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5.0 The Reticulum Website - a resource from 7-70

The children's work generated during their involvement with the Project has been used as a basis for the creation of the Museum of Antiquities latest Website - The Reticulum Website. The site is continually updated as children's work becomes available. Created using Macromedia Dreamweaver, we have aimed at keeping the site simple and user-friendly, making it available to a wide audience, regardless of user specifications. Although this imposes some limitations, for example we cannot use animations which would require the installation of Macromedia Flash to view, it is a decision which reflects the problems we encountered in schools when attempting to use the Internet.

5.1 Aims

The aims of the Website are:

• To create a site for children that offers them in depth, accurate, archaeologically based information in a format that they are able to access.
• To create a resource for the study of life in the North of England during the Roman period.
• To make the site accessible to as many as possible by making it clear, simple to download and navigate even on computers with low specifications.
• To use the images, ideas, questions and interests of children as stimuli for the content of the site.
• To provide suggestions for activities that had been tried and tested and proven to work.
• To broaden the audience for the Museum of Antiquities and offer access to the expertise of museum staff.

5.2 Research

Our research into existing Websites for children, as well as our personal experiences and preferences, has influenced the form the Reticulum site has taken. Several sites dedicated to the Romans are available to children but many are either bland and limited in the information they offer, or complicated and slow to download. So far we have not come across another site in which the blend of children's work with factual information forms such an integral feature.

Because of the pressure of time our research was been restricted to an online exploration of museum, educational and subject-related Websites already available. These are some of the issues that were of consideration when we started to create the Website:

• Some sites, such as BBC History are slow to download and to navigate on computers with lower specifications, such as is the case in many primary schools.
• Sites such as the British Museum Children's Compass Project do not always go far enough, often because they are trying to incorporate a vast range of information from a wide variety of sources, which doesn't always link together. Although they offer a comprehensive resource the items do not always relate to one another to create a cohesive picture.
• When we first started many Museum sites were being used simply to post information about museum opening hours, facilities etc. (e.g. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/hancock/)
• The best sites for children seem to be those which are restricted to a particular region, period or aspect, for example that created by the Sussex Archaeological Society
• Search facilities within sites vary. The search facility in 'Children's Compass' is simple to use and visually attractive; the BBC site does not have an 'in site' search facility; the 'Romans in Sussex' site has a simple search facility which searches for objects rather than information; for example, a search on 'brooch' brings up seven images, but a search on 'clothing' returns none. Currently the Reticulum site does not have an independent search facility but the main Museum of Antiquities website within which it is embedded does operate a search within its sites. Within the Roman sites visited the content is biased towards the South of England and military life - as one seven-year-old asked 'Weren't there any women in Roman times?'
• In some cases it is not clear where the themes or key words used to navigate within a site will lead to and the site is so unwieldy that reaching a useful destination is difficult.
• Active links leading through to a scrolling glossary, which features on the BBC site, can be confusing as well as taking longer to access because of the larger file size. Specific 'pop ups' seem a better option.
• Many sites contain images of objects, sites or, in some cases, children's drawings without any further explanation other than a label. In these instances the value of these images as sources of information is diminished.
• Language is extremely difficult to get right. There are issues of tone as well as readability - too patronising and older children are alienated; too difficult and younger ones cannot read the text
• The choice of background colour and font style and colour can be a problem for visually impaired children or those with Specific Learning Disorders (SPLD) such as dyslexia.
• The use of plug-ins such as Macromedia Flash or frames can limit access to all or some parts of the site to certain users (see section 4.3.5).

5.3 Creating the site

The Website has developed 'organically' within a broad framework rather than followed a predetermined scheme. Although there have been pitfalls in this approach, aimless rambling leading to navigational nightmares and lost users being one danger, and the risk of creating a site so huge it seems to develops its own 'life' being another, the advantage has been the responsiveness we have to the questions children have asked us, the images we are presented with and our own flashes of inspiration. It helps ensure that, although the site is being created by adults, it reflects the interests of the children it is aimed at, particularly the almost obsessive need for detail, which is a feature of children's enthusiasms. (Note: this a personal observation based on years of classroom experience and watching my own children learn. JC.) We hope in the future to involve the children more directly in the creative process and in the construction of the site.

5.3.1 Images

Within the site we aim to use an informative mix of text and images, pictures of objects from the Museum's collection, maps (Fig. 11) and diagrams to convey a wide range of information about what life was like on the 'Northern frontier' of England prior to and during the Roman period.

Figure 11: Stylised map of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent, designed 'in house'

The inclusion of archaeological plans (Fig. 12) and professional drawings gives children access to a form of information usually only available in adult publications.

Figure 12: Professional diagram from an archaeological report, coloured up and with simplified labelling to make it more accessible to children

Using Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks, we have created montages (Fig. 13) of the children's illustrations to provide gateways into particular sections of the site.

Figure 13: This colourful picture forms the gateway to 'Celtic' religion. A montage was created using a backdrop drawn by a pupil. Images drawn by other class members were superimposed on it. In this way the separate components could be drawn larger and then scaled down after scanning and clean-up procedures, giving greater detail

We also use image maps (Fig. 14), which have areas of action for the user to explore, as a means of encouraging children to explore the site further.

Figure 14: Gateway to 'The Wretched Brits' from 'This Way to the Northern Frontier'

One class, who weren't studying the Romans during the time the Project was running, decided to look at what the Romans had done for them. They created the artwork for an animation of a typical 'Geordie' Man ('Geordie' being the nickname given to men who come from Blyth); the idea being that certain items of his clothing or belongings would fall off or disappear. Because of the restrictions we had imposed on the site we couldn't use animation to re-create this so we used slices, attaching the action to certain words to make the items disappear. (To access this part of the web site select 'The Legacy of the Romans', then 'What did the Romans do for us?' to see Eddie in all his glory!)

Most of the images within the site lead to more information by clicking on them, which also enables the user to view them more closely. This has worked particularly well with the museum objects, which are included in the Website to provide archaeological evidence for aspects of life during the period and widen the audience for the Museum's collection. By linking greater detail to the clicking action the user can decide the degree of information they wish to receive.

Figure 15: A dragonesque brooch from the Museum of Antiquities collection

5.3.2 The written copy

The Project's Education Officer generates most of the copy, based around topics children want to know about and with an emphasis on readability as well as factual accuracy. The content is researched and checked by archaeological specialists and reflects our current knowledge of the daily life of people living in the North East of England immediately prior to the Roman invasion and in the subsequent four centuries of Roman rule. As mentioned elsewhere, there is currently a paucity of information aimed at children reflecting the very different way in which the Romans impacted upon this region of Britain. We are constantly aware of the need to balance text with images and seek to maintain interest through a variety of written forms, trying to keep it personal by creating character dialogues and using children's original writing. Quotes from literary sources are included as a way of introducing children to classical texts and the evidence they provide. They are indicated by an icon (Fig. 16), and are written in red to make them stand out from the body text.

 'The images of the gods grim and rude were uncouth blocks formed of felled tree trunks. Their mere antiquity and the ghastly hue of the rotten timber struck terror.'

Lucan

Figure 16: This quote forms part of the text given to pupils to create the montage forming the gateway to 'Celtic' religion (Fig. 13). The drawing of a garlanded head is used to indicate a classical text

5.3.3 Glossary 'pop-ups'

Active words or phrases in underlined red text are scattered throughout the site. These lead to glossary items. Since a key feature of the site is that the information given is based on archaeological evidence it is important that the user understands some specialist terms. It is also the case that, with the urbanisation of British society, it is no longer possible to assume that children know about current processes associated with, for example, food production, and are therefore able to extrapolate from present experiences to past practices. Nor do they necessarily know about craft techniques such as weaving or pottery making. This has been forcibly brought home when explaining to pupils the process of turning grain into flour. Blank looks resulted and children have asked where the grain comes from. In an attempt to make sure that confusion is minimised we have included glossary items that appear as 'pop up' boxes when the user clicks on the active text.

Figure 17: An example of an illustrated glossary item.
"Strong wooden poles, especially grown from hazel trees were put into the ground. Thin, split branches of hazel were then woven through the poles - this is the wattle. Clay mixed with straw was used to fill in the holes - this is called daub. Wattle and daub was used for hundreds of years to build walls."

5.3.4 Activities

In each area of the site we have tried to include a follow-up activity; a story to print off and read or ideas of things to make (Fig. 18). In this way we hope to extend the children's interest further.

Figure 18: 'Glass' beads made with modelling clay. The web site provides instructions on how to make this bead necklace.

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Last updated: Tue Aug 20 2002