Clio Wired (History 696)

1) Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704 – Provides the most information in a relatively easy search method. It is structured like many of the educational websites developed by universities. However this site is hosted by a Museum, which gives it a good “connection-to-the-public” accessibility. It begins with a narrated video, much like many museums’ begin tours. Next is a description of the peoples of the area, followed by a timeline including descriptions of life for each of the five represented cultures. The site uses various graphics depicting the area and people, with rather detailed textual reading for further knowledge on the individual societies and artifacts. One is not required to do any of the further reading though, and navigation remains straightforward, similar to a brick-&-mortar museum. Maps and essays by historians provide even further information for the interested visitor. Plus the website hosts a detailed “Teacher’s Guide” for anyone wishing to use this for educational purposes. Overall the excellent, very museum-like organization and depth of research makes the site valuable to someone looking for any knowledge on the Deerfield raid or involved peoples. Navigation is clear and easy to use, allowing the user to garnish as much or as little information as desired.

2) The History Channel – Once you are past the homepage of this website there is a surprising amount of information, many general users would find helpful. This site emphasizes providing information to users on historical topics being referenced or discussed in popular culture and current media. Examples include “DaVinci Code,” Iraq, Alexander and others. This is definitely important for general users, many of which gain their historical knowledge through television, movies and news. For those who are curious on the accuracy of presented topics or simply want more, this website provides a less-biased presentation. Trivia-style history for particular dates is included. A World Timeline is easily navigated, showing many important dates/events. There are interactive maps of various regions during specific time periods. Teaching materials and programs are presented, addressing methods to bridge the gap between history and students’ misinterpretation of the subject. This website has quite a bit of value to a general audience, conveying background information on various topics.

3) HistoryWired: A Few of Our Favorite Things – It’s a good thing this site over-promotes the ‘experimental’ design being used, because a user would be somewhat disappointed if this were a more concrete structure. At first glance it looks like a county map of my home-state (Kansas), with variously sized and distributed squares/rectangles. After a bit more exploring a general user would actually be thrilled to find the images and information of so many unique artifacts the National Museum of American History cannot keep on physical display. The search function is also very useful as it illuminates all artifacts relating to a search term, without presentation of search-engine-like list. Information on an individual artifact opens in a separate window, allowing for easy navigation through many objects. Beyond searching by department, a user can search by sub-topic throughout the entire grid-map. Hence this website is useful for someone who wants a museum experience of varied artifacts relating to American History.

4) Devices of Wonder: From the World in a Box to Images on a Screen – This flashy website is useful to a general audience, but remains moderately annoying in the process. The directions on where to click are often wrong, or the icon mentioned simply doesn’t exist. The historical background on each item is relatively simple and helpful. With all the promotion of the graphics, it would be beneficial for these to work more efficiently. One would also appreciate the object and the information page to be displayed simultaneously instead of having to leave the graphic to read about it. The “Teaching Tools” are also quite in-depth and cater to a variety of specified age groups. This site seems to appeal to a younger audience, perhaps young elementary students. The benefits are its visual stimulation, accompanied by brief informational text.

5) Steve Dietz, “Telling Stories: Procedural Authorship and Extracting Meaning from Museum Databases” and John Vergo, “"Less Clicking, More Watching": Results from the User-Centered Design of a Multi-Institutional Web Site for Art and Culture” (delivered at the MW 2001) – Tied for YUCK. Ok, maybe these two are full of valuable information, but can we admit, boring to look at? Not to mention there are broken links swimming around for winner’s of the Web museum competitions. A general audience member would only consult this if they were looking for a specific website, or providing a list of museum sites to friends or colleagues. It’s the age of over-stimulation and these two just beg to be in print they’re so blah.