Week 4- Level 2 Challenge Option: Crush the Vote
CRUSH THE VOTE
It seems that everywhere you turn, people are trying to thwart civic engagement. State legislatures are making it increasingly difficult to vote and/or register to vote, school districts are requiring extensive background checks to volunteer in schools, law enforcement is cracking down on protesters, and cities are instituting additional rules for public demonstrations. For this Challenge, you will be tasked with creating an infographic that addresses the impact of one or more of these measures.
PREPARATION
- Choose at least one anti-civic engagement measure from the list below:
- Limiting early voting
- Requiring “Third-party registration” to help people register to vote
- Mandating background checks to volunteer in schools
- Increasing regulations for public protests or demonstrations
- Another measure that you uncover
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Conduct online research to determine the impact of these measures. For instances, has Florida’s new requirement of “Third-party registration” led to a decrease in the number of new voters being registered? If so, to what degree?
ACTION
Create an infographic!
- According to Google, an infographic is a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data. Remember: a good infographic is worth a thousand words, but only uses a handful! Check out this infographic about infographics: http://visual.ly/what-infographic-2 (Links to an external site.)
Links to an external site. - Go to http://infogr.am/ (Links to an external site.)
Links to an external site. to create an infographic about the impact of the anti-civic engagement measure you selected using the information you collected during your Internet research. Remember: the point is to use visual images (pictures, graphics, diagrams, charts, a collection thereof) to illustrate your findings.
Include a footnote that lists the sources you used.
REFLECTION
Write a 2-page paper regarding the following:
- Why are folks trying to curb engagement? What is their motivation?
- Ultimately, do you think the anti-civic engagement measure you selected is good for democracy or bad for democracy? Why?
- Do you think infographics are an effective way to communicate data or findings? Why or why not?
RESOURCES
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Title |
“Election 2012: Voting Laws Roundup”, Brennan Center for Justice |
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URL |
http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/election-2012-voting-laws-roundup Links to an external site. |
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Annotation |
This site outlines the the concerted national effort to restrict Americans' voting rights in 2012, as well as the efforts to pushback these restrictions by courts, the press, and engaged citizens. It will give you some ideas for topics for your infographic and help you begin your research. Just remember that you are not limited to the measures outlined on this site. |
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Title |
“Volunteer Background Checks”, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse |
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URL |
https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs16d-VolunteerScreening.htm Links to an external site. |
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Annotation |
This guide explores the expanding world of volunteer screening, identifies relevant laws as well as fundamental privacy protections, and offers suggestions for organizations and volunteers. References and additional resources are included at the end of this guide. |
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Title |
“Expensive background checks for school volunteers?”, Tampa Bay Times |
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URL |
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Annotation |
This articles explores the issue of mandatory background checks for volunteering in public schools. Additionally, the menu to the left lists other relevant articles. This will help you explore this issue if you choose to pursue it. |
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Title |
Infographic creator |
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URL |
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Annotation |
This site allows you to create interactive infographics and charts with a few clicks. You can join for free. |
RUBRIC
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No credit |
Below expectations |
Meets expectations |
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Infographic (substantive) |
The student created an infographic that fails to illustrate the impact of an anti-civic engagement measure AND/OR did not use data or list their sources. |
The student created an infographic that somewhat clearly illustrates the impact of the anti-civic engagement measure they selected AND/OR the data/sources they used are somewhat questionable. |
The student created an infographic that clearly illustrates the impact of the anti-civic engagement measure they selected using good data from reputable sources. |
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Infographic (visual) |
The student created an infographic that is lacks in visual appeal, creativity, and clarity. |
The student created an infographic that is somewhat visually appealing, creative, and easy to interpret. |
The student created an infographic that is visually appealing, creative, and easy to interpret. |
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Reflection |
The student did not complete the Reflection portion of the Challenge. |
The student responds to all 3 questions, but some of the responses are not fully developed and appear to be lacking detail or thoughtful reflection. |
For each of the 3 questions, the student provides complete and thoughtful responses. |