WebQuests (ICT Integration)

Lasting Impressions

"The real measure of an invention is not just how well it works or how impressively it is engineered, but how it changes our lives." - Time 2001 Inventions of the Year

“Where would we be now if it wasn’t for ___________?” is the question. The Department of Science and Technology is concerned about the shortage of young scientists and inventors and wants the public, and in particular learners, to begin thinking about how inventions can shape and change our lives. The Department of Science and Technology needs help informing and educating the public about the importance of inventors and inventions from the past. They want the public to understand that some technological tools and scientific advances from the past are still valuable. Some are still used today, and some have led to the development of other technological tools and scientific advances of things we use now.

Task

In this project, your team will be an advertising agency working on a media campaign for the Department of Science and Technology. They would like you to highlight inventions from around the globe, as well as those from South Africa. Your team will present their media campaign to representatives from the Department of Science and Technology.

Process

As your team begins to brainstorm, develop ideas, and gather resources, remember your main task is to work as an advertising agency to develop a media campaign. Your team will inform and educate the public about the contributions of technological tools, scientific discoveries and inventors from the past. In order to begin planning consider these questions:

Which inventor or scientist will we research?
How has this invention or discovery impacted upon society?
What is a media campaign?
How do we create a global appeal?

Your media campaign should include:

Newsletter
Brochure
Web page
Photo manual

All of these pieces should include a bibliography.

For this assignment, you will work in teams of four and you will divide your task into roles as follows (click on each role for more information):

Print Journalist

You will use Microsoft Publisher or Microsoft Word to create a newsletter about a female inventor or scientist whose invention or discovery from the past is still in use today. You can view examples of newsletters in Microsoft Publisher Wizard.

Desktop Publisher

You will use Microsoft Publisher or Microsoft Word to produce a brochure about a South African inventor or scientist who created an invention or made a scientific discovery that may no longer be in use, but has contributed to the development of another technological and scientific advancement. You can view examples of brochures in Microsoft Publisher Wizard.

Web Master

You will create a web page about an inventor or scientist from any other country whose invention / scientific discovery has contributed to any other technological and scientific advancement. You can view examples of web pages in Microsoft Publisher Wizard.

Photo Journalist

You will use Microsoft PowerPoint to create a photo manual, which uses pictures to document the appearance and function of a tool. The photos must clearly show how the tool is still a useful innovation today. Each photo must have a title, a brief description and an attribution.

As your team begins to brainstorm, develop ideas and gather resources, remember the task - work as an advertising agency to develop a media campaign for the Department of Science and Technology. Your team will inform and educate the public about the contributions of technological tools, or scientific discoveries from the past that are still useful today.

Resources

» http://www.southafrica.info/business/trends/innovations/inventions.htm
This web page provides information about the most famous South African inventions and inventors.

» http://www.invention-ifia.ch/
This is the International Federation of Inventors' Associations website. This site explains the purpose and objective of this international organisation. This site also provides links to other inventors and inventions sites.

» http://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/list.html
Time Magazine lists and ranks the "Coolest Inventions" from 2003. You can also view the cool inventions from 2001 and 2002.

» http://inventors.about.com/library/bl/bl12.htm
This website contains an extensive list of famous inventions.

» http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/indexa.shtml
This website allows you to search for inventors and inventions by name, and time period. There's also a link for African-American and Women inventors.

» http://www.invent.org/
This site allows you to search for inventors by name, invention, decade, or date they were inducted into the hall of fame.

» http://www.ipl.org/
This is a portal of annotated websites about scientists and inventors.

Conclusion

You and your team have researched inventions and discoveries of the past and analysed the extent to which these have influenced society and still do influence our lives to this day. In so doing you will have realised the importance of scientific discovery and innovation in the modern age, especially with a view to the future.

» Download the Newsletter Assessment
» Download the Brochure Assessment
» Download the Website Assessment

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