|
|
 Ratings
|
|
|
| Reviewed: |
Mar 24, 2003 by History Editorial Board |
| Overview: |
Mali Interactive was a brief, live interaction between an archaeological team,
with accompanying family, and several classes in intermediate schools in the
Conroe Independent School District. The website consists of a brief contextual
essay, several interviews, and a number of photos relating not only to the
archaeological site of Jenne-Jeno but also interactions between the team's
children and local children and dignitaries. |
| Learning Goals: |
The stated purpose of the Mali Interactive Project is to share information on another culture and way of life very different from our own in the United States. |
| Target Student Population: |
Intermediate school or high school students with no real grounding in
African affairs... there is peripheral information useful for lower-divison
archaeology students and a world civilization survey course. |
| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
none |
| Type of Material: |
Lecture and text with photographs. |
| Recommended Uses: |
Not recommended for university use. One gets the feeling that the interaction
was not entirely a success, and there is little real archaeological information
presented. |
| Technical Requirements: |
none |
|
|
|
| Strengths: |
Easy to read, easy to use... accessible even to middle school students. |
| Concerns: |
Despite the projects informative goals, little context is made available and the
few journal entries regarding archaeological 'discoveries' give little sense of
history. The site is more useful in providing a brief and uni-faceted view of
present Mali. |
|
|
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:     |
|
| Strengths: |
Several pictures and journal entries for use in the classroom by a teacher, but
not alone. There are links and references to other web sites, which can be of use. |
| Concerns: |
No academically rigorous treatment of information presented. |
|
|
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
| Rating: |
|
| Strengths: |
Text is accessible, project aims for user-friendliness |
| Concerns: |
Lack of relevant organizational style makes it difficult for students to
synthesize information in different pictures/journals. There seems to be no
'goal' or 'point' to the project other than general 'cultural enlightenment',
thus frustrating attempts to glean lessons. |
|
|
| Other Issues and Comments: |
This website is useful in the middle school classroom as potential aid to
teachers who are already able to give students the contextual information in
which to place it. |
|
