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National History Day How To: Creating a Website. What exactly is the website?. A computer-based representation of your research. Textual and visual evidence presented. Not just a paper on a computer. Must be hosted through www.nhd.weebly.com .
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What exactly is the website? • A computer-based representation of your research. • Textual and visual evidence presented. • Notjust a paper on a computer. • Must be hosted through www.nhd.weebly.com.
Website BasicsComplete rules can be found in the Contest Rule Book • No larger than 100mb. • A single multi-media clip can last no longer than 45 seconds and must not be embedded on another site (i.e. YouTube or Google Video). • Annotated bibliography & process paper must be included in the navigational structure. Does notcount toward the word limit. • No more than 1200 visible student-composed words. • What counts: Captions, your own words, text for graphs, charts, and timelines you create. • What doesn’t count: recurring menus, titles, navigation instructions, quotations, brief text crediting sources, code used to build site.
What does your project need to “do”? • Tell a story • Reveal change over time • Consider historical perspective • Provide context • Ask questions • Draw conclusions • Find facts
How do I choose a topic? • Brainstorm topics related to the theme. • Learn what historical resources are nearby. • Think through controversial topics. • Choose something you think is interesting!
How do I research my topic? • Start with secondary sources. • They help you understand your topic more completely. • Will point you toward primary sources. • Help you pick the specific themes and key questions you want to address and ask. • Can I use websites? • Yes, but don’t do all your research there.
Now what? • Primary sources! • NHD defines these as materials directly related to a topic by time or participation. • Sources can be both primary and secondary depending on how it’s used. • Look in the footnotes and bibliographies of secondary sources to find them. • Talk to a librarian, archivist, teacher, or historian!
Evaluating your sources • Not all primary sources are primary to your topic. • Think about these questions: • What type of source is it? • What is the date? • Who created it? • Where was it produced?
What do I put on my website? • Non-textual elements should support your argument. Use interpretative captions. • Interactives: pop-ups, image maps, sound, videos, timelines. • Don’t go overboard: they shouldn’t replace or overshadow your argument • Don’t have to be hi-tech. Sometimes simple is better.
But, How Should it Look? • www.nhd.weebly.com offers plenty of design options. • Put your thesis on the first page. Make it easy for the viewer to find! • Play around with it, but make sure each page makes a clear connection to your thesis. • Make sure it’s easy to navigate.
Your Annotated Bibliography and Citations • Bibliography: List of sources included as a page of your website that you consulted in creating your project. Keep a working bibliography as you research. • Annotations: Brief descriptions of how the source was useful to your research. • Citations: Used within the website to show the origins of ideas or quotes presented in your website. • You can use footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical citations. • For both annotations and citations refer use the MLA or Turabian style manuals. • Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. • Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
Tips! • Don’t start working with www.nhd.weebly.com until you have your research down. • Start your ideas on paper so you know how you to organize your information. • Remembereverything should support and further your argument. • Your font, colors, style do make an impression. Does it fit your topic? Is it readable? • Use the same basic layout for each page. • Check out past NHD winners: http://nhd.org/judgewebsitesamples.htm.
But, what if I have questions? • That’s easy, contact: Cheryl Caskey at cheryl.caskey@ky.gov or 502-564-1792 ext.4461. • Or, visit: http://nhd.org/CreatingEntry.htm. • Or, visit: www.facebook.com/kyjhs. • Or, visit: www.history.ky.gov.