Reaction to Digital History – Website How To!

I found the information in Digital History to be interesting and pretty helpful.  While I still an unsure of how to go about creating a website, at least now I know what to watch out for when it comes to style.  I liked how the book gave recommendations on different programs that can be purchased to aid in creating websites.  I especially liked how there was an approximate cost listed for each product (and I was surprised by the rather large educational discount.)  One of the websites that is mentioned and praised for its use of Flash, I have used in teaching.  The National Geographic Remembering Pearl Harbor is an interesting site that combines flash with maps, and interviews with people who were at Pearl Harbor when the destruction occurred.  My students usually find it interesting and informative as well. 

As I was reading chapter 4, I kept comparing what was said about website design to what I know about designing power points.  Many of the suggestions seem to be the same, such as:  select a font type that is readable, pick colors that don’t overwhelm or wash out the content, don’t crowd the page with lots of stuff, make sure to have links to other important slides or pages, etc.  One other comment I can agree with was the discussion over length of text on web pages.  I hear from my students all the time, “You want us to read ALL of this?”   If the website has more than a few sentences per block of text, they freak out.  But if students are given a few pages in a book to read, they don’t complain as much.  I think this is because too often websites are “dumbed down” and content is cut to make room for flashier technology.  It was nice to hear someone say not to fall into this trap.