Web Exercise
Due Date: April 8
TASK
Look at three of the web sites listed on the course syllabus in the category of “Reference Web Sites.” For each site provide the URL, a copy of the site's first page (using the browser's "print" button), and a roughly one-page (typed/printed) description of the site which provides the following information:
Content. Describe the basic subject and period (or approximate period) of the material on this site. Second, try to determine the intended audience, for example, the general public, students in a class, or persons very knowledgeable about the subject. Third, explain the type of material it includes. Is there audio or video? Images (photographs, paintings, maps, or charts)?Anything interactive? Finally, describe the type and length of the text. To do this you must determine whether this is "primary" or "secondary" material. Primary material is that which was produced by the historical actors at their own time, for example a person's diary, or a magazine article. Secondary material is produced after the period by someone - a historian - writing about it, such as the required reading materials for this class.
Author or developer, and purpose. Determining who produced a site can help you evaluate its purpose. First look to see the site's URL. If no specific person claims credit for producing the material, look at who posted the site: "gov" is for a government agency; "com" is a commercial site: "org" is some other type of organization; and "edu" is a school or school-related institution. The aims of "gov" and "org" are usually fairly clear, even if individual authors may be hidden. For "edu" sites, check to see ifthis is a university site -- developed for a class, by a professor or student, or independently, by a student or professor. (You may have to look around a bit to determine this. See if there is an index or home page.) If the site is commercial you need to consider the purpose of the business - whether it is producing its own history (for example), some related or contextual materials, or whether it is in the business or providing information.(For example, if it is an encyclopedia company.) See if you can identify whether the site was developed by an individual.
A brief evaluation of authority and reliability. Given the author/developer of the site, how authoritative do you believe information contained in the site is? What evidence is there of reliability? Are any sources given? How long is the site likely to remain "live" - til the end of the semester; til the author gets bored, or for the foreseeable future?
Value as a historical resource. Would this be a useful site for historical research? Is is useful for insights and perspective? Is it just interesting? Is it too general to be useful? Is it too biased to be useful?