What Do you Have? You have a thesis, secondary sources, and the raw materials of history Photos Audiovisuals Maps Timeline Documents Artifacts And more

You have

a thesis,

secondary sources,

and

the raw materials of

history

Photos

Audiovisuals

Maps

Timeline

Documents

Artifacts

And more

Why choose a web project? Essays, documentary films, performances, and web projects all give us different ways to ask and answer questions about the past . Web projects allow us to build a narrative that interprets the past by weaving together images, documents, audiovisuals, graphic elements, and other primary and secondary sources.

Essays, documentary films, performances, and web projects all give us different ways to ask and answer questions about the past .

Web projects allow us to build a narrative that interprets the past by weaving together images, documents, audiovisuals, graphic elements, and other primary and secondary sources.

What a National History Day web project is not A National History Day web project is NOT An online text document An archive of primary sources attached to an essay

A National History Day web project is NOT

An online text document

An archive of primary sources attached to an essay

So what is a good National History Day Web Project? A good National History Day project develops a thesis and explains why a subject matters. Look at the web projects presented in the next two slides. Analyze the relationships of text, images, objects, graphics—all the elements that comprise the presentations. (These are large sites built with sophisticated technology—but that isn’t always necessary to create strong, meaningful history web projects.) A good National History Day WEB project emphasizes relationships among the raw materials of history. The project emphasizes those relationships to construct a historical narrative.

A good National History Day project develops a thesis and explains why a subject matters.

Look at the web projects presented in the next two slides.

Analyze the relationships of text, images, objects, graphics—all the elements that comprise the presentations.

(These are large sites built with sophisticated technology—but that isn’t always necessary to create strong, meaningful history web projects.)

The Way We Worked Visit the National Archives: The Way We Worked Explore how text and images work together. Would either text or images alone offer a strong historical narrative? This site states the thesis on the home page and repeats concepts that support that thesis on subsequent pages. Images illustrate the main ideas, and captions for those images add additional information. (note citations!) Each section is complete and each includes a thesis statement, clear text narration, and supporting images .

Visit the National Archives: The Way We Worked

Visit National Museum of the American Indian: Identity by Design This is a narrative of cultural history explored through textiles and design and interpreted through the voices of women. Artifacts and documentation build a narrative of experience, values, traditions, social and cultural change. This project has a clear thesis and each section explains an aspect of the thesis. Each section is a complete entity. What makes this historical analysis and the web a particularly good fit?

Visit National Museum of the American Indian: Identity by Design

Where do I begin? You need a plan . How do your resources work together to create a narrative and support your thesis?

You need

a plan .

How do your

resources

work together

to create a

narrative and

support your

thesis?

Map it out Define the ideas you want to develop. Build diagrams Or Put each of the elements—text, artifacts, images, graphics—on individual cards. Find a flat surface and move them around until you find the best relationships.

Define the ideas you want to develop.

Build diagrams

Or

Put each of the elements—text, artifacts, images, graphics—on individual cards. Find a flat surface and move them around until you find the best relationships.

Design Counts A web project is a publication . Every kind of publication is governed by standards and principles of design and presentation. These standards and principles support and enhance the clarity of any web project, just as they do in text-based, graphic, or exhibition media.

A web project is a publication .

Every kind of publication is governed by standards and principles of design and presentation.

These standards and principles support and enhance the clarity of any web project, just as they do in text-based, graphic, or exhibition media.

What’s important about design ? The Elements Header Navigation Footer are consistent elements and should appear on each page

The

Elements

Header

Navigation

Footer

are consistent

elements and

should appear

on each page

Elements of Design and Layout Design and layout help emphasize the thesis and most important ideas of your project. Follow these links about standards:

Design and layout help emphasize the thesis and most important ideas of your project. Follow these links about standards:

Putting them all together Consider Consider the best style of writing for the web. Look at the width of columns, the length of paragraphs, and where appropriate, at the use of headings and subheadings. Analyze Visit these sites Making the History of 1989 Gulag The Object of History Hierarchy Font Color Spacing Consistency