Website Feedback (plus issues with the internets)


When I first began this post, I was sitting in beautiful Tampa at the AAG (Association of American Geographers) conference, and it was a fantastic experience!  Unfortunately it also meant that I missed our weekly sessions, which was kind of a bummer.  More of a bummer was the fact that the internet at the convention center did not seem to like me much, and I couldn’t seem to play the video recordings of this week’s classes without it taking five minutes to load about two seconds of the video.  I guess that’s what happens when you offer wi-fi to about 25,000 people…

Anyhow, I am now back in lovely Fredericksburg, and once again have internet connection!  Unfortunately, for some reason the website of the recordings is down…so although I have internet, I still cannot watch the video recordings.  Sadness.  However, even though I cannot watch the video recording or hear feedback from the other students, I am still going to post about what I thought about everyone’s websites, and the progress that we have all made thus far.

Chris – Montevallo, 1914-1919

First off, I think the theme that Chris is using is spectacular, I love that it almost reads as if it is a newspaper, which I think really fits our project of discussing the Great War.  I also really like his background – I’m a huge fan of setting a single, faded image as a background to presentations, and I really love the effect that this has on Chris’s pages, making them appear simple yet crisp and not boring like if the page had been left black and white.

As for particular pages, I like that Chris named his citations as “Bibliography and Further Reading” since I think this encourages others to conduct some of their own research and read the primary documents that he consulted.  I’m not sure how I feel about the way he broke up the citations, however; on the one hand, I think that his separation of works based on type helps the reader easily locate the sources, but on the other it doesn’t specify where he referenced each source.  So both ways make sense, I’m just not sure which way would be easier for the viewer to navigate.  I know he specifies on the individual pages where exactly the information comes from, so maybe the way he has it set up on the bibliography page offers an alternative of finding the original sources.  All in all, I think Chris’s website is looking terrific!

Jen – No Man’s Land

I was super impressed with all of the research and digitization that Jen must have gone through in order to complete this project, her website really shows the lengths she went to find images and resources from the era.  I particularly liked the section on “Letters from the Great War” because we can see the original letter along with the transcribed version for easy reading.  I think this adds to the narrative of making the website a lot more personable rather than just an archive.

One of the things I think would help make the site even more useful to the visitor would be if navigation was a bit easier – once you start clicking on individual letters and stories, it’s hard to go back to where you left off before you clicked onto a specific link.  The side bar and menu are helpful, but navigation still seems a bit strained.  Another thing I think that might make the site more aesthetically pleasing is a smaller header image, or none at all except the main page.  Every time I clicked on a new page or link, I had to scroll past the image to see what the page contained, instead of instantly being intrigued by a new image, title, or story.  Otherwise, I think Jen’s research shows through her website, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like once it’s completed.

Ryan – Farmington State Normal School

I LOVE the theme that Ryan is using!  I love that it looks like we’re peeking into a file about the Farmington State Normal School, which I think helps to create a narrative about all of the images and media that he is using on his website.  I also like the slider photos that appear on the main page, since they give us a look into life for the girls who attended the school.  I also really liked the page about the “Voices of the Great War” since it offered both readings and transcriptions so that visitors could follow along to the recordings if they so chose.

My biggest critique for the site is navigation – the menu is useful and gets the job done, but for sections that have multiple pages it’s hard to go to individual pages unless you remember to hover over that section and select the specific page.  My fear is that some information might get lost or ignored since visitors might not take the time to select each individual page by remembering to hover.  Perhaps it might be more beneficial to have links to the other pages within the section at the bottom of the page?  There is so much information on these pages and I just want to make sure viewers are aware of them, since Ryan has researched the school at length and has a lot to share about it.

Alisia – North Adams and the Great War

The home page for Alisia’s site is really crisp and clean, and the navigation menu at the top encourages the visitor to immediately begin exploring the site.  It might be helpful to add some text to this page, but just something brief to not take away from the image or further exploration.  I love the incorporation of blocked quotes into certain pages, which really help to construct a narrative rather than just a collection of images.  What I would suggest in the way of images, if possible, is to make the thumbnails the same size so that they look cohesive rather than some being larger than others.  I think the images offer a lot to the visitors’ understanding of North Adams during the war, and I love that when you click on them in the “Explore the School” section it tells you where/what the images are.  Navigation seems to be pretty clear, my only concern is the section on Mary Curran since the visitor has to hover over to menus in order to get to “biography.”  Perhaps it would be better to just link the second section to her biography?  Regardless, I think the site is aesthetically pleasing and offers an interactive narrative for those curious about the school.

Dara – Near the Great Lakes during the Great War

To me, Dara’s site was one of the easiest to navigate, which I really appreciated since I tend to get overwhelmed when bogged down on too many links and connections.  I think the menu bar was helpful, but what I really liked was the sidebar that allowed me to connect to both larger sections and individual pages.  I also liked the extensive use of images to help tell a story about the school, and I love the inclusion of newspaper articles and other quotes from those who were at the school during the Great War.  My recommendation would be to have little blurbs at the beginning of each page to create a more cohesive narrative, so that we understood the importance of each of the sources and images included.  My other recommendation would be to have a home page about this specific project, and maybe put the information about Century America on an “about” page, so that we are immediately drawn to the narrative about the Superior State Normal School rather than the overarching course.

Colin – Southern Utah University

I was really impressed with how much information was present on Colin’s site – the narrative created through the text was extremely well-thought out and definitely succeeded in giving the reader knowledge of what was happening in Cedar City during the Great War.  I think it might be nice to add in some images as well, so that there is something to go along with the text, but I know it can be hard to find relevant media especially from a hundred years ago.  I really liked the “Voices of the Great War” section, I thought the use of video was unique and creative in telling the story of the B.A.C. and the surrounding community, rather than just using quotes.  I also really liked the “Veterans of WWI” section because it really connects the narrative to the present and how we think about the Great War.

One suggestion I do have for the overall site is the theme – perhaps it would be more aesthetically pleasing to have a background color other than white?  Paired with the black and white images, I think the site could use a bit more color, either with the background or colors of fonts for titles.  Other than that, however, I think the narrative created is successful in telling the tale of Cedar City and its inhabitants during the Great War.

Jimmy – Shepherd University

The website is extensive of just how much work Jimmy has put into this project, and it shows through his research and the narrative he has created with images and text.  The breakdown of both the section on the college and that of the community is clear and thought out, and offers concise but crucial information regarding specific topics.  My favorite part of the website was the “Voices of the Great War” since it was so interactive and there were several quotes and readings.  The recording component adds to the tale because it makes the story seem much more real and personal, something I think is often lacking when simply reading quotes.

My biggest critique for this site is its theme – the current theme is designed for blogging rather than an exhibit or archive, and I feel like it is pretty limiting, especially given the amount of research that has been done on this project.  I don’t know if changing the theme would completely screw up all of the information on the site, but I think it might be something to consider so that the site feels less like a blog.  On that note, it might also be helpful to disable comments via a widget, so that no one comments on pages of text and information.  Aside from minor aesthetics, I really liked this site since it was rich in information and easy to navigate.

Christos – Eastern Connecticut

I like the incorporation of both text and images on this site, particularly the section on “The Fire of ’43” since the reader can see the original article but also learn other information that was gained by the researcher.  I also really liked the section on the memorial – like with Colin, I think this was a great idea to see how the war affected the community, and is a great way to honor those who served in the war.  I think this section should go before the “Century America” tab on the menu, however, to cohesively connect with the story of Willimantic.

Like with Jimmy’s site, my critique lies in aesthetics and the theme that was chosen since it seems to be more suited for a blog rather than an archive or exhibit.  I would recommend going through some of the general WordPress settings and getting rid of things like the calendar of posts, disabling comments, etc. so that it feels less like a blog.  The menu at the top is a bit overwhelming as well, since it wraps under itself a few times and isn’t as seamless as a simpler, single line menu.  I think once the aesthetics are addressed, the website will be engaging since all of the information is already present.

Overall, I am extremely thrilled with everyone’s progress, and can’t wait to see what the finished projects look like in these upcoming final weeks!