A webpage is more than a series of blog posts on a common theme.
As a group, the class will identify and suggest enhancements to the site on a number of themes, and students will vote for the ones the group will add. Student teams will be assigned different tasks and time in class will be made for meetings and group work.
There is one required addition:
Was 1919 was one of the worst years in 20th century American history? Why or why not?
- Come up with a creative way to answer this question in some depth. Who was treated the worst? Who came out all right? How do we judge?
- Try to use digital tools. Think about infographics, slide or video presentations, or other kinds of visualizations to present your interpretation.
- Does everyone in the class agree? How can you represent different opinions on the site?
Other enhancements to consider
- Interpretation — Adding more interpretation to the site. Where should some takeaways go? How can you summarize what the blog posts reveal or lead into them in an interpretive way?
- Fill the gaps — Are there any major gaps in the Discovering 1919 site as constructed? Are we missing entries on the peace settlement of World War I, or demobilization? Can you think of ways to add additional content?
- Image gallery of movers and shakers in 1919?
- Adding more short posts or pages
- Links to videos
- Basic Website stuff
- About the site — when and why it was built.
- Navigation — Can we enhance the navigation by using plugins, widgets?
- Basic History Stuff
- Add a resources page with links to some of the places you found research?
- A bibliography page?
- Cool Digital Stuff
- This is a digital history class! Try to use some of what you’ve learned. Visualizations, Videos, Multi-media presentations…
Building a To Do List/Assigning Tasks
- Each student will post at least four suggested additions to the website on Basecamp. They will describe the purpose, estimated amount of work, how many students should work on it, and where on the site the addition would go. Make sure that you choose from several of the categories.
- The class will decide on which of the enhancements they will do by ranking and voting on the tasks until the professor agrees that they have selected enough work.
- Each of the tasks will be assigned to students with due dates
- Students will have time to work on projects in class and can use Basecamp to comment and make suggestions on projects they are not working on.
Final Discovering 1919 projects due Friday, May 10.
Image: “Women Rivet Heaters and Passers on Puget Sound Navy Yard,” Washington, May 29, 1919. Records of the Women’s Bureau, National Archives.