About the Final Project.  The Final Project is the single most important part of the course.  It requires that you create a major web site that that draws on what you have learned over the course of the semester about the impact of new technologies on the research and teaching of history. An ideal project would have the following characteristics:

1.  Displays substantive content (not just eye candy).  Your project should be  carefully researched, logically argued, and clearly communicated.  Technology is not a substitute for these fundamental attributes of a good paper. For guides to good usage, see easyWriter (Bedford/St. Martins, 2002), a standard guide, or Strunk and White's classic, The Elements of Style, available online through the Bartleby web site at: http://www.bartleby.com/.
 

2.  Is original.  Not just a recycling of materials readily available elsewhere.
 

3.  Features good design, incorporating features discussed throughout the semester. For details, see discussion accompanying assignment nine.
 

4.  Is a contribution that will not expire at the end of this class, but which could be maintained (by myself and by future students) well into the future.
 

5.  Includes the imaginative integration of both text and new multimedia sources (images, sounds, even video).

6.  Follows the rules of proper citation in identifying the sources of both text and multimedia sources.  For details, see the references accompanying assignment nine.

7.  Observes the rules of copyright.  While traditional copyright rules permit limited "fair use" for educational purposes, placing materials on the web (& thus "publishing" them) presents special difficulties. It is especially important that you cite the sources for any materials (including multimedia materials) that you use. For details, see the references accompanying assignment nine.

8.  Applies, especially to web based materials, the same rigorous rules used for evaluating printed material.  Indeed, web based materials must be scrutinized even more rigorously.  After all, information that you find in a library has already gone through a rigorous selection process managed by editors, publishers, reviewers and by highly trained professional librarians; but literally anyone can post material on the web.  Thus, you will need to evaluate material by asking:  who "published" the material?  when?  how credible is the source?  what bias or point of view shapes the form and content of the material? etc., etc.

9.  Undergraduates will work collaboratively in small groups to complete the project.  Graduate students are expected to work on their own, though I am also willing to entertain proposals for collaborative projects (especially when the project appears complex and beyond what might be expected from a single individual.

10.  You will be given time throughout the semester to work on the project.  Laboratory sessions will provide training in the use of Dreamweaver and other applications.  Technical staff will occasionally be on hand to work with individuals who want to build their technical skills or who are seeking help in creating their projects. I will also provide time during regular class meetings for members of the teams to talk with one another.  However, it is my expectation that you will seek out additional technical support outside the classroom, drawing on the talents of the university's IT staff.  You will also need to meet with one another outside of class and, even more importantly, use e-mail and the discussion forums to exchange information and ideas.

2. Selecting a Team Project and drafting a Prospectus.  Prepare a brief Prospectus describing your project.

1.  Your proposal should include a general description of what you intend to do.
2.  A brief discussion of the resources on which you intend to draw for both content and technical applications (you should append a preliminary bibliography & list of both print and web based resources).
3.  How you intend to divide the work -- who will do what.
4.  A schedule or timeline indicating by when both the individual and collective parts of the project will be done.
 

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SOME ADVICE ON GETTING STARTED ON YOUR TEAM PROJECTS

Meet, face to face (ASAP).  It's critical to get started early.

Exchange telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.  It is very important that team members stay in contact with one another.

Select an editor, who will be responsible for overall coordination of the project.

Select a webmeister/webmistress, who will be responsible for helping the team with the technical details.

Discuss what individual members will research, as well as other ways they will contribute to the project.

Set a time for your next meeting.  Setting meeting times and keeping appointments is critical to your group's success.

Research the topic. Each individual should produce text (of his/her own), citations to sources on which the text was based, as well as images, links to useful web sites, etc.  Post your individual work on the team database, so others may read and review it.

Meet again, face to face, to go over the overall look and design of the project, and to identify any additional work that needs to be done.  It may be useful to hold this meeting in the New Media Center where you can get good technical support.
 

 In the Blink of an Eye: American University Student Activism, 1968-1970.

TBA

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