I am extremely excited about this project even though it didn't take the direction I originally intended. I still got to work with a couple of Neil Gaiman's books, though found little information that dealt with the one I was reading. I felt like I found a LOT of good information for Odd and the Frost Giants, but the other areas seemed a bit weak by the time I was finished. I ended up omitting Coraline from my final project because I just didn't have enough to write about.
I also think I tried to stretch myself too thin. I originally thought focusing purely on the mythology would narrow my search enough, but I since wanted to know about as many of Gaiman's books as I could, that resulted in my research for each being a bit weak. I wish I had focused on Odd in the first place and not worried about the other books, and if I were to repeat this project, I wouldn't have such a broad focus.
I also want to expand this project, and hope to eventually include the information related to American Gods and maybe some of the other books I've enjoyed, such as Sandman and Stardust.
I had a much wider variety of resources than children in my library would have. I was able to freely search the internet, and had easy access to the public library, but they are often restricted to the materials readily available in the school media center. In fact, some of the information on the Sleer ended up being on a blog that definitely would not pass the school's filter requirements. Also, I was easily able to create a website on a site builder, but students are generally only able to use the school web space.
I understand what you mean about feeling like you've stretched yourself too thin for proper research. It's hard to curb my own curiosity to create a more narrow focus though! :)
ReplyDeleteI really like your "final product" website. How did you like working with Weebly? I've been playing around with it too. About your website, I especially like how easy it is to distinguish between what goes with what book. I will definitely return to your site when I pick up some more Gaiman books!
Weebly was alright, but I couldn't find a layout that really satisfied my needs. I was going to use Webs.com, but for some reason it kept resetting to my old site, and I couldn't access the new one.
ReplyDeleteI'm never too fond of website builders because of the limitations, but they really are great when you're trying to put together something simply and quickly, and Weebly has been one of the better ones I've used.
Yes, I agree that it is easy to select a topic that is too broad. As I reflect on my project, I also wish that I would have realized that I need to really focus in more on one specific topic. Think how awesome all of our projects would be if we were to take the advice of this class's major authors and 'loop back' and re-investigate everything!
ReplyDeleteI imagine that it is difficult to sort through reputable information that deals with myths, especially for young students like you say.