Reflective Worksheet

Mapping Historical Resources, Harrisonburg, VA, Kevin Bord, History Department

Kevin Borg's presentation on Mapping Historical Resources, I critiqued representational and analogical visuals. Representational visuals are visuals that convey information through the likeness to the object. Analogical visuals are visuals that convey information through analogy of an object. The visuals during Borg's presentation came from microfilm his students had scanned as well as Google Earth. The purpose of these visuals was to create a dynamic of Google maps, teaching his students about the history of Harrisonburg. The map that was created with the microfilm was a map from 1912. The map was then precisely placed on top of a Google image of Harrisonburg today to compare the geographical history of the town. For an example, Borg showed us how there used to be a Tannery where the parking deck is now on campus. The intended audience for these visuals were the students. Borg wanted to bring the maps into the classroom for his students to see. The assumed experiences or viewpoints represented in the visuals is definitely history and geography based. The visuals presented were an accurate representation of Harrisonburg in 1912 compared to today. Having these visuals in front of me changed my understanding of this subject because now I have a clearer concept of the topic and what Borg and his students have accomplished. The software programs that Borg and his students used were the microfilm, Adobe Photoshop, rubbing sheeting and Google Earth Pro. This presentation was projected from a computer screen at Borg's accessibility. There is a possibility that the quality of the images were affected by the display system because of the fact that sometimes it's harder to solidify an image through transfer of display systems. Sometimes some visuals are a little off when shared on a different system then it was created. Lastly, I believe the students voices were heard in these visuals because this was all created. The students and Borg created these maps and they're eye catching and make people want to learn more.



Interactive Geological Maps of Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley Region-Steve Whitmeyer, Geology & Environmental Science

Steve Whitmeyer's presentation on Geological Maps showed representational visuals. The maps he showed during his presentation showed and represented what's actually there. Whitmeyer even presented cross section of the geological layers. Google Earth created the visuals for this presentation. The purpose of the visuals were for education and research. Whitmeyer showed us the geological layers of Virginia. One specific purple to know the geological layers is that when you are starting to build a foundation for a new building, you want to know what foundation you are building on so there's a firm foundation and no chance of collapse. The intended audience for the visuals were geologists and hopefully in the future for the public, industry, making it available for anyone to access. The assumed experiences represented in the visuals would have to be geology. The visuals were an accurate representation of the geological layers of VA. Google Earth lays out the layers of the region and then once you zoom in enough, you can actually see pictures of landmarks with the geology layers. The visuals changed my understanding of the subject since I am a visual learner and learn with my eyes. Even though Whitmeyer was speaking, I didn't completely grasp the concept until he presented the visuals. The software used for this presentation was Google Earth. The equipment that the visuals were displayed were with a projection screen linked to a computer. There is a possibility that the quality of the images were affected by the display system because of the fact that sometimes it's harder to solidify an image through transfer of display systems. Sometimes some visuals are a little off when shared on a different system then it was created.