| Learning ...
Learning ... Learning
expanding knowledge fine-tuning one's critical thinking skills using the US Election 2004 as an event putting into practice meaningful & relevant thinking current in pedagogy/androgogy going beyond the "chalk & talk" approach. Charles Fernando Friday 29th October 2004 The "George Bush" site From about 25th October the above site could not be accessed from outside the USA. It had been hacked and traffic had been directed for a while to a spoof site. As a result "for security reasons" the site had been firewalled. But, of course, those who knew how to get in could do so! The BBC reports the problem This introduces also the idea of "weblog" current today. (Incidentally, the BBC indicated how to get into the Bush site even though it was firewalled!) Some material from the "George Bush" site Main Jobs & the Economy Compassion & Values Education Health Care Safety & Security Environment & Energy Agenda for America Some Fun ! Cartoons, parody sites etc. (Note: Includes a page with links to many anti-Bush sites!) 1 2 3 4 5 6 The "Kerry" Site As access to the site was possible, we have quite a bit of information here. Comparing the Candidates San Francisco Chronicle (14 Oct) NPR (accessed 27 Oct) The BBC (accessed 27 Oct) The Financial Times (26 Oct) Le Monde Diplomatique (Monthly English edition i.e. Oct.2004) How the World Looks at the US (results of international survey as reported in Yahoo News accessed 27 Oct) Some Sites of Interest (accessed 26th & 27th October) Wikipedia (section of the US Electoral College reproduced here) The BBC (main page of "Vote USA 2004" reproduced here) The Guardian (main page on the US Election and many linked pages) By the People Recommendation: Click the "Savvy Voter" button on the main page and see how information and guidance is provided regarding topics such as "how to" Dissect an Ad, Interpret a Debate, Analyze a Poll, Evaluate a Platform, Assess a Web Site, and View News Critically The PBS from the same organisation as above. Recommendation: explore topics such as "America's Role in the World" and "Online Deliberative Poll". NPR_Contesting the Issues Main page summarising the stand of the two main candidates on key issues The Buying of the President Main page and access to some key investigative articles from the "Center for Public Integrity" on the role of finance in the Presidential race. Fact Check Main page and access to interesting articles of site with theme "Holding Politicians Accountable" and subtheme "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not to their own facts" ... of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania Democracy in Action Main page and access to articles from the "Democracy in Action" center of George Washington University. Additionally you find a link here to studies done on issue ads during the 2000 campaign. Choices Summary information on a programme at Brown University that claims to support the engagement of secondary level students in international issues and contribute to a renewal of civic engagement among young people in the United States. School Programmes Information on various initiatives at secondary school level 1 2 3 4 Other : MoveOnOrg (An Activist Site) 1 2 3 (in "3" opposite one video clip is made available for viewing) Other: 1 2 3 4 (The last is at linking "religion-justice-election") Role Play & Debate (ref. Election 2000) (The video clips here are not accessible outside the workshops) This
teaching/learning exercise is based around the November 2000 US
Presidential Election when Americans cast their votes for their next
president.
George W. Bush and Al Gore each believed that he was the most
qualified, most trustworthy, and most able to lead America in the 21st
century. Each candidate believed he knew how best to improve education,
provide better health care, and use tax money wisely. The campaign was on. Watch a movie on Al Gore Assume you are a respected Senator of a key state, and you had to make a choice to come out openly expressing your support for one of the candidates. Who did you think should be President? One of your advisors has gathered two experts to introduce the leading candidates via a link. You are able to set apart a few minutes and agree to join an initial video conference. The the follow-up video conference takes place the next day and the issues at stake are explained to you.A few days
later you
attend a campaign rally of one of the two main candidates and
announce your support. See how
your
advisors react in case you supported George W Bush & in
case you
supported Al Gore This is one example of a tool used at Secondary School level. Much documentation is provided and used in group work in between the sessions. This thus becomes an example of "Active Learning". But beyond that ... wouldn't this kind of activity be useful even within the university programmes of Sri Lanka? Wouldn't the further development of analytical and critical thinking skills be helped? Wouldn't our young people see a relationship between issues discussed in the US and those of concern to us even within Sri Lanka? Is there nothing we can learn from such an exercise? What about exploring the implications? An article appeared in the Frontline Magazine recently based on an address given by the writer below on 16th August 2004 to the 99th Annual Sessions of the American Sociological Association. And now further on relevance to us in Sri Lankan Universities? Whither Higher Education Reform in Sri Lanka ? Is reform mainly about getting funds for more & more computers and sophisticated equipment ? Isn't what we really need a change reference "Teaching and Learning" with technology supporting it as appropriate? Is the use of technology by us within this little exercise above (learning also from others without "re-inventing the wheel") meaningful and appropriate? |