Assignment #3

The site I selected to review is the home site for PBS’ Frontline and American Experience production, The Mormons. The site hosts the entire 4-hour documentary which is viewable online in two 2-hour parts using Quicktime or Windows Media Player. Also available on the page are links to purchase the documentary on DVD, the transcript of the program and individual interviews, critical press reactions, the journalistic guidelines which the documentary follows, as well as an extensive fact sheet on the history of who the Mormons are and an interactive historical map of their westward trek.

This website is extremely useful for students or simply for anyone interested in reading further about the origins, history and evolution of the LDS Church. It’s easy to reach most sections on the site from the home page, and links to the other sections are visible along a bar menu at the top of each page that is standard across the site. In that respect, the site is highly accessible. In general the site design is very informative, although some sections contain so much information that it might be overwhelming to more casual readers – fortunately there are simpler tools such as the interactive historical map and the summary for educators that simplifies and breaks down the documentary’s themes. The site also tries hard to be functional: for instance, inset tables of contents for the FAQ allow readers to click on a link and jump to the relevant answer.

The content and presentation on the site is highly professional. The documentary, in total about 4 hours long, is detailed and contains excerpts of historians, authors and theologians on the subject. It is scholarly in its approach but also narrative enough to appeal to a wider popular audience. The viewable segments are high quality and are split into chapters ranging typically about 10-15 minutes in length. Assuming the user has a relatively fast internet connection, the video streaming is easy to use and delivers a pretty good approximation of the complete documentary for free.

It is my opinion that hosted content like this – which not only provides the full version of the video itself but also supports the documentary with numerous other facts and resources for further reading, outlines the key themes and philosophy of the report, and provides transparent access to the methods and standards employed in its creation – is one of the best uses of the internet for such projects. The support for educators especially is extensive, including material for potential lesson plans as well as special ordering links. The streaming media allows free access to the program in its entirety. Overall I would give PBS high marks on the site’s design and usability. The quality of the documentary itself is very good and I personally learned some things about the Mormons from watching it, and I would recommend this site to anyone who wants to learn more about the LDS Church and the history of this religion.