About+this+Project

Our Virtual Conference
Lisa initiated contact with Yvette, Jennifer and finally Anita via email and Oncourse messages. Anita suggested to use oncourse chat for the virtual conference. We immediately began suggesting topics that leaned toward unique businesses, sustainable organic farming, and historic homes. This communication occurred through emails. During our Oncourse virtual conference, (of which a transcript is available on Oncourse) we quickly settled on historic preservation.

Further discussion was available through emails, Lisa's [|Meebo] meeting room publicly accessible at [|this link], and by the discussion tabs on this wiki.

How We Came Up With Our Topic
We agreed that our topic of historic preservation would not only add to the information available on the web, but would also be a topic to which we could each explore our distinct interests in our respective geographic locations. With three members living at a distance in Indiana and one further afield in New Hampshire, our project proved to be an ideal situation to experience authentic real world collaboration that transcended a class assignment.

Unique Contribution to the Web
This project is an example of how electronic open sources like Wikispaces can serve as a clearinghouse for a disparate collection of information that becomes both easily accessible and maintainable by like-minded individuals regardless of location, time or skill level.

Our site highlights our local historic treasures; we also included resources to encourage continued interest in preserving our past. The value of historic places like the Crown Point Courthouse, or Judge Langley’s home stand as reminders to the work and dedication of an age very different from our own, and preserving local history electronically dovetails nicely with our call as librarians and teachers.

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Jennifer
I live in Evansville, Indiana in the southwest corner of the state. Evansville is fortunate to have a beautiful historic district of victorian homes, as well as Angel Mounds, an Indian community from around 1100CE, a rich local history from World War II, and we are minutes from places like historic New Harmony and Hoosier National Forest. Growing up in Indianapolis, which also has a lot of preservation sites, that offer unique learning experiences, gave me the love for history. I currently live in a house that is over a hundred years old, and was built by my Great-Great Grandmother, Katie Kyle. The family lived on the income from renting the house and Katie did piece-meal sewing her entire life. Just doing renovations gives an opportunity to peer into the past which has always held a fascination for me. It is wonderful to see the variety of places being preserved today that I have learned about through this project.

Lisa
I live in South Bend, IN and grew up nearby on a dairy farm outside of North Liberty, IN within a mile of the southern border of the [|Potato Creek State Park]. In fact, my family owned fields that were converted into state park property during the 1960's and 1970's [|¹]. Having heard oral histories from both sets of grandparents ever since I was a little girl, I have a deep appreciation for historical preservation. One notable family fact that I've been fortunate to have had passed down to me is that my [|great-great-great-great-great grandfather Abraham (1806-1872)] is the very first gravestone as you enter the Sumption Prairie Cemetery through the Kern Road entrance. In 1830, Abraham Whitmer homesteaded the land that became the family farm, and which land my grandfather, my uncle, my step-father and brother farm to this day.

Yvette
After living in Indiana for 8 years, we relocated to Durham, NH, where my husband was fortunate to find an academic job close to his parents. While researching the Judge Langley house, I came across records of my ancestors! I have a decent genealogy which cuts off with Joshua Burnham (b. 1720, no location listed)--and follows other branches in the family back; however, in the __History of the Town of Durham New Hampshire__, a [|Joshua Burnham] with the same birth year is listed as owning land in the neighboring town of Lee. Since Joshua's son ends up in Orange County, Vermont, (where my geneology cuts off) it's very likely that the elder Joshua is the same person.

=Challenges=

As stated above, one unique challenge our group faced was geographic in that Yvette is currently living in New Hampshire.

Each group member strove to help support each other whether through advice on how to perform editing tasks on the wiki itself, gathering information on each others' topics, editing and communicating through the above-mentioned spaces.

Two tutorials designed by Lisa throughout the project that addressed specific questions are listed below:






 * //This Wiki was created through the collaborative efforts of Yvette Couser, Jennifer Greene, and Lisa Wynn in the fall of 2007 for SLIS603 High Tech Learning.//**