
Section Phase 3 <br> Revision 1
Who's responsible? : Author (@historical-theology) 
Expected timeframe? : ~30 days after feedback is received

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[scottkleinman]

Hello, Corey @historical-theology

Here are some initial comments on your tutorial.

• I would like to see a short narrative of a game from start to finish: what the players actually do in the course of play. This is to help the reader understand why they should wade through the lengthy setup steps. Historical accuracy is great, but the reader may think it is not worthwhile if game-players are just attacking each other with historically accurate swords whilst hurling insults in Greek. I think the reader needs to get a sense of the game up front, probably in the Tutorial Overview section.
• The Tutorial Overview should probably also have a short overview of the software including the fact that it is open source, maybe a short version of its history, and the statement about the tutorial requiring no prior knowledge.
• In the Requirements section, I think the point about the smoothest experience can be relegated to a footnote since most users will meet the requirements. If some issues like storage requirements seem particularly important, we can bring them back and highlight them in the body of the tutorial. The licences can also be placed in footnotes.
• I'm concerned about the LAN requirement for multiplayer use since it seems to me that that will not suit classroom use. Could you perhaps address this, in case I have misunderstood how easy it would be to deploy them game in this scenario?
• I would suggest re-casting the section entitled "A Scholarship-Aware Community Endeavor" to focus more on the strengths and limitations of the game's use for teaching. I think you can make the point about the game's emphasis on historical accuracy more concisely and focus on how this historicity can be used (the subsequent sections).
• I am uncertain of the value of the separate "Team Building" section. The issue dovetails with scattered statements about the use of 0 A.D. for both single and multiplayer play. I wonder if when introducing the software you could give examples of both, and, for the latter, emphasise that one of the advantages is team building.
• I am also unclear on the role of AI in the game (there are two references in your discussion). Could you clarify that?
• I suggest not listing GIMP as a "requirement" and instead introducing it as software for working with topography when importing geographic data. I think that the use of GIMP to modify the data might be a separate subsection from the subsection on editing in Atlas.

Could you please address these issues in a revision before I send the tutorial out to external reviewers? And, of course, let me know if you have any questions.

[anisa-hawes]

What's happening now?

Hello Corey @historical-theology. Your lesson has been moved to the next phase of our workflow which is Phase 3: Revision 1.

This Phase is an opportunity for you to revise your draft in response to @scottkleinman's initial feedback. You can make direct commits to your file here: /en/drafts/originals/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game.md. @charlottejmc or I can help if you encounter any practical problems! When you and Scott are both happy with the revised draft, we will move forward to Phase 4: Open Peer Review.

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timeline
Section Phase 2 <br> Initial Edit
Who worked on this? : Editor (@scottkleinman) 
All  Phase 1 tasks completed? : Yes
Section Phase 3 <br> Revision 1
Who's working on this? : Author (@historical-theology)  
Expected completion date? : May 8
Section Phase 4 <br> Open Peer Review
Who's responsible? : Reviewers (TBC) 
Expected timeframe? : ~60 days after request is accepted

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[historical-theology]

@anisa-hawes , @charlottejmc , and @hawc2 , thank you for configuring all of this for us, and @scottkleinman , thank you for your thoughtful, extensive feedback.

I have prepared a thorough revision (ec83e84) in which I have aimed to take seriously everything mentioned thus far in this issue thread. While preparing the revision, I also have made a number of smaller changes throughout the piece to improve its clarity.

@charlottejmc

Figure 1 was very large, so I cropped the top and bottom to be able to size it down to 840 pixels on the longest size, without losing too much of its quality. We try to keep to this size to ensure images load for users using slower internet connections or less powerful devices.

Figures 4-12 were also very large. Sizing them down to 840 pixels across meant the tab to the left became illegible, so I only sized them down to 1700 pixels. If you think that part of the image is not necessary though, we could crop it out, which would allow us to size the images down even further.

The adjustments look satisfactory. I am concerned about legibility at the reduced resolutions, but I also think that readers following the body text will not struggle to know what is being depicted in the images.

I noticed you've provided alt text for your images, but it isn't exactly what we're looking for. Ideally, alt text gives a visual description of what a sighted reader would see in the image, in a way which is meaningful to visually impaired readers.

I have expanded the alternative text for every image with greater specificity. Please let me know if the updated alternative texts suffice (and, if not, how they might be improved further). Also, feel free to make direct commits to improve their functional utility for potential readers who might be unable to view the images.

@scottkleinman

I would like to see a short narrative of a game from start to finish: what the players actually do in the course of play. This is to help the reader understand why they should wade through the lengthy setup steps. Historical accuracy is great, but the reader may think it is not worthwhile if game-players are just attacking each other with historically accurate swords whilst hurling insults in Greek. I think the reader needs to get a sense of the game up front, probably in the Tutorial Overview section.

The Tutorial Overview should probably also have a short overview of the software including the fact that it is open source, maybe a short version of its history, and the statement about the tutorial requiring no prior knowledge.

I have overhauled Tutorial Overview to include nearly all of these things. In the process, I have used your encouragement to write a "short narrative" as a way to create a kind of orienting hook or lead-in for the reader.

In the Requirements section, I think the point about the smoothest experience can be relegated to a footnote since most users will meet the requirements. If some issues like storage requirements seem particularly important, we can bring them back and highlight them in the body of the tutorial. The licences can also be placed in footnotes.

I have moved all of these things to the endnotes.

I'm concerned about the LAN requirement for multiplayer use since it seems to me that that will not suit classroom use. Could you perhaps address this, in case I have misunderstood how easy it would be to deploy them game in this scenario?

I have reworked this part of the Requirements section.

I would suggest re-casting the section entitled "A Scholarship-Aware Community Endeavor" to focus more on the strengths and limitations of the game's use for teaching. I think you can make the point about the game's emphasis on historical accuracy more concisely and focus on how this historicity can be used (the subsequent sections).

I am uncertain of the value of the separate "Team Building" section. The issue dovetails with scattered statements about the use of 0 A.D. for both single and multiplayer play. I wonder if when introducing the software you could give examples of both, and, for the latter, emphasise that one of the advantages is team building.

I have overhauled the section entitled "A Scholarship-aware Community Endeavor," partly by combining it with the previous "Team Building" section and condensing the result.

I am also unclear on the role of AI in the game (there are two references in your discussion). Could you clarify that?

It is standard practice for what are often colloquially referred to as "computer players" or "bots" to be labeled formally as artificial intelligence (AI) units/players. Is there something specific that ought to be clarified within the tutorial about this? If not, and I have answered your question, I am comfortable leaving those references to AI as they are.

I suggest not listing GIMP as a "requirement" and instead introducing it as software for working with topography when importing geographic data. I think that the use of GIMP to modify the data might be a separate subsection from the subsection on editing in Atlas.

I have removed all instances in which GIMP is framed as a requirement, instead noting specifically that the reader may use the image editing software of his/her choice. At the same time, I have left in-place the detailed steps in GIMP for the benefit of persons without any background in digital image editing, since performing those digital image editing steps is necessary for successful topographic image importation in Atlas for 0 A.D.

Could you please address these issues in a revision before I send the tutorial out to external reviewers? And, of course, let me know if you have any questions.

The attention to detail that you have shown, @scottkleinman , is laudable, and I appreciate it.

Thus far, I have appreciated how straightforward this GitHub-based approach is for the Programming Historian. While I hope that you will find this revision to be ready to be issued to external reviewers, I will be happy to fulfill any follow-up request(s) for revision that you might have.

@historical-theology
Corey

Corey Stephan, Ph.D.
coreystephan.com

[charlottejmc]

Thanks for getting back to me @historical-theology. I agree that we should leave the images as they are, to ensure legibility. Thank you very much for your work on the alt-text – I've made some minor edits, but overall it looks great!

[anisa-hawes]

Thank you, Corey @historical-theology. We really appreciate your work on this first round of revisions.

Scott @scottkleinman will aim to review your changes within the next fortnight by ~May 31st. After that, we'll confirm the next steps.

[scottkleinman]

@historical-theology, I am just emerging from the end-of-semester crush and finally able to have a look your revisions. They look good. One thing that has been lost, as far as I can tell, is a download link for GIMP, which still seems useful despite GIMP's not being a "requirement". So this is just a note to put that in before we publish.

That said, I think we are ready to present the tutorial to peer reviewers. I'll start on this next week.

[anisa-hawes]

Hello Corey @historical-theology,

What's happening now?

Your lesson has been moved to the next phase of our workflow which is Phase 4: Open Peer Review.

This phase will be an opportunity for you to hear feedback from peers in the community.

Caio @caiocmello has invited two reviewers to read your lesson, test your code, and provide constructive feedback. In the spirit of openness, reviews will be posted as comments in this issue (unless you specifically request a closed review).

After both reviews, Caio will summarise the suggestions to clarify your priorities in Phase 5: Revision 2.

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timeline
Section Phase 3 <br> Revision 1
Who worked on this? : Author (@historical-theology)
All  Phase 3 tasks completed? : Yes
Section Phase 4 <br> Open Peer Review
Who's working on this? : Reviewers (@adamlporter + @clauper-maker)
Expected completion date? : 22 Nov // 30 Nov
Section Phase 5 <br> Revision 2
Who's responsible? : Author (@historical-theology)
Expected timeframe? : ~30 days after editor's summary

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[anisa-hawes]

Hello Corey @historical-theology,

Caio Mello @caiocmello will now be taking on editorial responsibilities for this lesson. Caio's first step will be inviting two community peer reviewers to contribute their feedback. Caio will post an update here in the Issue when the reviewers' names are confirmed. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the extended delay, and thank you for your patience. Alex @hawc2 will be in touch with you by email in the coming days.

With very best wishes,
Anisa

[charlottejmc]

Hello Corey @historical-theology,

What's happening now?

Your lesson has been moved to the next phase of our workflow which is Phase 6: Sustainability + Accessibility.

In this phase, our publishing team will coordinate a series of tasks including: copyediting, typesetting, generating archival links, collating copyright agreements, and reviewing essential metadata.

Please note that you won't have direct access to make further edits to your files during Phase 6. You will have an opportunity review and discuss suggested copyedits with your editor @caiocmello. Thank you for your understanding.

When our Sustainability + Accessibility actions are complete, the Managing Editor @hawc2 will read the lesson/translation through one final time ahead of publication.

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timeline
Section Phase 5 <br> Second Revision
Who worked on this? : Author (@historical-theology)
All  Phase 5 tasks completed? : Yes
Section Phase 6 <br> Sustainability + Accessibility
Who's working on this? : Publishing Team
Expected completion date? : 24 April
Section Phase 7 <br> Publication
Who's responsible? : Managing Editor @hawc2 
Expected timeframe? : ~10 days

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Note: The Mermaid diagram above may not render on GitHub mobile. Please check in via desktop when you have a moment.

[charlottejmc]

Hello @historical-theology,

This lesson is now with me for copyediting. I aim to complete the work by ~24 April.

Please note that you won't have direct access to make further edits to your files during this phase.

Any further revisions can be discussed with your editor @caiocmello after copyedits are complete.

Thank you for your understanding.

[charlottejmc]

Hello @historical-theology and @caiocmello, I've prepared a PR with the copyedits for your review.

There, you'll be able to review the 'rich-diff' to see my edits in detail. You'll also find brief instructions for how to reply to any questions or comments which came up during the copyedit.

When you're both happy, we can merge in the PR.

[charlottejmc]

Dear @historical-theology, I just want to check that you've noticed the copyedits to your lesson are now ready for your review?

If you have any questions about how to proceed, please don't hesitate to ask.

[historical-theology]

@charlottejmc , thank you for the fine copyediting work.

Of the 5 interventions that you requested of me, I completed (and closed) 3, and 2 remain -- simply because (as you will see in the copyediting thread) I requested that you change the document to have the drop-in replacement screenshots that I made.

After you have done that, will you please mention (ping) me in this thread so that I know that I should do a final close reading of the document in that copyedited state?

Thanks,
Corey

[historical-theology]

P.S. Something happened with the sequence of the images in the live preview; they are not appearing in the order in which they are supposed to appear. I suspect that it simply has to do with the copyediting commits not being finalized, but I wanted to make sure to draw it to your attention.

[anisa-hawes]

Thank you, Corey @historical-theology.

Charlotte is away this week, but if you could email me (admin[@]programminghistorian.org) the two images, I can process them and make the replacements (we aren't able to receive the local files you've shared via your comments).

When we have merged in the copyedits, we can carefully re-check the order of all figures to ensure everything is in the right place. At the moment, the Preview reflects the lesson pre-copyedit.

[historical-theology]

@anisa-hawes , thank you. @charlottejmc actually responded to me in the copyediting thread.

[charlottejmc]

Thank you @historical-theology, I've replaced the two images now.

I'll proceed with typesetting, and then I'll get back to you with a few final metadata questions to prepare the lesson for publication.

Thank you for your patience!

[charlottejmc]

Hello @hawc2 ,

This lesson's sustainability + accessibility checks are in progress.

• Preview:

http://programminghistorian.github.io/ph-submissions/en/drafts/originals/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game

Publisher's sustainability + accessibility actions:

• Copyediting
• Typesetting
• Addition of Perma.cc links
• Check/resize images
• Check/adjust image filenames
• Receipt of author(s) copyright agreement – Hello @historical-theology, our authorial copyright declaration form is an opportunity to acknowledge copyright and grant us permission to publish the lesson. Could you download this, complete the details, and email it to me (publishing.assistant [@] programminghistorian.org)? Many thanks.
• Request DOI
• Remove outside contributors from ph-submissions

Authorial / editorial input to YAML:

• Define difficulty:, based on the criteria set out here
• Define the research activity: this lesson supports (acquiring, transforming, analysing, presenting, or sustaining) Choose one
• Define the lesson's topics: (api, python, data-management, data-manipulation, distant-reading, get-ready, lod ["Linked Open Data"], mapping, network-analysis, web-scraping, website ["Digital Publishing"], r, machine-learning, creative-coding, web-archiving, data-visualization, metadata, or modeling) Choose one or more. Let us know if you'd like us to add a new topic. Topics are defined in /_data/topics.yml.
• Provide alt-text for all figures
• Provide a short abstract: for the lesson (1-2 sentences)
• Agree an avatar (thumbnail image) to accompany the lesson

The image must be:

• copyright-free
• non-offensive
• an illustration (not a photograph)
• at least 200 pixels width and height
• Image collections of the British Library, Public Domain Archive, Internet Archive Book Images, Library of Congress Maps as well as their Photos/Prints/Drawings or the Virtual Manuscript Library of
  Switzerland are useful places to search

• Provide avatar_alt: (visual description of that thumbnail image)
• Provide author(s) bio for ph_authors.yml using this template (@historical-theology):

- name: Corey Stephan
  team: false
  bio:
    en: |
      Corey Stephan is an Assistant Professor and Fellow of the Core in the Department of the Core at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, USA.

Files we are preparing for transfer to Jekyll:

• .md file: /en/drafts/originals/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game.md
• images: /images/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game
• assets: [none]
• original avatar: /gallery/originals/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game-original
• gallery avatar: /gallery/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game

Promotion:

• Prepare announcement post (using template)
• Prepare evergreen posts – @hawc2, could you please provide x2 posts for future promotion via our social media channels? You can add these directly to the ph-evergreens-bluesky spreadsheet that has been shared with you, or email them to me at publishing.assistant[@]programminghistorian.org.

Publisher's post-publication tasks:

• Add lesson slug to the Annual Count of Published Lessons
• Update the ph_data folder in the ph-contributors repository

[historical-theology]

@charlottejmc , thank you for your attentive work.

Here is my input on the remaining authorial checklist:

• Define difficulty

The editorial team and I collectively agreed on 2 (Intermediate) earlier in this thread. That should not need to change, so I checked the box for you above.

• Define the research activity

I think that "presenting" as synonymous with "teaching" is the appropriate choice, unless we wish to go with "acquiring" as synonymous with "learning." Feel free to select either, in keeping with PH's norms.

• Define the lesson's `topics'

After looking through the official list of topic categories that you hyperlinked, I think that a new 'grand' or 'master' category might be in order. Perhaps "teaching" or "teaching-and-learning" would suit not only this PH tutorial but future tutorials, as well.

My specific proposal, then, is a new topic category for PH called "teaching-and-learning."

If it should be more convenient for you to use a pre-existing category, then "creative-coding" would seem to be the best match overall.

I would not object to any of the above options -- nor to anything similar. Please feel free to select one.

• Agree an avatar (thumbnail image) to accompany the lesson

Since this is PH's first lesson specifically about a classroom context, and it is specifically about ancient history, I suggest that we use the famous 1st century BCE mosaic of Plato's Academy from Pompeii, which is available as a high quality facsimile in multiple formats in the Wikimedia Commons (as part of the public domain).

If you agree with this selection, then please feel free to add the image wherever it is needed (or direct me to how I ought to add it myself).

• Provide avatar_alt

Here is my slightly reworked version of the official description from the Wikimedia Commons:

This is a Roman mosaic of Plato's Academy that dates to the the 1st century BCE and was discovered at Pompeii. It is now held at the Museo Nazionale Archeologico in Naples.

If you agree with this alt text, then please add it wherever it is needed (or direct me to how I ought to add it myself).

• Provide author(s) bio

- name: Corey Stephan
  orcid: 0000-0000-0000-0000
  team: false
  bio:
    en: |
      Corey Stephan is currently Assistant Professor and Fellow of the Core in the Department of the Core at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, USA.

If that looks correct, then please add it wherever it is needed (or direct me to how I ought to add it myself).

[charlottejmc]

Hello @historical-theology,

Thank you very much for your responses. If you don't mind, I'll go over them with you below:

• Define the research activity

I think that "presenting" as synonymous with "teaching" is the appropriate choice, unless we wish to go with "acquiring" as synonymous with "learning." Feel free to select either, in keeping with PH's norms.

We haven't made this very clear, but these verbs correspond to what researchers do to data (acquire it, transform it, present it, analyse it, etc.). In this lesson's case, I feel that the bulk of the practical steps focus on transforming data (topological maps, background knowledge about a civilisation, etc.) in order to create the playable scenario. Does that make sense in your opinion?

• Define the lesson's `topics'

After looking through the official list of topic categories that you hyperlinked, I think that a new 'grand' or 'master' category might be in order. Perhaps "teaching" or "teaching-and-learning" would suit not only this PH tutorial but future tutorials, as well.

My specific proposal, then, is a new topic category for PH called "teaching-and-learning."

If it should be more convenient for you to use a pre-existing category, then "creative-coding" would seem to be the best match overall.

I would not object to any of the above options -- nor to anything similar. Please feel free to select one.

In a way, all of our lessons are already 'teaching-and-learning' lessons, because they are equally used by instructors in their classes and by self-learners (whether at student or teacher level).

While this lesson is certainly written through a very explicit pedagogical lens, I think the core concepts are more about how to set up a playable scenario which facilitates history and language learning, whether in a classroom setting or for personal use.

I certainly agree with creative-coding, and I wonder whether mapping might not work here as well, since you are preparing a map using various tools.

What do you think?

• Agree an avatar (thumbnail image) to accompany the lesson

Since this is PH's first lesson specifically about a classroom context, and it is specifically about ancient history, I suggest that we use the famous 1st century BCE mosaic of Plato's Academy from Pompeii, which is available as a high quality facsimile in multiple formats in the Wikimedia Commons (as part of the public domain).

If you agree with this selection, then please feel free to add the image wherever it is needed (or direct me to how I ought to add it myself).

We'd be happy to use this great avatar, thank you for providing it – although I would like to kindly point out that many of our lessons are written for a classroom context, too! It is one of the key ways in which researchers engage with our content.

• Provide avatar_alt

Here is my slightly reworked version of the official description from the Wikimedia Commons:

This is a Roman mosaic of Plato's Academy that dates to the the 1st century BCE and was discovered at Pompeii. It is now held at the Museo Nazionale Archeologico in Naples.

If you agree with this alt text, then please add it wherever it is needed (or direct me to how I ought to add it myself).

Thank you Corey. I'll rework it a little bit, because the objective of the alt-text is rather to give an overview of the visual content of an image. How about:

'Ancient Roman mosaic depicting several men in togas learning under a tree.'

If you're happy with everything above, I will take care of setting it up! Thank you very much for your input.

The last box to tick is your copyright agreement, which you can fill out in any way you prefer and send to me via email: publishing.assistant [@] programminghistorian.org.

Thank you! ✨

[historical-theology]

@charlottejmc , thank you again for your attentiveness.

First, at this point, I have lost track of where I ought to enter new information, since there is both a copyediting document and an official draft document (if not a third open place). I humbly ask that either you enter these items into the correct location or direct me to the specific place in which I ought to do so myself.

Second, I note that I have just sent a signed copy of the copyright agreement document to you by email (to publishing.assistant@).

Now, here are my follow-up responses to the 3 remaining items on the checklist:

• Define the research activity

[...] the bulk of the practical steps focus on transforming data (topological maps, background knowledge about a civilisation, etc.) in order to create the playable scenario.

Yes. Let us use transforming.

• Define the lesson's `topics'

I certainly agree with creative-coding, and I wonder whether mapping might not work here as well [...]

Yes. Let us use both creative-coding and mapping.

• Provide avatar_alt

'Ancient Roman mosaic depicting several men in togas learning under a tree.'

That works. Thank you.

[charlottejmc]

Dear @historical-theology, don't worry – in this phase, the publishing team (Anisa and I) take care of entering all the final information on our side, so you don't need to do anything more than exchange with us in the comments!

If it can help, below are all your lesson's active files:

• lesson text (in .md): /en/drafts/originals/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game.md
• images: /images/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game

You can read (but not edit) the preview of your lesson here:

• http://programminghistorian.github.io/ph-submissions/en/drafts/originals/teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game

---

Thank you for providing the copyright agreement and for agreeing the outstanding elements of metadata, which I've set up now.

[anisa-hawes]

Hello Corey @historical-theology,

What's happening now?

Your lesson has been moved to the final phase of our workflow which is Phase 7: Publication.

In this phase, I will prepare and stage the lesson files for the Managing Editor Alex @hawc2 to review them one last time and provide any final feedback or suggest additional revisions.

When Alex agrees that the lesson is ready, it will be published on the Programming Historian website and we will announce it here.

%%{init: { 'logLevel': 'debug', 'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': {
              'cScale0': '#444444', 'cScaleLabel0': '#ffffff',
              'cScale1': '#882b4f', 'cScaleLabel1': '#ffffff',
              'cScale2': '#444444', 'cScaleLabel2': '#ffffff'
       } } }%%
timeline
Section Phase 6 <br> Sustainability + Accessibility
Who worked on this? : Publishing Team
All  Phase 6 tasks completed? : Yes
Section Phase 7 <br> Publication
Who's working on this? : Managing Editor @hawc2 & Publishing Manager @anisa-hawes
Expected timeframe? : ~10 days

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Note: The Mermaid diagram above may not render on GitHub mobile. Please check in via desktop when you have a moment.

[anisa-hawes]

Dear Corey @historical-theology and @caiocmello,

I hope you're both well?

I’ve staged teach-history-and-languages-with-strategy-game for publication. You can now read it through in a full web Preview.

Alex @hawc2 has done his final read and advised upon some small changes, which I have implemented programminghistorian/jekyll@1fb6ec1.

You will note that one of the things we have changed is to replace the 0 (zero) in 0 A.D. with an html code (0̸) that enables us to render the game's title more clearly. The particularities of our site font meant that the number 0 was less than half the height of the capital letters A.D. which was visually strange and distracting.

Charlotte also re-read the lesson and raised a question: could it be useful to define BCE and CE ('Before Common Era' and 'Common Era')?

As this is a complex lesson, Alex suggested giving you both an opportunity to read it one more time before publication.

Please let us know what you think, either here in the issue thread, or in PR #3560 where we are collaborating on the final preparations ✨

With our thanks for all the energy and thought you have given to this lesson,
Anisa

[historical-theology]

@anisa-hawes ,

Thank you for this note.

I issued a detailed response in the PR (editorial) thread.

That should be one of my last communications on this piece, so please let me reiterate now my deepest gratitude to you and your colleagues for your hard work.

Corey

[anisa-hawes]

Thank you, Corey @historical-theology. I'm grateful for your thorough read, and your thoughtful feedback.

Thank you for your hard work - we have sincerely enjoyed collaborating with you.

Anisa

[historical-theology]

@anisa-hawes As an aside, this is a positive that you might not have considered previously --

Owing to the simple formatting of PH (based in Markdown) and the inclusion of carefully constructed alternative text for images (for which I thank you editors for your great assistance), the lesson preview looks lovely not only in the ultralight Netsurf GUI Web browser (with all images rendering correctly inside its independent Web engine) but even both the elinks and (especially) lynx CLI Web browsers in my terminal emulator (with no images at all -- text and hyperlinks only).

This is important for accessibility in the broadest sense. In addition to the alternative text being for persons with vision impairment, persons with poor Web connections and/or older hardware can read PH lessons.

Plus, persons like me who appreciate being able to read Web-based materials outside of full-size Web browsers for other reasons can do so with PH.

[anisa-hawes]

Thank you, Corey @historical-theology. That is wonderful to learn. Yes, we are absolutely committed to making our lessons accessible to the broadest possible readership and we are working hard towards 'best' practice.

As you say, this is about ensuring our resources are available to those with visual support needs, as well as those who work with different operating systems, slower internet connections, and varying computational resource.

[caiocmello]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to say that I went once again through the lesson and I am very happy to see the result of this collaborative work. Many many thanks to Corey @historical-theology for your patience and dedication to write such an interesting lesson! Thanks also @anisa-hawes @hawc2 @charlottejmc @adamlporter @clauper-maker for the team work!