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Engaging the Next Generation of Citizens

Author(s)
Annette Boyd Pitts
Founding Executive Director
Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.
Charles Dziuban
Director of the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness
University of Central Florida
Jeffrey W. Cornett
Chair and Professor of the Department of Foundations and Secondary Education
University of North Florida
Session Information
Instructional Design/Course Development and Pedagogy
Great Idea
April 20, 2010 - 11:15am
15 Minutes
Salon A

 

Thepeopleunite.com combines civic education and technology in a blended environment to unite classrooms throughout the world in an exchange and exploration of public policy. Students explore their role in self-government and the importance of local involvement using a technology enhanced problem solving model.

This session will introduce conference participants to an online civic education resource for partnering middle and high school classrooms throughout the world. Combining online civics instruction modules with opportunities for classrooms to interact and learn about each others’ governments, this platform incorporates a variety of technologies to strengthen the use of technology in the classroom using a content-structured format. The inline initiative, thepeopleunite.com, introduces a problem solving matrix to allow students to identify problems in their local communities. Classrooms work on individual online projects to resolve the problems using public policy and then share their work in a secure environment with their partner class. The process involves a preliminary “getting to know each other” component and a wide range of modules addressing why we need government to evaluating public policy. Suggested activities and required postings are incorporated throughout each module along with objectives, worksheets for posting, and a variety of resources for class research and exploration. At the conclusion of the unit, classes post their multimedia presentation online and present their problems and solutions via an online showcase. Government officials and local resource persons are involved throughout the process. Currently classes in the United Sates, Hungary, and Romania are partnered to work together with classrooms in Peru and Panama scheduled for later this year.