http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Fri, 24 May 2013 15:12:22 PDT Fri, 24 May 2013 15:12:22 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=83987 This material is meant to help faculty understand US Congress and suggest ways to teach about it.The self-paced workshop is organized around the twin responsibilities ofCongress members: representation and lawmaking. There are more than adozen individual units on such topics as What Makes for EffectiveMembers of Congress? or How Representative is the Membership ofCongress? and Lawmaking: Understanding the Basics. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=333723 This resource will enable students to: enhance their understanding of the US Presidential election using a visual, map-based approach; deconstruct the simple red state/blue state dichotomy used by the mass media; improve their geographic information literacy; identify patterns and trends that impact the election process; discover quantitative data sources that are useful for political and social analysis; and explore different election scenarios with an interactive map. This resource will enable faculty to supplement and enhance instruction about the upcoming election with materials to integrate into their course work, and help students conceptualize the election in a visual format. Maps for the project were designed in ArcGIS 9.2 using the US Census Bureau's Generalized Cartographic Boundary Files. State-level election data was collected from the US Federal Election Commission's Online Library. County-level election data was downloaded from the Geovisualization of the 2004 Presidential Election project at Penn State, and was improved with minor additions and error corrections. The interactive 2008 election prediction map is being licensed from Creative Ventures LLC and is copyrighted. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=84957 A learning object that supports learning about rhetoric based on Aristotle's persuasive appeals: ethos, pathos and logos. Effective communicators know that their message must be suitable for their audience in order to work. They need to take into consideration the subject matter, delivery, context and reception, but it is only through appealing to the audience that their message will be persuasive. The effective communicator must appeal to their audience's mind, emotions and morals.The persuasive appeals are the basis for the series of multi-media scenarios provided on this site. Although they can be analysed separately, these three appeals work together in combination toward persuasive ends. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=517725 A multi-seesion lesson plan that has students learning the 8 stages of genocide, practice applying them the the Holcaust, and then creating a multimedia presentation of a current instance of ethnic cleansing, which they will send to a representative asking them to take certain specific actions.