I could not figure out how to embed my map and timeline in my post so I have included links to them below. If someone could tell me how to embed I would much appreciate it!
Link to StoryMapJS: https://s3.amazonaws.com/uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/1b1645ccdb0a879bd498ee30d5cd3887/map-practice/index.html
Link to TimeLineJS: https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1OMANCn46MKhiS5pP5xYQiQhBC31L4491uanvpAN5zBI&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650
Creating the map and timeline was not as easy as I expected. I am not the best at figuring out how to use new digital tools, so this was a good experience for me. While creating the map (which shows places I would like to travel to), I did have some difficulties looking at the finished product. I clicked “preview” and sometimes the map would not zoom in enough to see the exact location on the map. I was able to correct this, but I wonder if I was looking at the actual presentation and not simply a preview if it would work properly (which it does). On the other hand, I had a more difficult time putting the timeline (mine showed the various taxes the British government imposed on the American colonies) together as opposed to viewing it after I had finished. I opened up the spreadsheet and clicked “publish” several times before I finally understood that I was supposed to enter in my own data before doing clicking that option. I completely missed this part in the instructions and so it took me a few tries before I realized what I was supposed to do. My prior experience with instructions for digital tools has not always been helpful, but these directions were, so I need to break this bad habit of not reading things all the way through. Once I figured out how to use the timeline I was able to create one and view it with no issues.
I like certain aspects of StoryMapJS and TimeLineJS, but I am still unsure if my group should incorporate them into our project. For the map, I like that the it zooms from one location to the other and connects the dots for you. I also like that the location on the map is marked and along with it comes an actual picture and description. My concern with this is that the screen looks too cluttered as there is a chunk of information in the margin. Also, the gray map does not make the presentation look very exciting. If there were a way to thin out the information and create more space as well as change the color of the map, then it might be an interesting tool to use for our work with the Slaughter and Murray letters, perhaps showing troop movements, especially those of the 114th Pennsylvania, Murray’s regiment, which would give site users more context for reading his letters. For the timeline, I like the idea of this, but it was frustrating and a bit confusing that the bottom line (which shows years and months) kept moving and changed with every event. It was hard to understand the bigger picture of how the events fit together when I could not see all the previous events on the timeline while I focused on one particular slide. The timeline feature could be helpful for my group’s project as far as showing the progression of the Civil War and which events Slaughter and Murray either experienced themselves or heard about, but for me personally a tool that shows all events at once with the ability to focus on one at a time would help me put things in perspective, whereas with the timeline I feel like I am just looking at separate events and not a collection of them.
Here also is a screen shot of my Feedly. In the left hand margin, it shows I subscribed to everyone’s blog and then to Kathleen Fitzpatrick’s and Bryan Alexander’s from the Digital Humanities Compendium.
