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Digital technologies have made copyright a very pertinent issue for historians because since their emergence there has become an easier way to access more history resources on the web. The general copyright rule for York Libraries is that if the material is not out of copyright, users are only able to copy 10% of the material; and usually it is up to the user to determine what 10% of the material is. However, as more people wish to use and/or copy the same material, more portions of it become available. This could potentially reach a point where so many people use/copy the same material, that almost all of it will be copied if you combine everyone’s individual interpretations of 10%. In one way or another these original documents that were protected by their copyright laws are becoming more publicly accessible. Maybe not publicly accessible to the vast public sphere, but to a certain degree of public viewing. Copyright is meant to protect original material from extensively being copied all time, but as more people access and copy the same material, the original’s authenticity and security is compromised. For these reasons copyright has become a major issue for historians.
I think the most important design characteristic on a website is the organization of its information. Clear and concise information display is best for users and for a good website. Using overwhelming displays or information boxes could make users not want to visit the site, or become immensely frustrated when using it. Categorization is also key for a good website design; it allows users to navigate the site with ease. Colour, I think, is also a key design feature that makes for a good website. Using a bunch of overpowering colours like bright pinks and blues could make it hard to focus on the information on the website, and thus is not a good display element. There needs to be a balance in colour; for example, primary colours are great for primary level based teaching websites because these are colours the students are gaining knowledge of. However, designing a website with a black background and purple text is not a good design choice. These design elements speak to the accessibility features that make for a good website.
A website that I think is very well designed is the Walt Disney World website. There is a great balance of colours that eludes to the fact that this destination could easily live up to its name as the happiest place on earth. When you enter the website you are instantly faced with the option to plan your trip instead of having to search the website’s depths to find this feature. The organization of this website is also well designed because as you navigate through you can see how close the parks are to the hotels, what each parks has to offer (rides, restaurants, etc), and different promotions being offered at the time you are planning. As you scroll down the homepage, information is displayed for all the new features and lands included in Disney World so that if something sparks your interest you can click on it and immediately learn more. This website is also updated with every new addition to Disney World and offers someone who has not been yet to begin dreaming about it by just scrolling through the website.
Walt Disney World: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/
I think one of the most important qualities that makes for a good history website is for it to be easily utilized and accessed by visitors to the site. There is nothing worse than not being able to find what you are looking for on a website, or knowing the information you are seeking is somewhere on the site, but feeling like you might have an easier time getting into Fort Knox than finding what you are looking for. The information being presented needs to be done so in a well organized manner that is concise, clear, and easy to understand/find. Similarly, a history website does not need to have every single detail pertaining to what is being presented because that can be overwhelming at first, which may lead to users finding alternate websites to use instead. If the website accounts for most of the information, users might be able to gain interest in different historical moments or topics and research them further.
Another key quality that makes for a good history website is accuracy. When talking about history in general is it important to make sure all the facts are correct, or as relevant as possible. For example, it is not helpful to someone who is researching the time span of the world wars if the years are not accurate; that information can be misleading and/or incorrect. A good history website should also include the past, in whatever definition the website creators wish for that to extend to. Information gathered about different key events in history is extremely vast, it just takes time and research to find the most accurate of what is out there.
I took this course because two years ago when I was in HIST 2500: Canadian History I remember being told about it and to me, it looked extremely interesting. The digital technological advancements in the world today have only become more and more immense; so I figured there is no better way to know more about it than to take a course where I can physically interact with what we will be learning about. As a Concurrent Education student I am always looking for new ideas and skills that I could potentially bring into my own classroom one day.
From this course I hope to learn more about the different digital technologies that are available; I know about some but not many. I am immensely interested in learning about virtual reality and 3D printing. They have taken over the world and I would like to see and experience why. I would also like to really learn about the different things you can do with photographs. I have experience digitizing historical topographic maps, but I am interested in learning about other ways the digitizing process can be used.
