Archive for Theory and Practice

Progress

Posted on April 7th, 2014 by

Text-mining tools are not that valuable to my research project just because it does not give me data or statistics. For example, Wordle is a great tool that is visually appealing. But for my topic, it would only be visually appealing rather than having an informative meaning. Google Ngram is only helpful in the sense that it searches for books. However, I don’t think I will use either for my project. I learn that text analysis is difficult to work with and you need to find the right project in order to use it. Unfortunately, I don’t believe these will be helpful for me. Although, I did really like learning about them and using them.

For my project, I finally narrowed down my research topic. At first, I was having trouble narrowing down my topic because it was too broad and it was not in the right time period. It was more present than past. I am also learning how to work with Omeka more and more every class. Today was really helpful. I learned how to add headers and how to create exhibits, etc. The most challenging thing is putting everything together and gathering interesting data. I am trying to find information that is appealing to possible viewers of my site.

 

 

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My Two Primary Sources

Posted on February 5th, 2014 by

The first primary source I found was a picture of Washington D.C. This picture can be found on flickr.

Screen Shot 2014-02-09 at 3.13.03 PM

This photo is great because it shows the entire landscape of Washington D.C. You are able to see the amazing surroundings of Washington D.C, which, to me, is really interesting. The photographer of this photo is Rob Shenk, who seems to capture a lot of historical landsites. On his flicker page, he has numerous photos of pirate ships, old planes, lighthouses, and many other beautiful pictures. It seems as if Rob Shenk just wanted to simply capture the beauty of DC all in one photo. In the picture, the sun is shining and the sky is clear. This photo really makes me want to visit DC because of how beautifully captured it is. Additionally, this photo was taken in October of 2010. Therefore, it’s definitely recent and up to date. There was not anything important going on at the time of this photo, so it doesn’t correlate to any vital pieces of information. This photo is intended for anyone who was wondering what Washington DC may look like.

 

The next primary source I analyzed is a map that can be found here. It’s a map of Washington DC. This map is extremely out of date, considering it is dated to 1909. A lot has changed since then. There’s been wars, and many new presidents have been inducted. On the upper left hand side of the map is a list of all the presidential inaugurations. Roosevelt, being the last name mentioned. This map is over 100 years old! The contributor of this map is M.I. Weller, which I can’t seem to find any information on. Therefore, he may have been a reliable source back then, but currently he doesn’t seem like he has credentials. A good thing about this map is that it tells us what direction everything is in. For example, it shows us where NW, NE, SE, and SW are. That is an important piece to have included in a map!

 

Overall, I found that the photos are much more easier to work with. Not only do I like photography better, but it is also a better visual of the piece. Between maps and photographs, photographs capture all the landmarks whereas a map will just tell you where it’s located. Also, since the map was outdated, it was harder to work with and analyze.

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Website Evaluations

Posted on January 31st, 2014 by

9/11 Memorial

The first website I reviewed was www.911memorial.org, which is a museum website. This is because it is a site about a memorial and provides us facts about the 9/11 memorial. The purpose of this website is to give readers an insight on 9/11. It not only shares information on what the 9/11 memorial is, but it also gives us information on how to go visit this memorial and the hours of accessibility. On this website, Google can give you a 3D tour which is awesome because if you never have the chance to see it in person, you can see it exactly how you would see it in person, but at home on your computer. Another interesting thing about this website is that it gives us the names of all the victims, which is about 3,000.

The creator of this website is the National September 11 Memorial and Museum,which makes it definitely credible. Before visiting this site, I knew what the 9/11 memorial is. I believe this website is designed for anyone who is willing to learn more about the 9/11 memorial and victims, or for someone who would want to visit this memorial.

This website is extremely organized. The links on the page include, “Plan Your Visit,” “Memorial,” “Museum,” “Teach and Learn,” “Get Involved,” and “Donate.” Under each of these categories are more links that can take you to exactly where you want to go. This website does not leave any information out about the 9/11 memorial and museum. This also makes it easy to navigate.

On this website, one aspect that I valued was the online tour, provided by Google Earth. This is really beneficial for someone who does not have access to see the memorial and museum in person. I also think it’s really helpful that you can donate to this memorial. This is important because 9/11 is something that will never be forgotten by many families. Unfortunately, it was a traumatic event that caused a lot of damage so it’s great that people are able to give back.

911-Memorial

The picture above is a picture of the 9/11 memorial, which is located at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York.

 

American Photography: A Century of Images

The second website I reviewed was http://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/, which is an archive because it has a lot of older images and photography form the past and present. The purpose of this website is to give viewers an insight on art and photography during the war, presidential image-making, and the digital truth. It shares information about old art pieces and how art can be sold for six figures. Wow!

This website revolves around one question. What kind of art is photography? The art of photography is continuously changing as the world changes. Artists and photographers are taking new perspectives on the images they wish to capture.

The creator of this website is is PBS so it is credible. There are links to the image credits, as well. Before visiting this site, I did not know what it was about, however I like photography so I wanted to check it out! This website is designed for someone who is interested in learning the history of art and photography.

This website is organized because there are different links that navigate you throughout the site, which makes it easy for us to view. There are many features to this site giving information on social change, being one example.

I really valued that you were able to see some sample photographs from the past. It is amazing how art photography is rapidly changing throughout each century.

 

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