When I look back at my elevator pitch video, it isn’t a perfect mirror of my final project, but I think I’m content with that. Initially, I was intimidated by the fact that my resources were mostly newspapers and narrowing my focus also affected how my exhibits turned out. Since our last meeting, I’ve added two more exhibits, which strengthen my site. But there are still technical issues that need to be fixed before the site can officially go live.
For one, it could be interesting to implement an interactive timeline as I envisioned in my initial design. However, I’m concerned that the site I chose may have hindered this idea. When I began, I used the free version of Omeka to build my site, but the lack of customization and the layout limitations made the basic plan an attractive option. While I prefer the new layout, I am still not convinced this version of Omeka is the best option for hosting BHN, rather than Omeka S. If I include an interactive timeline, I’ll need to improve my coding skills to embed the tool. But I am still deeply invested in creating this aspect of the site since I think it would improve the user experience. When I can embed an interactive timeline, I will feel as though I’ve accomplished what I set out to.
Moving forward, I want to carefully reflect on how to implement a “Community Hub” and a blog. I fear that having both forums would be redundant, and I have struggled to differentiate how I want these forums to function. I am unsure how to execute a community hub on Omeka where people can post and share opportunities for historians and archivists. I think careful evaluation will be necessary to ensure that the forum is useful to users. Also, I realized that creating a forum would require frequent oversight and moderation, which is a main reason neither forum is live currently. I didn’t want to implement either one if I was unsure of its function in the first place.
Currently, I believe the BHN site serves as a solid prototype that highlights the key element, the exhibits, which I hope will become more collaborative over time. This course has helped me become more thoughtful and intentional in my decision-making and has reinforced my understanding that your initial choice may not always be the final one.
