Progress Report 5
After receiving feedback on aspects of my project site, I worked over the course of the week to create and begin to implement solutions to several of the website’s problems.
To start with the cosmetic issues, I went in and worked on the sidebar widgets. I updated the names of the other course site links, switched the order of the widgets so that the Hypothesis widget comes before the widget with the other project links, and redid the Hypothesis widget so that there is more explanation on what it is and how to use it (for viewers who are not experienced with the tool). Going forward, I still need to look out for missing words in my paragraphs, which I am confident I can do as I continue revising each page.
The second (and more important area) I gave attention to was the section of the project that detailed the case. After receiving feedback, I wasn’t sure the original design of my website, with a different page per category of stakeholder, was working for communicating the case like I wanted to. I thought about changing the section to have one page of context on different stakeholders, one page on the actual events of the case, and one page for analysis. However, after thinking about the section for a week, I decided that I want to stay true to my contract and keep the original design.
However, with that said, I’ve brainstormed several ways I can fix the weaknesses of the pages, and the case section (along with developing the analysis on it) will be my main focus for this last week of revisions.
Case Section Changes
First, I am going to revise the timeline of the main section page but also expand it to include a description of all the events of the case, so that the page is really dedicated jus
t to narrating what happened and clarifying details.
Second, I am going to change the structure of each of the stakeholder sub-pages to talk less about the actions of each individual and more about the opinion of and reasons behind the actions of each individual. In addition, I am going to move the introduction that talks generally about the role of each kind of stakeholder to the bottom of the page and refocus it as an analysis that looks at explaining why the individuals took the actions that they did and how their actions were significant within the case. I think that restructuring the pages in this way will help me to add more analysis and really pull the narrative together more cohesively.
Third, as suggested in my peer review, I have decided to incorporate the primary sources into the website by adding a separate sub-tab under the case section. I originally wanted to integrate them into the site by featuring different articles at the end of the each of the complainant pages, but the structure didnt’t do justice to the sources or the pages they were on. I also don’t want the clutter the main menu with a separate page for each primary source. Therefore, creating a new section should allow me to present the sources without complicating the menu or running the risk of having them over looked. I also believe that this format will allow me to incorporate more information from the primary sources into my analysis instead of abundant quotations from secondary sources.
However, choosing this structure does mean that the side index widget will contain a separate link to each primary source (because it will have to be its own page hyper linked in the primary source section) that will not be present in the main menu. Also, on the subject of primary sources, I am going to make sure to offer a brief and clear description of what each source is so that why its included makes sense, which is something I worked on in creating the drafts of the pages last week. I have set the goal of having them all up of the site by this evening.
Context Section Changes
In working on the presentation of the novel’s pages and the pages on Appalachian literature, I thought about how to bring the context of Appalachian literature back into my analysis, which is something that I did not do very well in the website draft. I have worked on drafting an expansion of the analysis that talks about the significance of Appalachian culture in the censorship case that I can include in the conclusions sub-page of the case section. In addition, I am going to expand my explanation of the novel by discussing how it relates to Appalachian culture, so that there is a clear link between the novel itself and the context I provide on my website. Lastly, I also looked at creating a family tree for the summary of the novel that should make that page a bit more visually appealing and I have decided to move the page on the challenged sections of the novel to the primary source tab so that it is not featured out of logical order for the site or contextual order for the case.
In summary, I have a lot of work left to do, but with a the planning and work I completed last week and a week’s worth of time ahead of me, I am confident I can finish everything by the deadline.
Photo Credits
Turner, T (2019, April 22). At the End of the Semester. [Personal Photograph taken in Wise, VA)