Week 7- Level 1 Challenge Option: Digitally Rock the Vote

Digitally Rock the Vote

Multiple political observers, researchers, and civic engagement scholars have commented on the degree to which digital technologies are changing the face of our democratic republic. For this Challenge, you will take on the role of freelance designer and civic engagement expert who has been asked by Rock the Vote (http://www.rockthevote.com/ Links to an external site.) to create a digital civic engagement one-pager for young people who want to effect social and political change. Specifically, you must create a one-pager that presents effective strategies for influencing public policy. The document should speak to Rock the Vote’s target demographic and incorporate its music theme. Aesthetics and substance matter. Accordingly, you should put a lot of thought into both the content of the one-pager, as well as its design. A catchy title, slogan, and logo are encouraged.

PREPARATION

Read about Rock the Vote’s mission Links to an external site. so that you understand the big picture of what they are trying to do.
Think about strategies for influencing public policy that you think are most effective AND most likely to appeal to young people (under the age of 30).
Brainstorm a title, slogan, and logo for your one-pager. You are welcome to repurpose Rock the Vote’s current logo and slogan...just make sure to change it somewhat so that your one-pager is unique.

ACTION

Create your one-pager! Be sure to use a healthy balance of text and images, (and maybe even charts or graphs) to design an eye-catching one-pager document that presents effective strategies for influencing public policy that will appeal to young people.

REFLECTION

Write a 2-page reflection paper which addresses the following:

Do organizations need to use different strategies than they would use with older age cohorts to inspire and engage young people in the political process? Why or why not?
How does your "one-pager" exemplify those strategies?

SUBMISSION

Please make sure to turn in all of the following to Assignments:

Your "one-pager" (preferably sent as a PDF).
Your 2-page reflection paper

RESOURCES

Title	Rock the Vote: Building Political Power for Young People
URL	http://www.rockthevote.org/ Links to an external site.
Annotation	This page should serve as inspiration for your one-pager’s content and design. Specifically, you should read it mission page to get a sense of what the organization is all about, check out its logo and slogan, and browse its research page to learn about effective strategies for mobilizing youth.

Title

Examples of "one-pager"

URL

http://www.medicaidcure.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/One-pager-graphic.jpg Links to an external site.

http://topnonprofits.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Social-Media-Posting-Strategy-One-Pager-06-20121-e1340289642955.png Links to an external site.

http://leopoldleadership.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/sample_onepagers_2009.pdf Links to an external site.

https://www.google.com/ Links to an external site.

Annotation

Yeah, c’mon. As if I even need to list this. Just use Google to get some ideas! Here’s one idea for a search: “engaging young people in policy making”. Here’s another one: “effective strategies for influencing public policy”.

Title	5 Tips for Writing an Effective Slogan
URL	http://www.inc.com/ss/5-tips-for-writing-an-effective-slogan Links to an external site.
Annotation	The title says it all. This link will bring you to a slideshow that presents 5 tips for writing an effective slogan.

RUBRIC

	No credit	Below expectations	Meets expectations
One-pager (substantive)	The student’s one-pager did not present strategies for effectively engaging young people who want to effect social and political change.	The student created a one-pager that presented at least 3 strategies for effectively engaging young people who want to effect social and political change.	The student created a one-pager that clearly presented at least 5 strategies for effectively engaging young people who want to effect social and political change.
One-pager (design)	The student’s one-pager is boring and uninspired.	The student created an adequate one-pager that has some evidence of creativity or clarity.	The student created a one-pager that creatively uses text, images, charts, and/or graphs to present strategies for effectively engaging young people who want to effect social and political change.
Reflection	The student did not complete the Reflection portion of the Challenge.	The student provided a thoughtful response to the prompt that was less than 7 sentences in length.	The student provided a complete and thoughtful response to the prompt that was at least 7 sentences in length.