One of my favorite websites that I will critique is http://ls1tech.com/ which is an automotive enthusiast website geared toward the ‘LSX’ series of engines that General Motors manufactured and put into their sports cars and trucks.  It’s main use is for the online forums for information and knowledge shared between the public, after-marker manufacturers for parts and even inside information from General Motors.  When you first go on to http://ls1tech.com/ the opening page greets you with a banner with some of GM’s most powerful sports cars and its name. Underneath it is a self scrolling pictorial news feed with new manufacturing news from GM, race videos and new products available to the LS community.  I enjoy the scrolling pictorial feed, and I feel that it draws the user in by peaking their interest and wanting them to acquire more information on the subject. clicking on the picture reveals the link for the information, but I wish that underneath the picture was a quick synopsis of the site it links you to, like for example in the yahoo news page.  The more you scroll down on the initial first page reveals previous news information, but unlike the scrolling news feed, it actually has a quick synopsis of the information underneath the picture, which I think is more desirable for the user or researcher.

What doesn’t work for the site in my opinion is besides the top ad banner, there is another side banner which is rather large and disrupting .  If anything I think it could have better placement in the site so it wouldn’t be so distracting on the page, and mess with the layout.  Also, this being a forum for LSX information shared by the public, the only way to get to the forum is to find it clustered in the middle of the top search bar – which I think is easily overlooked, when the whole point of the website is the forum.  Once you click on it you are greeted with the average form layout which is mostly text heavy besides the sponsor pictures.  I think the web designers could of made the cataloging a little more engaging with picture links instead of just a plain text catalog.  The usability is there, but once on the forum page it mostly screams function over form, and it’s not too entertaining for the user.  The user will have to actually think to find the right category to find the information or topic they need.  Overall I think the website has some good design elements, but it can also be vastly improved for ease of usability to the user.

The Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania Historical Markers website found at http://fredmarkers.umwblogs.org/ at first gives me the impression of a website designed by a nonprofessional using some sort of website building template, but is plain with good facts and information.  It contains links in the initial page that are in the body of the text, but it would be helpful if they also added them to a side bar for easy use and access.  People do not want to have to search through things, they want to not think and have ease of access.  Clicking on the pictures leads to a plain text page with the text of the historical markers, but no corresponding pictures to go with them.  I wish they added in pictures and had a location map with pins on where each one was located. I think this could engage the user more in the information and location that this website tries to bring to the user or researcher. It would be nice for the top menu bar to have drop down menu’s instead of just being straight links, and it wouldn’t hurt to have more color instead of plain white, so it actually draws the user in, instead of just looking like a boring historical site.

Overall, the information is there for this site, and it has a decent layout.  All it needs is the small details and work to really make it from a good site to a great site.

The death of Eugene Williams is described in both Wikipedia and the homicide northwestern database as the cause of the Chicago riots.  They both iterate that Eugene Williams was hit by a stone and either fell in the water as a result of it, or fatigue and drowned. It should be noted that the homicide northwestern database is full of grammatical and spelling errors, but then the site points out that it did this to preserve how everything was recorded, including any original misspelling and errors which then carried over to the online database.  The difference between Wikipedia and the homicide northwestern database, is that the database mentions the accused name, Ges. Stauber, where as Wikipedia does not mention the name of the accused at all.  Both sources agreed that the police refused to arrest the accused, but only Wikipedia mentions that they arrested a colored man instead on a much lesser charge.  Both Sources also agree that the accused white man who was throwing the rocks at Eugene Williams was arrested, but then acquitted at trial, so no justice really took place.  Wikipedia sites 6 different references and appears to have the correct facts for the case, with the earliest being published in 1922, and the rest a few decades later at least.  It appears that Wikipedia proved to be a accurate source for information regarding this particular case, and it lined up with the details as stated in the homicide northwestern database.  I noticed that only the Homicide Northwestern database gave a little more detail about the happenings in Chicago, Including the snipers and the 6,000 state militia whom protected the colored people going back to work under the protection of machine guns. Both sources have a give and take of information, but I almost find Wikipedia more useful because of the multiple sources it used for the article of research.

Last weekend I took track of my coffee and alcohol intake from Friday till Sunday.

I find this graph helpful to show an image of how I work hard and play hard as well.  From this example we can see that the subject (me) will probably die of a stroke or heart attack at an early age…. considering this was a considerably “light” weekend.

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zTDDZy0f-a50.kFLkJeq6jdxM

My map I chose was one of Camp Olmsted Boy Scout camp where I worked this past summer in Goshen, Va. I chose to highlight some of the activity areas, which were almost hidden because the date of the image was after camp was already torn down.  I tried to go to earlier dates in order to get a image with everything set up, but none were during the summer months that camp was in session.  Seeing everything from above makes everything seem much smaller then it really is, despite the camp seeming like a big area while there on foot.  There isn’t a street view for it so it’s difficult to see the elevation changes, and I kind of like how that even with all our imaging technology, nature can still hide things, like the ecology pavilion, along with other unmarked areas.  This past summer was one of the greatest times in my life, and was very fulfilling.  I worked the shotgun range at shooting sports, and I can now see how big of a cleared area I actually had compared to everyone else.  I love to be outdoors and seeing where I have been and mapping it out.  I think that is why this assignment came so easily to me, and I’ve also had experience with google maps and earth before.  It’s quickly making the world seem like a smaller place.

I knew that Domenico Salatino came to the USA in 1903, so I started with a google search, and in the search box I put “Domenico Salatino” 1903.

On the search results it came up with an Ellis Island directory at www.ellisisland.org. There I typed in his name again and a person who came to the United States in 1903 under the name Domenico Salatino came up.  I was forced to register for free at the site in order to gain access to his profile, and once I did, I came up with the required information which I was told to obtain.  Besides the task of having to register, ellisisland.org is a trusted historical site, and it will give me accurate information which I need and desire.

Upon clicking more links, I found information about the ship he traveled on:

Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Glasgow, Scotland, 1887. 5,681 gross tons; 464 (bp) feet long; 49 feet wide. Steam triple expansion engine, single screw.  Service speed 18.5 knots.  1,030 passengers (224 first class, 106 second class, 700 third class).

Built for North German Lloyd, German flag, in 1887 and named Lahn. Bremerhaven-New York service. Sold to the Russian Navy in 1904 and renamed Russ.

As far and the requested information goes, this is what I was told to look for.  Unfortunately, I was not able to obtain any additional valid information on the same person.  I decided to stick with the Ellis island organization, because unlike the other geneology sites that came up, I know the one I used is a trusted historical source of reference.  Honestly because I am a history major, and I am used to having to find information which doesn’t always seem readily available, this was not a difficult task to obtain this information.  However, I am happy to see that my previous knowledge paid off in finding difficult information, which is a great skill to aquire in any class, including this one.

In order to digitally save my family’s history, I would have to start with some research on my family tree, including typing down significant stories, dates and places, and researching them.  Any old photographs I would scan in and save with the highest quality possible, and add footnotes with the people pictured, place and name if at all possible.  Any items of significance would also be recorded by having a picture with multiple angles taken of it (ie gold watch) as well.  My goal would be organizing digital files by family, and further by individual people. I think major life events should be noted, with pictures, locations and times, such as weddings, and moving into a new home. With today’s digital age I think it would be important to transfer any recorded video or audio into a digital format as well, to go along with the family history.  Old photo albums, which most are already organized by time, place and date should be digitized as well and cataloged.  I would use a high speed scanner to digitize any photos or albums, then I would go back through and make sure to type out any captions, to make searches easier upon completion, if somebody was trying to find a specific place or time.  The converted digital audio and video to digital would have to be watched and/or listened to so I could caption the entire recording of what was said.  All media would be saved using the highest quality possible, because I believe it is better to preserve the data of my family as much as possible, without taking the chance to loose detail or cut corners for a smaller sized end product.

Once all of the possible data has been gathered I would organize and save it to multiple external hard drives, computers, and flash drives.  I would also make a web site that can only be accessed by family and friends, where they would be able to submit, research, and comment on the family history as well.  Doing this would not only add another place of storage, but help with researching my families history, by have dates, times, people and places added in from multiple family members and friends.  They would also be able to upload any photos and other media they might have to the site.  The captioning of the media will also greatly help with “search” function, so things can be easier to find.  I would set it up so everything would have to get approval before it can be posted to the family history site.  The only part I would keep “live” with no approval is maybe a family and friends message board, which I would still moderate, just due to that fact that family drama always happens, and some things in hindsight are best left unwritten.  Creating a family history site would be a massive undertaking to start, but once it is up and running with submissions and family interaction, it would and should get easier to manage.  A log in would always be required, because of possible personal information, that shouldn’t be left to the public.  The hardest undertaking I can imagine is scanning in all the photo’s and media, and getting dates, locations and people written down.  The good news is, once the site is up, other family members can spend their own time doing scanning and research for the good of the history, and it would be less of and undertaking on me.

The other things to consider are the media/data storage, and cost for the website and servers.  Time is also another big factor, where it would pull you away from other activities in order to do this one that would be just for history and fun.  Modern Technology has made it easier and more possible to connect with friends and family from across the globe.  Now is an ideal time to incorporate and use the technology that is given to us in order to do something constructive with it, such as family history.  Will it take time and some money with dedication? Yes.  But knowing where you came from and who you came from outweighs the difficulties associated with such a task, and it is best to do it before more memories fade and relatives pass away.

A site called ‘Teachers pay Teachers’ (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/) has been brought to my attention on the grounds of the ethics and legality of the site and its intent.  The idea of the site is for teachers to sell their lesson plans to other teachers, where the web site is being used as a middle man or market place for the exchange of ideas for money (with a percentage of the profit taken, and given to the creators of the site). The ‘About’ section explains that it benefits the buyers to “teach at your best”, with justifications of; “Wake up your units with exciting ideas that are teacher tested and educationally sound” and “Get your time back. No reinventing the wheel. Get what you need, now. Don’t sacrifice your personal time to teach with top resources.”  It goes on to list the benefits of being a seller with; “Hone your craft. Creating resources refines your skills. As you perfect your product, you enhance your teaching” and “Affect classrooms around the globe. Reach exponentially more students with your engaging and meaningful learning resources.”

When you look at this site, you have to look at it from both sides of the argument.  One could say that teachers sharing lesson plans is an everyday occurrence, where a proven lesson plan is used in order to get facts, thoughts, and ideas across to students so they can successfully learn it.  However, this is usually done among coworkers, where a teacher is either cross training or needs help with a lesson.  This site is trading these ideas for cash between total strangers, and justifies it with ‘benefits’ like “Affect classrooms around the globe”.  Should outsourcing lesson plans be illegal?  I believe they should be grounds to terminate a teachers employment due to the fact that it is for profit. The reason why an educator is hired, is because of their creativity and passion to instruct their students, and to be able to make lesson plans and teach them.  It’s the foundation of their job, and if they outsource it for a fee, then it should be illegal.  My second qualm with this practice, is that every accredited school has an honor code, where the school and teachers expect the students to use their own ideas and not the work of somebody else.  The same should apply to the teachers and their lesson plans, where they have to abide by the same honor code.  We as students sign an agreement not to use anyone else’s work as our own, weather we plagiarize it or buy it.  We should expect the same from our educators, else they should be blacklisted and kicked out of the school system.

What were the events leading up to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait? What were the main reasons for the Iraqi invasion.  What was the reason for U.S. forces to interfere with the invasion?  What were the major battles and outcomes including casualties?  What continued presence and agreements does the U.S. have with Kuwait and Iraq as a result.  Was Operation Desert Storm a prequel to Operation Iraqi Freedom?  What happened as a result with Saddam and the Iraqi people?

For my digital history class, the topics I would be interested in researching include the following:

The Napster file sharing lawsuit.  Napster was the main file sharing network that exchanged music between two users and changed the business of music forever.  I was in middle school during the times when Napster was at its peak, and when they were taken to court.  Now as an adult, I would love to actually read into and research what happened in the case and what permanent changes took place to the music and file sharing industries.

Desert Storm Conflict.  I think it is important to see and research the actions leading up to desert storm, and its effects to Iraq and Kuwait.  The conflict was a early preview to Operation new Dawn and the U.S. invasion of Iraq.  I am always interested in Middle Eastern conflicts and culture, because of the amount of time I have spent over there, and learning their vastly different way of life as compared to the Western culture.  It has been an area of the world that has been fought over for many centuries, and I am intrigued on how the United States has left the beginning stride of its footprint there from Desert Storm.

Russian occupation of Afghanistan.  The reason I would research this topic is because like the Desert Storm conflict, the Russian occupation of Afghanistan is fairly modern history.  I feel that since coalition involvement in Afghanistan in modern times, more light and research has been written on the Russian involvement there.  I would like to see how similar or different the conflicts are, and with it also begins the US training of Bin Laden, which will later come to haunt us.  I find it fascinating because it has the ingredient of the Cold war, Bin Laden, the Afghan people, and US involvement.