This hypermedia website of 20th century US history makes me wish I was teaching US History this year. Based on CFT Theory the site allows the user to experience video snippets of historical footage and political campaign commercials.
The layout allows the user to set up images or videos side by side in a 2-up or 4-up layout. This becomes very useful for viewing Presdential ad campaigns in one viewer with the electoral college map in the other.
What strikes the first time user is the short duration of the clips. I think this helps the site's value as an education tool. Attention spans of learners have gradually shortened since Sesame Street hit the airwaves in 1969. A short clip can be very accessible and unintimidating to a student. Sampling several different short clips from a given era or theme can help the student build a contextual understanding of the subject. A search engine allows the user to easily sift through the clip collection to locate items that draw their interest.
I've shown it to two collegues of mine. Each was drawn to investigate the familiar first. Both were mezmerized. One suggestion I would make would be a 'counter of combinations' that generates a list of the most commonly paired items. Another option could be a discussion thread for the users to share their interpretations of the clips.
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