Senior application developer at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Army veteran Rayvn Manuel explains why her job is the best job. From serving our country as a soldier, to serving our history through dynamic storytelling, Rayvn has a passion for development that shows in her work. Listen in as Carolyn and Mark learn about the innovative technology behind the newest addition to the Smithsonian. Episode Table of Contents[01:46] The Purpose of Technology Is Huge [08:54] The Purpose of Technology Is Transformative Inclusion [17:49] They Take Cybersecurity and the Purpose of Technology Extremely [28:26] What I Wish the Purpose of Technology Can Do Episode Links and Resources

The Purpose of Technology Is HugeCarolyn: Today we have a guest who, as soon as I heard about this guest, I'm like, I want to talk to her. We've been trying for a little bit. Ravyn Manuel, welcome and thank you so much for being here. Ravyn: Thank you for having me here. This is actually exciting. Carolyn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayvnkm/ (Ravyn Manuel) is Senior Application Developer at Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African-American History and Culture. The NMAAHC is the 19th museum of the Smithsonian that has been open since 2016. Since opening, it has collected over 36,000 artifacts and gained nearly 100,000 members. It was awarded the People's Voice Webby Award in 2017. Mark: Can you describe your role in the context of a modern museum experience? What that means and what your role is at the museum? Carolyn: Why do we even need an application developer? Having been through it, I have to look back and I'm like, oh yes, the technology was huge. I didn't notice it at the time. Looking back on it, the technology is what really bathed me and immersed me a lot in the experience, especially as I moved up. Ravyn: That is awesome. It was so integrated, that you felt it was just part of that experience from what I was hired for. Our museum is not just the only one that has application developers. There are other museums because every museum and gallery has a website. We have to have somebody on staff to actually maintain the website. I don't work on the website, I actually have three hats. The Whole Purpose of SmithsonianRavyn: One, when there are smaller exhibits and they are interactive. Those things that you touch, which are going to be contactless, moving forward. Those are the things that I develop. Or I will work with a designer like the UI, UX designer then develop these interactives. These will bring home the message that the education department would like people to take away from an exhibit. The whole purpose of the Smithsonian itself is for education. When we make an exhibit, it isn't just to have you have a feeling. It's also for you to have an opinion for you to be immersed in that history. To walk away with some knowledge that you didn't know before, or to change your opinion about what you felt before. My role as an application developer is the R and D person. I look at spaces in our museum and I go, how can we get the message across better here? What would help make this, not only a fun engaging process but also help people learn? My particular interest is in accessibility. I’m always looking for ways to make our interactions or the museum visit accessible for people who may not be able to experience it with their eyes. For people who may not be able to hear the audio that's going on or have cognitive differences and how they actually interpret. That's what I do. I'll make a prototype, show it to my supervisor and say, what do you think about this? Most of the time, what I feel isn't going to go there. But it gives me a chance to say, “here's how we can use technology to actually assist people in their experience and to tell the story in an engaging way.” Interactive ExhibitsRavyn: A lot of our exhibits are interactive, some of them are really huge. So we hire out for that. We have...