Carl:

1. Do the websites listed archive news articles about candidates/issues from different newspaper or news sources. Could I read the views of the Columbus Dispatch or the Cleveland Plain Dealer about Ken Blackwell for instance?

2. If yes or question 1. Is there a formula for what candidates/issues are covered and what isn't? For instance: Governor-yes, school board members- no, or gun control legislation-yes, parks funding-no. This might help me know what we can or cannot find on these sites.

3. There are many Annenberg related sites listed as resources. Which site is deemed the most appropriate site for students to regularly start at as a gateway to the other sites?

4. After a student graduates, can they still access these sites? If not, what is available to keep them up to speed as an informed voter?

Hello Carl,

Let me try to address your questions and please let me know if you need me to clarify anything.

1. Yes. The Columbus Student Voices website archives articles from the Columbus Dispatch. You can sort articles by topic in the archive, and one of the topics we code for is "Gubernatorial Campaigns" which should provide major Dispatch articels on the candidates, including Blackwell. Also, click on the OhioElects link on lower right of the Columbus page for a partner site, ohioelects.com, which is run by the Dispatch. This site has additional election information and election news from the Dispatch. The other Student Voices sites have archived news from other sources (the national site includes Times and AP stories, Texas has stories from the Dallas Morning News, Austin American Statesman, etc.).

2. There is no formula, per se, but we try to pull stories that would be of interest to your classes. Gubernatorial campaigns are high profile, as are policy decisions made by local leaders. However, we are at the mercy of the news sources, themselves (if something is not covered in the news, we won't be able to track it). Use the drop-down menu on the news page to see the stories we code for, all others will appear under the "General" category. I should note, though, if there are issues you would like your classes to pay attention to that we currently do not code for, let us know and we will start doing so as best we can. And of course, if there are relevant Dispatch articles that you find which are not posted on our site, let us know as well.

3. It depends on your needs. Student Voices is a civics iniitiative and the Columbus site is a one-stop site for research, discussion, news-reading, etc. for students (and teachers). Students will find all the necessary tools on the Student Voices site to research their communities, find out how and where to vote, see who represents them etc. However, Justice Learning is a great site for students to learn more about law and the judicial branch of government. FactCheck is a site for students to research the news they read in more depth to investigate claims made by public officials. In other words, these sites work hand-in-hand with each other.

4. Students and graduates can access these sites at anytime. In fact, the Student Voices website is a particularly good resource for any citizen to learn more about the community and keep up-to-date on important news to be an informed voter. However, only students who belong to current Student Voices classes may use the Student Voices website fully. Our discussions are student-only and password protected, so the general public cannot participate in those.

I hope this helps!

Ronald A. Nirenberg
Annenberg Classroom Manager
nirenberg@asc.upenn.edu
ASK ME ABOUT STUDENT VOICES!

Michelle:

I enjoy the Student Voices curriculum on elections and Student Voices website. My students find the website to be fun and interesting. They love that they can go to the hot topic with the Columbus Dispatchalso.

Will there be an area where teachers can give suggestions on other election lessons that worked well for them beside on the discussion board?

Will the Speak Out discussion topic dealing with the elections be the topic for all the Student Voices schools in the fall? I think students would like to hear what others are saying in the different parts of the U.S.

Where are the Columbus civic projects? (The students in Columbus have completed many projects last year and this year.)

Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your support!

Yes. As part of the AnnenbergClassroom official unveiling, you will soon be getting a letter in the mail announcing a lesson plan program we will be running. We will be offering incentives to teachers to submit lesson plans for each of the AnnenbergClassroom subject areas, using AnnenbergClassroom online resources (Student Voices, JL/JT, etc.). We will also post the best ones for other teachers to utilize in their classrooms. Currently, the best way to discuss the lesson plans with others is through the "Annenberg Classroom >> Lesson Plan" area. We are excited to provide a place for teachers to discuss best practices and exchange ideas.

Definitely! We change the Speak Out topics about every two weeks (older one can still be commented on after that, they just move off of the front page), and with the elections fast approaching, we will definitely have election related discussions for students. It is remarkable how "into" the discussions students get, too, so we are anxious to get those started. If you have specific ideas for issue-related Speak Outs, please let us know.

We did not have any CAPs to draw from at the time the Project Showcase was created, but we will try to put some up. Also, that page was intended to show some examples only -- there were hundreds of other projects from the other cities that we had to take out to keep the length reasonable. We'll try to get the Project Showcase updated soon.

Thanks,
Ron

Ronald A. Nirenberg
Annenberg Classroom Manager
nirenberg@asc.upenn.edu
ASK ME ABOUT STUDENT VOICES!

Wayne:

In the Circle article they mention that a larger number of young people have cell phones as their only telephone. They do not have land lines. Since there is some evidence that they may be voting in larger numbers one would assume that candidates and media will be more interested in their opinions. How will their lack of land lines affect polling? It is my understanding that many pollsters gathered their sample from phone books lists. Thank you.

That's a great question, Wayne, and one I would be interested in investigating. The controversy over poll results and polling methods seems to grow every year, as does the use of poll results in "calling elections." The use of cell phones is surely going to add another wrinkle to this. If I find any material on this issue, I will post it.

Ron

Ronald A. Nirenberg
Annenberg Classroom Manager
nirenberg@asc.upenn.edu
ASK ME ABOUT STUDENT VOICES!

Raymond:

The units and lessons on Exploring the Fall Campaign Season through Student Voices is very good and packed with a variety of lessons, important census data on Youth Voter Turnout, Speak Out Questions...etc. The only question I have is: Would it be possible for the candidates to speak directly to the 18-24 age group on the Student Voices Website responding to questions from students and then allow the students the opportunity to rate the candidates based on their response or to give feedback? This might be an effective tool to help students to realize the importance of their vote.

Hi Raymond,

In a former iteration, we did provide a place for students to interact with candidates (or their spokespeople) by asking questions on the site and having the candidates (or their spokespeople) send in their answers. This was very successful in areas where candidates have been cooperative but very unsuccessful when candidates chose not to speak any more than they are required. We have stopped doing this after a lack support from candidates in general.

However, I agree with your assessment of the value of candidate-student interaction, so we provide templates, guides, and other resources for students to contact and meet with candidates in public officials. Clicking on "Find Your Elected Officials," students can get in touch via e-mail, mail, and even phone with their representatives. In addition, if you need help arranging classroom visits with candidates, we would surely be willing to help (in addition to the invitation templates, etc. found on the teachers page of the Student Voices website). It is extremely important that students understand that officials and candidates can be contacted, talked to, and debated with, and the one-on-one interaction is just amazing when it happens. We and project participants have been VERY succesful in getting those classroom visits and forums to happen. Just this year, I brought a two-term council member into a class in San Antonio. The discussion was so substantive and important, and the council member was so impressed with the students, he ended up giving his cell phone to ALL of the them to continue the conversation if they so desired. I'd hate to see HIS cell phone bill the month after that!

Thanks,
Ron

Ronald A. Nirenberg
Annenberg Classroom Manager
nirenberg@asc.upenn.edu
ASK ME ABOUT STUDENT VOICES!

Eric:

 

I'm  quite impressed with the nearly seamless integration you've managed to create using all of the Annenberg resources at hand.  I've used some of the campaign curriculum materials as well as the local government/census databases in class but as yet have been unable to put together a cohesive unit.   Thanks, I will use this material.

Speaking of statewide campaigns, looks like we've got a juicy campaign season coming up again this year.  From the DeWine/Brown showdown to the Gubernatorial race to hot wedge issues like the minimum wage ballot initiative, its a good time to be a Civics teacher in Ohio. 

From the CIRCLE/Vanishing Voter reports I can  see some usefulness in exposing students to the scientific polling process.  Will future polls/surveys (Student Voices genertated and otherwise) leading up to the election be made available this Fall?   Is there some way (unless I missed it) we can arrange for our students to participate in an "official" poll?  It would be interesting to analyze with them the results.  How about some authentic exit poll questions from the upcoming election?

Eric,

Thanks. The natural evolution of policy center projects into Annenberg Classroom makes integration of our initiatives by us and educators an easier process.  It is our hope that the collective Expert sessions will help to illustrate how this can be done for nearly any subject area, at any level, in any part of the United States.

November-- We've got our eyes on the state elections coming up in Ohio and across the board, so we most definitely will have Speak Out discussions and polls that will be immediately relevant to the election issues during the fall semester. Specifically, the Ohio minimum wage discussion we hosted earlier this spring (http://student-voices.org/discussions/discussion.php?DiscussionID=437) was already a lively one, so I imagine it will be even more vibrant in the fall. We will open a new Speak Out on that issue next semester, if it remains a hot topic.

Unit 2 (and handouts) of the Student Voices Campaign Curriculum begins to introduce students to the concept of polling and surveying. About twice a month, throughout the school year, we will post new click polls on the SV websites to gauge student opinion on different topics related to the Speak Out discussions. On the Columbus site, students take part in Columbus-specific polls while on the national page, we have responses on issues that affect students from coast to coast. Please let us know if there are particular issues you think will be most relevant leading up to the elections on either site. 

You are more than welcome to analyze and discuss results of present and past polls with your students (click on "All Online Polls" and then the poll question to get an answer breakdown). However, as you know, they are not scientific and cannot be without unique logins for each individual student.

In terms of exit polls, as a nonpartisan project, we must refrain from posting any "mock election" results before the official eleciton results. Since our poll results are "live," we are prevented from exit polling per se, especially in terms of office elections, but we will certainly introduce polls that will be relevant to the campaigns and elections of the fall. And let us know if there are specific issues you think should be addressed!

Thanks,

Ron