Civil War Ironclads is a new blog I’ve started to publish content I discover on my trek towards producing a short video on the USS Monitor. I fully expect this survey of the USS Monitor’s creation, role, and impact will require that I invest time and webspace on other ironclad designs and vessels. Therefore, the effort will not present the USS Monitor in a historical vacuum. However, that vessel will be the ‘means’ by which I pursue all my project goals.
Just what are those goals?
I’m glad you asked! Here are the important ones…
1. My love of Civil War History, The United States, and Brooklyn are all wrapped around the USS Monitor.
2. Current classroom-compatible media, for any History course, share a few drawbacks: they are mass-produced and thus not tailored; they’re expensive; universal compatibility with the myriad of devices available today is lacking.
3. I’m always searching for meaningful projects to involve my children ans students. I never liked any assignment or activity whose goal was to keep students ‘busy’. I want students to participate in the formulation of a plan that is meant to achieve a goal. The learning comes with the plan development and its execution. An failures along the way will augment the experience and fire the creativity of the young minds.
Ostensibly, the goal of this project is to produce a video by the Spring of 2013. However, the content published on the blog and other online venues will go far beyond the edited video. I intend on making all content readily accessible and provide the reader with all bibliographic data so their journey does not end with my project.
If all or part of this quest appeals to you, why not join me at Civil War Ironclads and collaborate with me as I try to discover the USS Monitor.
