Topic: Can iPods and Learning Co-Exist?

Introduction: Each year at the beginning of school, you receive a copy of DeKalbCounty’s Code of Student Conduct. Throughout the first week of classes, teachers spend time reviewing the mandates of this document, you are quizzed on DeKalbCounty’s expectations for its students, and you sign a document acknowledging your receipt and understanding of DeKalb’s behavior policies. You know the drill. You probably also know that, as part of its Code of Student Conduct, DeKalb County has a rule prohibiting students from using electronic devices during instructional time or on school busses – including iPods.

The Task: Educational research indicates that students are more likely to follow rules and expectations when they see and understand the reason and logic behind these entities. Your goal throughout the course of this webquest is threefold. First, you need to do some research and try and figure out why DeKalbCounty has banned iPods (the cons of iPods in schools). Second, you need to decide whether or not you agree with the county’s decision (your position/claim). Third, you need to write prepare and write a brief to be presented to the DeKalb County Board of Education. Your brief should be 2-3 pages, and either needs to (a) affirm and uphold the County’s decision to ban iPods in schools, or to (b) refute this rule as unnecessary. In either case, make sure you provide lots of citations from your research that uphold your assertions.

The Process: You will be using the internet to gather research for your brief.

  1. Gather research that you believe the school board may have used to justify its ban on iPods. You may come up with your own search terms, or you may use the links posted on “The Resources” page.
  2. Decide how you feel about the school board’s decision. Do you agree with the ban on iPods or do you disagree? This decision will become the focus of the brief you write and present to the school board.
  3. The best briefs are the ones that acknowledge and refute counter-arguments. Do your research! Although the school board has decided to ban iPods, in what ways might this decision actually negatively impact students and academic performance? Is this negative impact enough to warrant a change in the school board’s policy?
  4. Prepare a 2-3 page brief in which come to a final judgment about the school board’s current policy against iPods. Your brief must be typed and must include citations from your research that work to support the position you are taking.
  5. In addition to your brief, print out and attach a copy of all of the information you use and cite in your brief (i.e. copies of articles, websites, etc.).

Resources:

The Evaluation:

School Board Brief Rubric
Criteria / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
The claim / I make a claim and explain why it is controversial. / I make a claim but don't explain why it is controversial. / My claim is buried, confused and/or unclear. / I don't say what my argument or claim is.
Reasons in support of the claim / I give clear and accurate reasons in support of my claim. / I give reasons in support of my claim but I may overlook important reasons. / I give 1 or 2 weak reasons that don't support my claim and/or irrelevant or confusing reasons. / I do not give convincing reasons in support of my claim.
Reasons Against The Claim / I discuss the reasons against my claim and explain why it is valid anyway. / I discuss the reasons against my claim but leave some reasons out and/or don't explain why the claim still stands. / I say that there are reasons against the claim but I don't discuss them. / I do not acknowledge or discuss the reasons against the claim.
Organization / My writing has a compelling opening, an informative middle and a satisfying conclusion. / My writing has a beginning, middle and end. It marches along but doesn't dance. / My writing is organized but sometimes gets off topic. / My writing is aimless and disorganized.
Voice and Tone / It sounds like I care about my argument. I show how I think and feel about it. / My tone is OK but my paper could have been written by anyone. I need to tell more about how I think and feel. / My writing is bland or pretentious. There is either no hint of a real person in it or it sounds like I'm a fake. / My writing is too formal or too informal. It sounds like I don't like the topic of the essay.
Word choice / The words I use are striking but natural, varied and vivid. / I make routine word choices. / The words I use are often dull or uninspired or sound like I am trying too hard to impress. / I use the same words over and over and over and over. Some words may be confusing to a reader.
Sentence Fluency / My sentences are clear, complete, and of varying lengths. / I have well-constructed sentences. / My sentences are sometimes awkward, and/or contain run-ons and fragments. / Many run-ons, fragments and awkward phrasings make my essay hard to read.
Conventions / I use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. / I generally use correct conventions. I have a couple of errors I should fix. / I have enough errors in my essay to distract a reader. / Numerous errors make my paper hard to read.

The Conclusion: Congratulations! Your brief was so well-supported and logical that the school board actually ruled in your favor! Thanks to your hard work, students within DeKalb County Schools will have increased opportunities to learn, grow, and maximize their individual potential. You deserve a medal of honor! Hopefully, you now see how a little research and persuasion can be used to shape the policies that govern people’s lives.