Topic outline
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This Demo Course is not connected to the Virtual Town Hall. For the Teaching Notes please have a look at the resource below. The links to specific chapters in the course will only function in a course copy.
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📊 Eingangsbefragung
Hilf uns, das Projekt mit einer kurzen, anonymen Befragung zu verbessern. Vielen Dank für deinen Einsatz!
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💭 Task 1.1.1 Overall impressions of our state
- Take a look at the wikipedia page of your state and explore your state in general. Try to understand what the people living there might think and feel about the upcoming election.
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📊 Task 1.1.2 First impressions of the political scenario
Take a look at the wikipedia page of your state to find out how many electors your state will send to the electoral college and what the voting behavior was like in the past. During the course of the project you will study the current situation in more detail.
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Discuss your ideas with your classmates (and potential American partners) in the Forum: First Assumptions.
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Keep your ideas, impressions and hypotheses in mind while working on the project. You can take notes and document your work in the Project Journal.
Refine your ideas gradually. At the end of this project, your task will be to make an informed prediction about how your state will vote on Election Day. -
After submitting your answers, you will see a personalized result that indicates where you stand on the political spectrum and which candidate aligns most closely with your views. Fill in this anonymous poll to see who your class would vote for.
Finally, in small groups discuss …- your class result
- striking statements: choose three statements (e.g. “…”) that were most striking to you.
- the tool: is the quiz an appropriate tool for deciding who you should vote for? (appropriate to decide who you should vote for)
Of course you do not have to share your individual results.
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📚 Additional Resources
🎧 Are you interested in what youth voters think about the candidates? Listen to the following podcast by Courtney Flynn Martino.
💻 To gather more information on the 2024 U.S. Election, take a look at the presentation by Courtney Flynn Martino from the Bertelsmann Foundation and at the Infographic.
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chayka1270 / pixabay
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🕵️♀️ Task 2 SWOT Analysis
In this task, you and your classmates will take on the role of campaign managers for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Your goal is to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of the opposing candidate.
Imagine working side-by-side with Donald Trump or Kamala Harris...
As their campaign manager, your job is to ensure their success in the upcoming election. You’ll make key decisions and guide the campaign’s direction. Analyzing the opponent's strengths and weaknesses is crucial. Think creatively and strategically about how to position your candidate for victory. Be thorough, professional, and respectful in your approach.
Good luck, and may the best candidate win!
This is what you need to do:
- Research: Gather information about the opposing candidate from various sources, including their campaign speeches, public appearances, media coverage, and voter sentiment.
- SWOT Analysis: Use the provided worksheet to analyze the opposing candidate's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Consider their background, policies, public image, and campaign strategy.
- Presentation: Present your SWOT analysis to the class in a creative and engaging manner. Highlight key insights and strategic recommendations for your candidate's campaign.
- Discussion: Participate in a class discussion where each group shares their findings and strategies. Reflect on how understanding the opposing candidate's strengths and weaknesses can shape campaign decisions.
📝 Individual Writing Task: Write a short text in which you reflect on the importance of strategic planning in political campaigns and the role of a campaign manager in shaping election outcomes. Explain how the SWOT analysis helped you understand the dynamics of the campaign and the competition.
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Discover the full version of this captivating graphic, available for download here. To dive deeper into its fascinating details, we highly recommend watching the accompanying video explanation on YouTube.-
🎥👀Task 3.1 Electing a US President
In this task, you will learn about the election system in the United States through an interactive video and a partner activity. Follow the steps below to complete the assignment.
- Watch the video for an introduction to the electoral system of the United States of America.
- As you watch, you will be asked questions and given a few tasks to complete. Take notes during the video to help you answer these questions.
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🧩 Task 3.1.1 Partner Activity - Information Gap
- The following activity is based on screenshots from the video. Divide into pairs, with one partner assigned as partner A and the other as partner B. Each partner should only focus on their respective version of the activity.
- Watch the video for a second time. Take notes on what you see in each image.
- Then, take turns discussing the screenshots with your partner and check their answers.
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🎮Task 3.2 Win the White House
Get familiar with the intricacies of the American political system through this game! By playing you will learn about the electoral process, the significance of key states in presidential elections, and the strategies involved in running a successful political campaign.
Instructions:
- Access the game through the following link: Win the White House Game.
- Once you're on the game's page, familiarize yourself with the instructions and mechanics. Your task is to run a simulated presidential campaign.
- Throughout the game, make strategic decisions about where to campaign, which issues to prioritize, and how to allocate your resources effectively. Pay attention to the electoral map, understanding the importance of swing states and how winning or losing certain states can affect the overall outcome of the election.
Take at least 20 minutes to understand the strategies in the game. - Once you are finished, answer this questionnaire.
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🇺🇸 Task 3.3 The Electoral System and Your State
Throughout this section, you've gained valuable insights into how the United States elects its leaders and deepened your understanding of the American political process. Before you move on to the next section, take a moment to reflect on your newfound knowledge.
Connect your understanding of the electoral system with the state you've been assigned and answer the following three questions.
- Who has your state voted for in past elections?
- Is your state a swing state or a safe state for either party?
- If your state is a safe state, which political party has your state voted for in past elections?
📚 For this task, it may be useful to look at the fact sheet for your state.
✏️ We recommend adding your answers to your Project Journal.
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Source: webtechexperts/pixabay.com
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🇺🇸 Task 4.1 The Campaign Issues and Where the Candidates Stand
In this activity, you will explore the key issues in the 2024 election and understand the stances of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on these topics. By researching and discussing these issues, you'll gain insights into the major concerns of American voters and how the candidates plan to address them.
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🎙️ Task 4.2 Campaign Chatter
After studying the campaign issues and the positions of the candidates, it's time to express your thoughts on a chosen campaign issue by recording an audio statement.
- Open or download the Campaign Chatter Worksheet.
- Complete the task and record a 1 to 2-minute audio statement on your chosen campaign issue.
- Share your audio recording with your classmates. You can use the following database to upload your statement.
- Open or download the Campaign Chatter Worksheet.
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Source: WebTechExperts / Pixabay
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🎥👀 Task 5.1.1 Watching Old Campaign Ads
- Watch the campaign ad videos above (about 5 min. in total).
- Based on these examples, what do you think makes a good campaign ad? Take detailed notes.
- Select one commercial you find particularly compelling to focus on in more detail. Watch it again and take notes on why you think it is effective.
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🤓 Task 5.1.2 Learning to Analyze Ads
For this task, pair up with a classmate and share your notes from the previous task.
- Discuss what you believe makes a good campaign ad in general.
- Then, introduce your selected commercial to your partner and explain why you think it is a good example of an effective campaign ad.
- Next, discuss your findings in class.
- As a class, agree on two commercials from the list to watch and analyze together. You will watch each commercial four times, focusing on a different aspect each time.
- Fill out the Television Commercial Analysis Chart during the four viewings, one column for each viewing.
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📈 Task 5.1.3 Analyzing Political Ads of the 2024 Campaign
Get together with a partner and take a look at political ads from the 2024 campaign.
- Visit the YouTube channels of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and select one ad from each candidate
- Analyze these commercials together using the Television Commercial Analysis Sheet.
- Then, present your analysis of one commercial to another pair and listen to their analysis of a different campaign commercial.
- Discuss whether you agree on their analysis and add any additional thoughts to your analysis sheet if necessary.
- Finally, have a few pairs present their analysis to the whole class and discuss the results critically.
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🤖 Task 5.2.1 What a Robocall with Former President Biden's AI-generated Voice Could Mean for the 2024 Election
Imagine AI not just predicting election results, but also swaying who wins and loses. In the following task, you will listen to a radio interview with Miles Parker on NPR about how robocalls could influence the US election 2024. -
📝 Task 5.2.2 Comment on Manipulation through AI
Think about how AI can change images and voices. Now, imagine deepfakes flooding your social media during elections.Comment on the possible manipulation through AI. In your comment, address the following questions:- Influence on voters: How could robocalls, deepfakes and other AI manipulation influence the opinions of voters? Think about the impact of these technologies on you and your peers.
- Regulating AI-generated content: How can we ensure elections remain fair and free from manipulations? What preventive measures would you suggest to prevent misuse of AI? (For further ideas look into what TeenWise, a teen fact-checking network, recommends; "Is this legit? Fact checks")
- Analyse and assess the impact of AI on politics using an example of your own.
- Do you know a specific case where AI has already influenced political decision-making processes? What lessons can be learned from this?
🛟 How to…
For assistance in structuring and writing your comment, please refer to the following guide. Starting on page 35, it outlines the key components of a comment and provides tips for effective writing.
Click here for further information!
- Influence on voters: How could robocalls, deepfakes and other AI manipulation influence the opinions of voters? Think about the impact of these technologies on you and your peers.
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🎥👀 Task 5.3.1 How Do Internet Memes Shape Our Politics?
The following video addresses internet memes created and shared by candidates and voters in previous elections.
- Watch the video learn more about memes and their impact on politics.
- Throughout the video, interactive questions will pop up. These questions are designed to help you reflect on the key points discussed in the video. Take notes during the video to help you answer the questions.
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📈 Task 5.3.2 Rhetorical Analysis of a Meme
In this activity, you will discuss the messages, stereotypes ideologies, and audiences of memes.- Gather in small groups and look at different memes addressing the US election. You can find memes nearly everywhere on the internet; they can be images on your social media feed or even a viral video. If you would like to get an impression of the 2020 memes, you can click here.
- As a group, choose one meme that you find particularly interesting. Discuss why you find this meme compelling and worthy of analysis.
- Before you start your analysis, get familiar with key concepts of memes by reading this handout.
- Use this worksheet to perform a rhetorical analysis of your chosen meme. Analyze how the meme conveys messages, stereotypes, ideologies, and targets its intended audience.
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Source: pixabay
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📊 Endbefragung
Hilf uns, das Projekt mit einer kurzen, anonymen Befragung zu verbessern. Vielen Dank für deinen Einsatz!
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Here you will find all the important information about the Student Competition.
IMPORTANT: You will also find the criteria for your product in this document. Please read it carefully.