Cabinet

Cabinet is an online platform designed to support the use of objects and images in teaching. Its ultimate aim is to make material culture as accessible for learning as traditional text-based sources. Cabinet allows its users to digitally take objects out of their glass vitrines and museum archives, to virtually enter the classroom, lecture hall or student dorm. 

It provides an intuitive and flexible interface for uploading and presenting 2D and 3D digitised images from collections in Oxford and elsewhere, which can be made available together with contextual information, notes, annotations and guidance on how to explore the material. In Cabinet, you can zoom, spin, annotate and discuss objects.

A major feature is the ability to explore full-colour 3D models of objects, ranging from minute artefacts a few centimetres across to entire monuments from the Oxford landscape. The combination of objects, tools and written information provides a rich, interactive environment for teaching and learning, increasing the potential for fruitful individual and collective study.

The capacity for students to learn about whole constellations of physical objects is absolutely transformed by this new medium. 

- Howard Hotson, Professor of Early Modern Intellectual History

Technical details

Students have access to materials 24/7, for use in class, tutorials and for private study and revision. Access can be controlled via Single Sign-On through Canvas. Cabinet content can be edited and added to year on year, building up a valuable collection of online learning materials. It is also possible for multiple authors to collaborate in assembling materials to support their teaching. 

Cabinet is compliant with the IIIF image standard, meaning that its users can easily import online digitised materials from collections across the world without spending time downloading and uploading files. Participating institutions include Digital Bodleian, The British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cambridge Digital Library and the Wellcome Library.