Through my webquest, students will be better prepared to shape the world of tomorrow. Looking at the values for students in 2025, as outlined by the “Schools and Culture in the Future” course, my webquest encourages students to be responsible, logical, resourceful, and ethical. Focusing on the U.S legal system, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the Supreme Court and their rights as students. Throughout the process of the webquest, students will extensively employ their collaborative and analytical skills in order to evaluate Supreme Court cases, as well as issues in their daily lives. Acting as law firms and creating their own law suit, students will exercise their “ethical” and “creating” minds, outlined by Gardner in 5 Minds for the Future. Through the usage of wikis, Google docs, and interactive websites, students will gain invaluable experience using technological mediums to practice critical-thinking and interpersonal skills. The development of the skills and content exemplified in this webquest are crucial to preparing productive and successful citizens in 2025 and beyond.
My webquest enables students to thoroughly evaluate the idea of social justice, specifically the rights and responsibilities of students in the school system. Students will analyze how their rights have changed throughout modern U.S history. After assessing the status quo of students’ rights related to technology, students will attempt to resolve social injustices through the creation of a lawsuit (including both written and oral arguments). When creating persuasive legal arguments, students must be resourceful, logical, and ethical (all of which are values expressed in our class vision statement).
Lastly, my webquest relates directly to NCSS principles 8 and 9. In analyzing student technological rights in school and creating a lawsuit to advance these rights, this webquest aligns directly with principle 8.
“NCSS 8: The webquest requires students to think analytically about the consequences of change and how we can manage science and technology to increase benefits to all. Students will gain the knowledge to analyze issues such as the protection of privacy in the age of the Internet”
Through analyzing Supreme Court decisions and current affairs, and creating their own Supreme Court lawsuit, students gain a better understanding of the complex legal system, as well as state and federal government policies.
NCSS 9: The webquest task requires students to think systematically about personal, national, and global decisions, and to analyze policies and actions, and their consequences. Students also develop skills in addressing and evaluating critical issues such as peace, conflict, poverty, disease, human rights, trade, or global ecology.
