NHD Website Guide

NHD Websites• Interactive collection of web pages interconnected

by hyperlinks• Websites present primary and secondary sources,

multimedia, and students’ historical analysis to tell a story of historical significance

• Elements of good websites include students’ written explanation and analysis, clear connections to the NHD theme, and non-textual features such as photographs, maps, graphs, music, and video

Website Category Rules• Must be an original production constructed using the NHD web site editor

http://nhd.weebly.com – creation in NHD Weebly is required• Total project file size limit 100MB; 1200 word limit on visible student-

composed text (see exceptions to word limit)• Annotated bibliography and process paper must be integrated in web site

and included in navigation structure (see bibliography and process paper)• Time limit of 45 seconds for each multimedia element; may include audio

recording of student website creator(s) reading quotations and primary source excerpts for dramatic effect; narration of student-composed text not permitted

• May use professional photos, graphics, video, and other elements within size and time limits; website students must operate all technology needed to capture and import files

• No embedded elements hosted elsewhere (YouTube, etc.) or links to external websites (see guideline for multimedia files)

• No formal presentation of website during interview; judges will lead the discussion and ask questions, and judges must navigate websites themselves during judging

Getting Started• A good topic for a website category is one with plenty of

available visual images you can include in your site• Primary sources viewable in their original forms (as jpeg

images, for example) will add a great deal of interest and interactivity to your site – keep this in mind as you choose a topic

• The website is a great category for topics that can be clearly divided into subtopics to be accessed via your website navigation menu

• Good news: the NHD Weebly portal does not require advanced website design abilities, but it will let you showcase and enhance your existing technological skills

While you are still in the beginning stage…. • Examine high-quality history websites – what makes them

good? Think about content, design layout, interactivity, navigability, multi-sensory experiences (i.e., opportunities to read, view, analyze, listen), and other elements

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/index.html This is a commercial site about Hitler Youth published by the author of several historical books

• Study winning NHD website entries from the 2010 national contest (Innovations in History: Impact and Change):

http://98755569.nhd.weebly.com/ Junior 1st Placehttp://84468453.nhd.weebly.com/ Senior 2nd Placehttp://89716929.nhd.weebly.com/ Senior 3rd Placehttp://www.nhd.org/2010websites.htm All 2010 state winners

Getting Organized• Organize your research materials- Helpful tools: highlighters, sticky notes, index cards, rubber bands, a 3-

ring binder with dividers (for photocopies or printouts from electronic sources) and a zipper pouch to keep index cards in the binder

- Some students prefer to work on the computer as much as possible, starting with early stages of research – this is particularly true for the website category, since all components of your project will need to be digitized

- www.livebinders.com is a useful tool for organizing your information and images online

- If you want a more traditional electronic system that can be used offline, PowerPoint works well as a substitute for note cards; you can rearrange the “note cards” using the slide sorter view – to go directly to tips for PowerPoint “note cards” and using and citing quotations, click the arrow

Working with Note Cards and Print-outs• Use a separate index card for each piece of information• Use rubber bands to keep note cards together in sections

according to subtopic• Photocopies from books and print-outs from electronic sources

are helpful - In these copies, highlight information you will likely use - To keep materials organized, use binder dividers or sticky notes

on the edge of copy to identify the part of your paper where you’ll use it (organize by subtopic)

- When you copy from a book, make a copy of the title page and book cover so you will have bibliography information

- When you are printing from electronic sources, copy into Word first so you can also save it in an electronic folder organized by subtopic; be sure to copy the URL and note the date accessed

Bibliography and Historical Quality• The bibliography is one of the very most important parts of

your NHD project• The bibliography shows how you meet 3 out of 6

components in the historical quality criteria:- Shows wide research- Uses available primary sources- Research is balanced

• There is no “magic number” of sources, but good projects are based on thorough research in books, primary documents, scholarly library databases, and even interviews and visits to museums or historic places – do not stop researching after a quick Google search; it is normal for very high quality entries to be based on 50+ primary and reliable secondary sources

Bibliography Tips• Create your bibliography in Word for later incorporation into your

website – even if you are using an online bibliography tool such as www.easybib.com

• Start your bibliography as soon as you find your first source• Add to your bibliography AS YOU GO, every time you find another good

source• As you add to your bibliography, place each bib citation in the correct

order alphabetically by the main author’s last name• If there is no author listed for your source, place the citation in the

correct order alphabetically by the first main word in the title (but be careful – most good sources will list an author)

• Write a brief annotation for each source AS YOU GO – for online secondary sources be sure to explain the author’s credentials if the source is not a book, scholarly article from a library database, or material published by a major museum, university, government agency, or well-known organization

Planning your Website• Start with the 3-column chart you used to organize information when

you wrote your thesis statement• List your thesis statement• Below the thesis statement, write 3-5 sentences that advance the

argument of your thesis statement • Use the main idea of each sentence as a section heading in your

website, and use the sentences themselves as topic sentences within each section (you will likely revise these topic sentences some as you are creating your website )

• Also consider a couple of additional topic headings – one that will address the historical context and one or more to specifically address aspects of the theme

• Once you have decided on major sections, write a more detailed outline• Once you have an outline, start writing – you do not have to start at the

beginning; write the parts for which you have information• The parts you get written will let you see what you still need to research

and also show you how to organize your website

Specific Website Considerations• With only 1200 student-composed words, you need to decide early if you are

going to write in narrative style (like an essay), use common website design space-saving conventions such as bullets, or a combination; whatever you decide, make sure everything you include in the site helps support a clearly-stated thesis

• Images, media clips, and quotations from primary sources and experts can help tell your story without using up your word limit (but remember the 100MB total file size limit); elements like these will make your website more interesting so viewers do not feel they are merely reading a paper on a computer

• Try to have at least half of your own 1200 words of writing directly addressing connections to the theme and/or explaining your analysis and interpretation of the historical facts – focus on historical significance

• A timeline is a meaningful addition for most website topics – this helps set the historical context and gives viewers a sense of how the topic developed over time and fits in history; students sometimes quote timelines from published authors to save words, but it is really better to write your own and include only the most important factors

• Captions count as part of the word limit; brief source credits do not count

Interactivity• Look for ways to build interactivity (viewer

participation) into your website• Possible interactive elements:

- Rollover maps, photos, or other images with information that pops up

- A sidebar with links to copies of original documents, photos, etc. that help illustrate your written analysis – but these linked files must be part of your website; no external links are allowed

- Hyperlinks on names and specialized vocabulary within your writing that lead to explanations – be sure to include a “back” button or link for easy navigation

- Multi-media files (video, audio, etc.)

Crediting Sources• The bibliography is one crucial way to credit sources• In addition to citing in your bibliography, the source of

direct quotations, images, and any other kinds of files such as video should be credited on the page where they appear, ideally right under or next to the item – not a full bibliographic citation, but something like this:

Source: American Memory Project, Library of Congress.

• If you use scanned images from books or save and import them from a website, simply credit the book/website author

Short source credits like this do not count as part of the 1200-word limit.

These elements do not count in 1200-word limit on student-composed text:

• Bibliography – must be integrated into site• Process Paper – must be integrated into site• Recurring menus, titles, and navigation instructions• Brief credits of source for images and quotations • Quoted material – must be clearly identified• Text within images of primary documents or

artifacts or text that is transcribed from primary documents to make it easier to read

Annotated Bibliography • Bibliography must be accessible via your website menu navigation• List all sources that contributed to the development of your entry and sources that

provided usable information or perspectives, including interviews, visits to historic sites, museums, visual materials and artifacts

• Divide your bibliography into separate sections for primary and secondary sources; students with many different sources often create additional subdivisions within each category to specify the type of source (i.e., books, articles, images, multimedia, interviews, etc.); subdivision is not required

• Acceptable NHD styles for bibliography and citations: MLA or Turabian; consult the appropriate style guide and be consistent

• Annotations should very briefly describe the source and explain how it was useful in the development of the project

• Annotations for any websites used should describe who sponsors the site; if the reliability of the site is not readily apparent (i.e., major museum, educational institution, or well-known organization), explain the website author’s credentials in the annotation

• Observe standard bibliography conventions: hanging indent, double spacing, alphabetize entries by main author’s last name or first main word of title or item if there is no author (note: no recognized bibliography formats include numbered or bulleted entries)

Process Paper

• The process paper describes in 500 words or less how you conducted your research and created your entry.

• The process paper should include four sections that explain:1. how you chose your topic;2. how you conducted your research (include details about how you

went about finding sources, particularly useful sources, etc.;3. how you selected your presentation category and created your

project (include specific details about software used, etc.); and4. how your project relates to the NHD theme – be specific

• The process paper must be accessible via your website’s navigation menu.

Multimedia Files

• Do not exceed the total 100MB limit for your entire website • All multimedia must be stored within the site; no external links

permitted• If your multimedia clips require specific software to view (Flash,

QuickTime, Real Player, etc.), provide on the same page a link to an Internet site where the software is available as a free, secure, and legal download

• IMPORTANT – make arrangements well in advance if any specific software is required to access multimedia files in your website; downloading may require administrative rights, making it impossible to download on DoDDS computers during judging

• Audio files may include a recording of a student reading from a source for dramatic effect, but you may not include audio consisting of student-composed narration

To use PowerPoint for note cards, select a template – for typical note cards, the standard Two Content template works well.

Use this box to identify the information by “subtopic” (the section of your websitewhere it will likely fit best) and the author or title (and page number if it is a book source)

In this box, list the information in bullet form; this will help you effectively summarize and/or paraphrase without copying the original author’s words

In this box:a) If you find a passage that is worth

quoting because it makes a point in the original wording that would be less meaningful if paraphrased, copy/paste or type the exact quotation here

b) If you find an image you want to use to illustrate this section of your website, copy it into the box along with a link to the source – while you are at it, go ahead and add the source to your bib!

c) If you don’t need the box, delete it and make the other box bigger if you want

Use the slide sorter view whenever you want to rearrange the order of your “note cards”

Historical overview of Indian Education(DeJong, p. 34)

• NW Ordinance 1787, law passed by Continental Congress, mentioned need for Indian education

• Quote “utmost good faith”

The Continental Congress first expressed its intentions regarding Indian education in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools, and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians” (DeJong, 34).

Tips:1. The book author, DeJong, quoted the NW

Ordinance in his book, but the student writer got it from DeJong’s book. The citation (DeJong, 34) lets readers know where the student writer found the information.

2. The quotation from the NW Ordinance is introduced or “set up” by the student writer.

3. This is a good choice to quote – the original language shows the ironic contrast between the stated goal and the historical reality.

Historical Overview - (Burns, p. 47-49)Dawes Act consequences

- Tribal land holdings reduced because non-allotted reservation land was sold to white settlers

- More Indians moved to cities and towns (off reservations)

- Migration a factor in low economic development on reservations

- Migration took Indian students out of reservation schools into public schools near new homes

The cost of the Dawes Act to Indian America was enormous. The resulting reduction of the land base eventually caused greater Indian migration to cities and towns away from the reservations, which reduced the potential for the kind of economic development on the reservations that might have provided financial stability for future generations. It also transferred many students from government boarding schools and reservation day schools to public schools which were poorly prepared to receive them. An indirect result of the Dawes Act, then, was greater involvement by the states in the education of American Indians.

Tips:1. The left-hand box shows bulleted notes and the right-hand box shows how the information might be written out on the webpage.2. Remember to go beyond telling the facts! Include your interpretation – why are the facts significant? If you can work in a connection to the NHD theme, that is even better!3. Remember that websites should communicate information visually as well as in words – a good illustration for this section might be maps of reservation lands before and after implementation of the Dawes Act.

Using Quotations• Quotations can add power to your writing• Be very selective – only quote if the words are very striking and meaningful in

their original form and that power would be lost if you paraphrase and/or summarize

• It is usually not a good idea to quote secondary sources• Exceptions:

- To quote primary material found in a secondary source (choose only very striking excerpts)

- When the secondary source gives expert opinion that supports your own conclusions

• Always introduce or “set up” a quotation; never simply drop it into your website page without context

• Use quotation marks for quotations that you incorporate into your own writing; for quotations that are separate elements of the webpage, you might distinguish them from your own writing with a distinctive font – in that case, be sure to identify the source of the quotation so it is clear you are quoting

• Quote precisely and use [brackets] to indicate your editorial additions or ellipses … to indicate that you have omitted material

Direct Quotation Example Le Bret recalled that, although the school year could seem interminable by spring,

children were usually glad to return to school each fall . A girl named Mary wrote to Agent

Webster in November of 1905, inquiring hopefully about her possible enrollment.

Would you like to see me go to School up there? I want to go but I am afraid

to ask my Father he might say no. But I will ask him anyhow. To go to School

after Christmas. We all send our best regards and kindest wishes to you and

to your old woman and to your baby.

Hoping to meet you all soon.

I remain From Barnaby’s Daughter,

Mary

Mary wrote from Meteor, which was about five miles southwest of Inchelium

(Barnaby).The letter from Mary Barnaby is an example of correct precise quoting. In this particular research project, the researcher made a note at the beginning of the report, explaining that some of the primary sources were written by Native Americans whose English language literacy was at an emerging stage. The researcher felt it was appropriate and important to include these writings without editorial corrections or notations. Normally, if you find errors in spelling or grammar in material you want to quote, the correct way to do it is to leave the error as it appears in the original and insert [sic] afterward, italicized and in brackets – this means the error appears in the source, so your readers know it is not your mistake.

Bib Citation Examples Le Bret, Frances. Fort Spokane. n.d. TS Memoir.

Eastern Washington Historical Society.

Barnaby, Mary. Letter to Captain John Webster. 10 Nov. 1905. MS. Webster Papers, Box 1 Folder 4; Holland Library Special Collections, Washington State University, Pullman, WA.

The source by Le Bret is an undated memoir in the collection of the Eastern Washington Historical Society – n.d. is an abbreviation for “no date” and TS means that it is a typescript document (written on a typewriter).

The letter from Mary Barnaby to Captain Webster was dated Nov. 10, 1905, and MS means that it was a manuscript (handwritten).

These MLA citations were formatted using www.easybib.com.

How can this be improved?The most shocking of all the hardships the boat

people faced during their journey was the pirates, people “who [would] not hesitate to rob, rape, beat and murder” the hapless and, usually, defenseless boat people (Wan). Many of these pirates were from Thailand. “Some pirates were professional bandits. Others were poor fishermen. The treasure from one overcrowded refuge boat could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, as refugees often transferred all their assets into gold before leaving Vietnam” (“Pirates and Sinking Ships”).

All material in this passage should be paraphrased – the quoted material is not particularly striking or powerful, so there is not a good reason to quote.

In the early eighties an American, Ted Schweitzer, landed on a pirate island and heard how 238 refugees had been shipwrecked there. Eighty had been killed and the women were raped and forced to dance naked. Schweitzer tried to stop this but was knocked unconscious…. When he awoke he found dismembered limbs and evidence of cannibalism.

http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/amusement/golf/200/viet.html

These pirates committed appalling atrocities:

In this sample, the student correctly cited and formatted this quoted material; however, even the URL is a clue that this is not a reliable source. A look at the source reveals it is part of a website called “Buffalo Bill’s Hero Pages” on a webhosting server (anyone can publish on these platforms), and neither the website author nor the sources the website author used are identified. While the incident involving Ted Schweitzer may be true, there is no way to verify it from this source – as one teacher observed, it is like a “friend of a friend” story, or hearsay, not credible historical information.