Comments on: Women’s Work at Hopewell Furnace

By: rfachner

rfachner — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:34:57 +0000

What a great story about what looks like it was such a fun and educational experience! I liked that the story was very much a day in the life, which was a great way to describe the activities at Hopewell. I think it would a great tool for students to get a glimpse of life at Hopewell, either before a visit, or even in lieu of a visit. I thought the humor was also really important to engaging the viewer and evoking an emotional response, particularly the part about doing the dishes. I would imagine that is something that a student can relate to and help them to make a connection.

By: rsibaja

rsibaja — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:53:20 +0000

yes, the specific focus really does add more than a video that ties to tell too much. Well done!

By: jjanes

jjanes — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:00:51 +0000

I’m glad you said that, because that is what I was trying to accomplish. I guess I should have said in my blog post that I meant for this type of video to be used as something to be accessed online, particularly as a pre-visit activity for student groups. I think that it is oftentimes important for student groups to have prior knowledge of the site before actually coming; it helps to better solidify the experience for them. Animoto doesn’t allow for some features that might enhance the actual video, but I do think that this is a good demonstration of something that might be used to enhance a visit to a historic site.

By: mplumb

mplumb — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:40:38 +0000

Thanks for the great pictures. I think your video shows that programs like Animoto can really prove beneficial for teaching in the classroom. I’m sure your on-site interpretation was very educational for visitors to Hopewell, but now you can more effectively share that interpretation in the classroom, or in a variety of other settings, in a way that lecturing may not be able to accomplish.