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3D and virtual reality can help historians as teachers by allowing them to take their students into the site or battle field or what ever they are studying, this allows a wide range of students to gain a greater understanding of the subject, but it also cuts down on costs. By allowing a 3-D render of say the Parthenon in Greece a place that would only be open to students who can afford to take time out and travel to the site it self. This cheapness also I think allows a historian/ teacher to fulfill the role of teacher much better without worrying about costs. In addition to this students can visualize and even get a feel for the site/ object that the historian is teaching. As a researcher 3-D and VR can help a historian understand the site and object , by not having to worry about other researchers and visitors to the site getting in the way or weather or any other of the many problems that can arise while visiting a site can bring, the historian can focus on the site or object and study every part of the subject.
As a player of “Historical” based games and a history major I think games can be used to teach a potential wide audience about certain times. For example Sid Myers a famous developer of the Civilization games was praised for his use of true history in his games. A player can learn about characters such as Naepolean and Catherine the great. Games such as the Assassins creed games are based around being very accurate but the player is caught up in the middle of events such as the golden age of piracy or the industrial revolution. However like many people have already mentioned games also leave out or change points in history to better fit a story. despite this games have come a long way in providing accurate historical accounts, and can be a new way in which many historians can look at potential new ways to study and provide a wider grasp of the information.
Websites will be important in the near future, due to the vast amount of primary sources used in creating many of the sites running today. As historians we are always looking for these primaries and with the sheer volume of information put onto the web on an hourly basis they will be an important tool for historians. Also with political history platforms such as twitter and face book and even things like Snap Chat will be and probably are important to view for historians studying these branches of history. The give insights into feelings of constituents and voters like never before in history, we will be able to use the web to gain a greater understanding of the time in which is being studied.
If I was designing a search engine i would include the following features. It should include straight forward search engines, this way visitors using the site will not have to spend a lot of time learning to use the site, also as an engine for professionals the engine should include as specific information as possible so the users are not spending the majority of their time sifting through page and pages of information that they do not need. Also the engine should also include a way to access citations for the information that is in the search engine. Lastly the search engine should also include a separate search for images and other items that need to be viewed such as maps and personal letters so the searchers can gain a clearer understanding of their information
Meta data is data that describes information. It is heavily used by libraries and other research based institutions. It is vital during research and cataloguing for example to have correct metadata as historical study is based around being as accurate as possible. If not then the research is off and confuses people, this could lead to the misinformation being desemminated into popular discourse. Which is very difficult to change.
Pod casting changes and challenges traditional forms of communication for historical scholarship, history education, and public history through many ways. First they have an almost unlimited space so the way in which pod casts are stored, they also can give more marginalized voices a platform to share not only their story but new ways of thinking. Podcasts however much like a wiki page have the potential to give viewers and listeners misinformation and as they can not easily give sources this is one of the major issues surrounding the use of pod casts. Also pod casts allow information to reach a wider audience and should be utilized more with in historical education.
Copy right was originally intended to allow those who create something to make royalties off of, and also to gain recognition for. The reason that it is a major issue for historians is that it is very difficult if not impossible to make use of cop right laws on the internet. As historians are also in may cases teachers, they wish to impart the knowledge either they wrote or a colleague wrote to their students, however without stringent guidelines or strict laws copying a book or other form of work becomes a major issue. In our very fast paced high tech world information is disseminated very quickly and this leads to many copy right issues that will be difficult to enforce or to really ignore.
The website that I think has good design, albeit with some some flaws is the Lexicanum, a fan made website for the table top and computer game War Hammer 40k, War hammer fantasy, and war hammer 30k, it is modled after the Wiki engine. This website is broken down in to faction portals that a person can click on to learn more about the various races of the warhammr universe. The text is simple and easy to read, it does not hurt the eyes with a colored background, the site has hyper links within the the various pages that people can click on to take them to another page of information. The site is designed to be very user friendly with easy to read language, there are no pull down menus to crowd the site and the only one is the very first page which greet the viewer. the link is below just in case the tag does not work
A good History website should utilize a number of things. 1. it should have the most up to date information including sources, and if at all possible pictures and some interactive elements. 2. the website should also include elements that can help those who have problems with sight or other physical or mental disabilities this way as many people can access to the site. The site should also be as easy to use as possible, with a simple menu to navigate the site easily, this way people will not spend more time sifting through a complected menu. 3. the site needs to be easy to read and the font style so people can easily read and understand the information on screen. I think these are the three main components that make a good history website.
I took this course to learn more skills to use in my field of study,museum studies and education ( programming). As many museums and cultural sites in major cities are utilizing various types of digital technology in order to reach out to more people. Also the use of the technology will help many who are less physically and mental able to either learn in a traditional classroom. I think taking this class will help me have a better understanding of a quickly evolving field.
