The Smithsonian National Museum of American History site, The Valley of the Shadows site, the Do History site, and The History Channel site have different approaches to history on the web because of the different types of projects that they come from, the differing types of sources that they built their presentations of history around, and the different scales of whose history they are trying to present.
The NMAH, because it is a museum presents the objects of history and tells how they are significant because of who they belonged to and/or how they were used. The site has online exhibits similar to how the museum exhibits are constructed and presented. It also has a timeline where an object is shown individually and then is connected to an exhibit or collection. The collections can also be searched by item or subject and then an explanation of it is given which grants the viewer more access to the objects than the traditional museum exhibits ever could. The national scope of the NMAH influences how it approaches history and history on the web because the audience is large and it exhibits iconic objects and weaves them into the American experience. This site is for people who are interested in the icons of America and objects that were used in creating American history. The site also has teacher and children sections again using objects as the basis for learning. The website is image based because it focuses on objects.http://americanhistory.si.edu/
The Valley site is documents based and unlike the NMAH which exhibits objects and themes that many Americans have some knowledge of, its mission is to tell the stories of individuals that are not usually told. Unlike the NMAH site, the Valley site does not get people’s attention or exhibit its collection through images because they present documents not objects. The site does not make exhibits and tell a history in the same way that NMAH site does. The way this site does try to tell a story is through the arrangement of the documents. The categories are set up so the comparisons are more easily seen and are not necessarily how an archivist would set up the collection, for example by keeping the papers of a family together, somewhat in the way it came to them. These documents are arranged for researchers to use them. The scope of the material of this site is smaller than that of the NMAH. Whereas the NMAH is presenting the objects in the context of American history and experience, the Valley site is focusing on the story of the people of two towns during the Civil War era. The audience for the site is more focused and most likely includes professional historians, amateur historians, and people interested in researching about these places during this time. http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow2/
The Do History site is also based on documents. By comparing the official documents and the account of one woman, the site points out the importance of knowing the background and the perspectives behind the sources used to do historical research, how they may affect the conclusions one may come to, and how historians use these documents. This site is geared toward a different audience than the first two sites were geared toward. It is for people who have an interest in historical research, are looking for a place to start understanding what historians do, and may want to try some historical research. The NMAH site was not geared toward people who were trying to do historical research and it was not going to tell them how to do it. The Valley site is for people who are doing historical research, but again its purpose is not to instruct someone how to use the documents and do historical research. The Do History site’s approach to history, since it is based on the sources used for a book and film, focuses on the historical research that has to be done to produce these works and emphasizes this process in presenting the story of Martha Ballard. The focus of the site is small because it is about one person’s story but its purpose of helping beginners understand how historians do research and to help them do research can appeal to a broader audience. http://dohistory.org
Possibly because of its affiliation with a television station, many of The History Channel site’s presentations of history are through television clips of events, interviews, and its television shows made about a person, place, or time. If a topic is searched, biographies and other text articles appear. Unlike the other sites this site is not based solely on objects or documents. The History Channel site has a similar presentation to that of a news site, with features such as the advertisements of its television shows, This Day in History, polls, and forums on history and current events. The audience for this site are people who watch the History Channel and may want to use it for a search of many topics in history. This site also has resources for teachers and it could be used for people who want to know more about a topic, but it is not a database of primary documents and how to use them. This site does not have as much of a scholarly presentation as the other sites do. By presenting history in this way the topics seem to feel less old and distant.http://www.historychannel.com
There are many history websites geared toward people with many different backgrounds and interests in history. By sharing content on the web, an advantage is the increase of access to historical information, including primary sources, interpretation, literature, and discussion, to all levels of historical enthusiasts from children to history academics.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Review of Energy Roundup
The Energy Roundup blog on Wall Street Journal online “collects and analyzes” the day’s energy news from sources around the world. Editors and writers from WSJ.com contribute to the blog. The blogs are written on market days and in the week from Tuesday, January 15 through Tuesday, January 22 two days had three posts, two days had only one post, and I used only the first morning post of today. There are no posts on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (I am assuming this because there was not a post on Monday, January 21).
The blog seems to be for Americans who have somewhat of a concern about energy and/or environmental issues who want an overview of the latest discussions, study findings, and actions concerning energy topics such as alternative energy sources and some analysis of how they may affect the environment, the economy, politics, nations around the world, and their lives. The blog provides a sort of one-stop-shop for people who do not read many news sources, but who want to be informed.
The blog is informative because it talks about what energy issues are discussed in the day’s newspapers, new studies, and by people who are influential in energy decisions such as, oil promoters, alternative energy promoters, politicians, and nations. The blog may have appeal and draw a repeat audience because it is about what is in that day’s newspapers and online content. Some topics over the last week were peak oil, global warming, the promises (or lack thereof) of alternative energies, European energy strategies, Bush’s efforts in Saudi Arabia, and the carbon market.
The intention of the blog seems to be to question “conventional wisdom” and to bring up points that make the reader rethink one side of a story, stance, or some expectations. Many of the posts are not the most positive or optimistic about the state of the energy sources and strategy and about the promises of new energy sources.
The Energy Newstand posts focus on what the day’s newspapers and news sources are reporting about a current issue and what they can mean together. The other posts include new research findings, comments on speeches and other current actions concerning energy, as well as information from newspaper and other sources.
The Energy Newstand posts are accompanied by a small graphic of a newspaper on a doormat. One post was accompanied by a chart and another included a picture of a man whose comments were the subject of the post. Some of the other pictures had captions and were more for humor and to add to the point of the post. Each post has one image.
The posts include hyperlinks to articles on websites such as The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, CNNMoney.com, The New York Times, National Review Online, other blogs, research study PDFs, meeting minutes, energy organization websites, and environmentalist websites. It referenced the WSJ the most. I had trouble with some of the hyperlinks-one of them was not able to be displayed and the other directed me to the page that I was on. I did not like that the hyperlinks would disappear once I had clicked on them.
At the end of each post there is an option to view and make comments and to email and share the post. There are also links to view related content and read more about the topics on WSJ.com.
The writing style of the blog is less than formal; though it is still not difficult to read or much different than the writing in the Wall Street Journal. I found one typographical error.
Overall the blog is interesting, informative, and well put together.
The blog seems to be for Americans who have somewhat of a concern about energy and/or environmental issues who want an overview of the latest discussions, study findings, and actions concerning energy topics such as alternative energy sources and some analysis of how they may affect the environment, the economy, politics, nations around the world, and their lives. The blog provides a sort of one-stop-shop for people who do not read many news sources, but who want to be informed.
The blog is informative because it talks about what energy issues are discussed in the day’s newspapers, new studies, and by people who are influential in energy decisions such as, oil promoters, alternative energy promoters, politicians, and nations. The blog may have appeal and draw a repeat audience because it is about what is in that day’s newspapers and online content. Some topics over the last week were peak oil, global warming, the promises (or lack thereof) of alternative energies, European energy strategies, Bush’s efforts in Saudi Arabia, and the carbon market.
The intention of the blog seems to be to question “conventional wisdom” and to bring up points that make the reader rethink one side of a story, stance, or some expectations. Many of the posts are not the most positive or optimistic about the state of the energy sources and strategy and about the promises of new energy sources.
The Energy Newstand posts focus on what the day’s newspapers and news sources are reporting about a current issue and what they can mean together. The other posts include new research findings, comments on speeches and other current actions concerning energy, as well as information from newspaper and other sources.
The Energy Newstand posts are accompanied by a small graphic of a newspaper on a doormat. One post was accompanied by a chart and another included a picture of a man whose comments were the subject of the post. Some of the other pictures had captions and were more for humor and to add to the point of the post. Each post has one image.
The posts include hyperlinks to articles on websites such as The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, CNNMoney.com, The New York Times, National Review Online, other blogs, research study PDFs, meeting minutes, energy organization websites, and environmentalist websites. It referenced the WSJ the most. I had trouble with some of the hyperlinks-one of them was not able to be displayed and the other directed me to the page that I was on. I did not like that the hyperlinks would disappear once I had clicked on them.
At the end of each post there is an option to view and make comments and to email and share the post. There are also links to view related content and read more about the topics on WSJ.com.
The writing style of the blog is less than formal; though it is still not difficult to read or much different than the writing in the Wall Street Journal. I found one typographical error.
Overall the blog is interesting, informative, and well put together.
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