Below are the instructions that the students received at the beginning of the ten-week quarter for their final website projects. In preparation for this assignment, the students attended workshops on Macromedia Dreamweaver and Image Finding and Manipulation; met with the University Archivist; completed a written assignment analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of websites of their choice; and submitted group and individual progress reports to the instructor. After the project was completed, the students also submitted a final reflection e-mail and performance reports of their group members to the instructor.
UCLA in the Sixties
Final Website Project Assignment
Instructor: Melanie Ho
Due Date: Monday, 6/13/05, online by 5pm.
For both the individual and group website, you will be evaluated on: a) the coherence and organization of your content, b) the clarity of your writing, c) the quality and amount of relevant research that you bring to your site, and d) overall presentation.
While presentation is a central component of web communication, you will not receive extra points for embellishments (flashy graphics, huge fonts, complicated backgrounds, etc.) if they do not add to your site. If you have relevant technical/artistic skills, I encourage you to use your skills! However, keep in mind that “bells and whistles,” if not integrated and considered carefully, often detract from (rather than add to) the overall effectiveness of a website for its audience.
2. OVERALL VISION
The website will consist of the following:
Home page – I will create and upload this page, which will introduce the project and will provide links to the main pages of each of your seven different groups. Each group will cover a different 2-3 year period of UCLA history from 1960-74.
7 group pages, linked from the above home page
There will be seven groups, covering the following periods: 60-61, 62-63, 64-65, 66-67, 68-69, 70-71, and 72-74.
24 separate websites, focusing on different topics related to UCLA history during this time period and created individually by each of you.
Throughout the course of the quarter, we will be in communication with each other about the research topics chosen by different members of the class; this will enable you to create the appropriate links to each others’ websites so that all your websites can be as connected to each other’s sites as possible.
3. GROUP REQUIREMENTS
Your group page is required to have the following:
A timeline of your 2-3-year period that includes at least 10 UCLA events and at least 5 world/national/local events. Visit the Daily Bruin archives and other materials (yearbooks, etc.) to find a wide range of important events. Think about different ways of making the timeline user-friendly (i.e. different colors for UCLA vs. world/national/local events, a table, etc.)
At least 750 words of text. This should include a short introduction to UCLA during this period (an overview, descriptions of major trends and events, what you think is most important to remember about this period, etc.) as well as brief introductions to each of your individual websites.
This page should also include:
Links to each group member’s individual website.
At least one image (be creative! consider taking your own pictures and scanning them in)
Works cited/bibliography (this can be on a separate page if you like)
Names of everyone in your group
4. INDIVIDUAL REQUIREMENTS
First, you must choose a research topic for your website project.
You can choose to research a specific event, person, department, organization, etc. – it’s up to you. I encourage you to follow your own interests (for example, if you’re active in a particular organization on campus, you might be interested in looking at its history. Or if you’re interested in art and architecture, you might pursue something related to that).
While your research topic can span the 60s / early 70s, it should have some tangible and specific link to your group’s 2-3-year time period (like a major event that occurred during that time period) so that it makes sense for you to be linked from your group page.
It’s fine if multiple people in the class end up pursuing similar topics. However, in this case, I will ask you to talk to one another (and to me) to other to make sure you are covering different parts of the topic and that you link your pages to one another’s.
Your website itself must include the following:
Your name
At least 2000 words of text, written by you about your research topic.
At least two images
More than one web page, linked to one another
Evidence of substantial primary, archival research
Reference to readings from the course, if relevant.
Works cited/bibliography
Links that include:
A link back to your group page.
At least one other internal link (link to another group, or to another member of the class)
At least one external link (link to something else on the web)
Beyond these basic requirements above, please consider this project to be a fairly flexible one: try to be as creative as possible and have some fun! Don’t get too hung up over what’s “required” for the class; instead, think about how to best create a website about UCLA history that other people will want to visit and that will have informational/educational value.