The Student's Guide to RiverWeb

Section One:

History and Multimedia - An Introduction to RiverWeb

 

EXPLANATION OF MATERIAL:

The materials available on RiverWeb include both on-line and off-line information, i.e. from the RiverWeb CD-Rom as well as to the on-line RiverWeb course site. The site itself melds the latest academic technologies with educational materials, and with this goal in mind the materials are divided into sections for classroom use.

To fully utilize RiverWeb requires you to understand some basic computer terminology and to master some basic computer skills. While the RiverWeb CD-Rom can be used by itself, we strongly suggested that it be used in conjuncti on with the RiverWeb Web site, because embedded within many of the materials are numerous hyperlinks, or links to other Web sites of interest to the user. Many of these Web sites contain supplemental materials such as text, images, and other archives that the reader will find useful.

The page grabber is a simple demonstration of an interactive tool that allows you to organize RiverWeb material into your own presentation. The page grabber is located on the RiverWeb header in the far right corner. Three buttons, Add, View, and Purge appear in the corner. By clicking on the Add button you will add the page you are viewing to your presentation. Clicking the Purge button will delete your presentation and clicking the View button will run your presentation.

 

 

 

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:

 

  1. How have computers and other new media changed the way in which the study of history is conducted, taught and presented?

  2. Are there any benefits to on-line history projects? Are there drawbacks?

  3. Do you find the Web easy to use?

  4. Do you find multi-media applications to be an improvement over existing forms of technology (i.e. video, radio, television, etc.).

  5. What kind of project would you like to see on the Web? In what ways, if any, can you see how it would improve on existing resources?

  6. What aspects of this CD-Rom do you like? Dislike?

 

POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENT:

Using a variety of search engines, seek out and find at least ten general (i.e. gateway) history web sites. Providing URLs, critique each site for the following: overall usefulness; presentation of material; and ease of use. Are there any non-working links? Is the site annotated? What is the target audience of the site?

 

FURTHER READING:

Dennis A. Trinkle, Dorothy Auchter, Scott Merriman, and Todd E. Larson, The History Highway: A Guide to Internet Resources (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1997). This is a very basic outline of history web sites, but useful to those who have never used the Web before.

Eager, Bill. Using the World Wide Web (Indianapolis, 1996). This is a good basic overview of the World Wide Web.

Wagner, Ronald L. and Englemann, Eric. The McGraw-Hill Internet Training Manual (New York, 1996). Another good introduction to the Web.

Greenstein, Daniel. A Historian's Guide to Computing (New York, 1995). A bit outdated, this is still a standard work on the subject of historians and computing.

B. Williams. The Internet for Teachers (Foster City, CA, 1995). A useful compendium of information for teachers.

 

OTHER SITES OF INTEREST:

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