ALDRIDGE STATE HIGH SCHOOLSEMESTER: 1 Year 12

Category 3 – Multi-modal Presentation Draft Date:

Student: ______Due Date:

Teachers: ______

Theme: History and Futures

CONDITIONS

  • This is to be completed in school, and at home, using any available resources.
  • Both primary and secondary sources should be used- including internet, hardcopy texts, journals and magazines, and video etc
  • You must hand in a script for your multimodal (Approx 10 – 15 Minutes)
  • You must hand in annotated notes, drafts and any other material you use in preparing the presentation.
  • Your complete script must include a reference list and bibliography.
  • You must use a system of referencing appropriate for the generic structure: and that does not interfere with the flow of the end product.

TASK DESCRIPTION

Research one of the issues from the following page and analyse and evaluate the history and future of this global issue. You must create an hypothesis and argue your conclusions through a multi-modal presentation.

The following must be included in this process

  1. Clearly state the focus of your investigation.
  2. Definitions of terms used
  3. Annotated Bibliography
  4. Evidence of evaluation of sources
  5. Reflective Journal
  6. Backgrounds, changes and continuities: motives and causes.
  • What is the cause of the problem?
  • What is the scale and scope of the problem?
  1. Effects, interests and arguments
  • What are the major effects of the problem?
  1. What are the possibilities for the future?
  2. What does the evidence suggest will probably happen?
  3. What is your preferred future?

Your presentation should create class discussion in the following areas:

Possible futures: Alternative versions of the future that might happen

Probable futures: Alternative versions of the future that are most likely to happen

Preferable futures: Alternative versions that we want to happen

Possible topics- Theme: History and Futures

Economic and political issues in Australia and the world
Employment
Consumption - Growth
Political Systems
National Sovereignty
Population Growth
Global Climate Change- global warming
Food and world hunger- Judy
Energy sources- traditional, non-renewable fossil fuels and alternative, renewable energy sources
Environmental Pollution
Sustainable development
Global political trends / Societal Fragmentation
Educational learning trends
Global Spiritual/ Religions/Consciousness
Technological changes, biotechnology,
genetic modification
Environmental Issues
Global power
Lifestyle changes
Population
The Future of the Individual
The Future of Globalization
Securing the Future
Longevity Medicine / The Innovation Economy
Child/Slave labour
Ethical dilemmas — moral, legal, medical, scientific
Health and wealth distribution
Gender
Human rights
Child labour / slavery
History and the “posts” postmodernism,
post-industrialism,
post-colonialism,
post-culturalism
Student’s own choice. Please discuss with teacher

Introduction/Overview:

Why Studying the Future and Change is Important. Change is happening at an ever faster rate today--driven partly by technological changes leading to changes in all other areas of our lives, and by the increasing interdependence between countries and peoples today. It is necessary for governments, businesses, organisations, and people to better understand change and the future, since we will all be living and working in a future world that promises to be different from today in significant ways. When people better understand change, they also often see more opportunities for their lives and ways to better positively influence the future that is being created. (Dr. Linda Groff & Dr. Paul Smoker Co-Directors, Global Options Home Page:

These inspirational quotes show that studying our theme, “History and futures” has a history of its own, dating back at least to the Roman philosopher Emperor - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. --- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Roman Emperor (121 - 180 A.D.)

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.--- Theodore Hook

The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn. --- Alvin Toffler

The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet.--- William Gibson

If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible he is almost certainly right, but if he says that it is impossible he is very probably wrong. --- Arthur C. Clarke

Too often we forget that genius, too, depends upon the data within its reach, that even Archimedes could not have devised Edison's inventions. --- Ernest Dimnet

We are prisoners of our own metaphors, metaphorically speaking...--- R. Buckminster Fuller

Keep on the lookout for novel ideas that others have used successfully.Your idea has to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you're working on. --- Thomas Edison

I have more respect for the fellow with a single idea who gets there than for the fellow with a thousand ideas who does nothing. --- Thomas Edison

I'm looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done.--- Henry Ford

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.--- Winston Churchill

One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us. --- Michael Cibenko

A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future. --- Sidney J. Harris

As Herman Kahn once said, "The most surprising future is one which contains no surprises."

What is a Multi-modal Presentation?

The presentation has to be interactive and interpretive. It can be in any form other than a formally written assignment. Students may work in small groups.

Examples of presentation format include - Video with commentary, interactive web page, dramatic presentation with script, art work with commentary, power point with commentary etc.

Students must do general reading to gain an overview of the topics available and decide on a focus topic as soon as possible.

The presentation must show evidence of students engaging in the inquiry process. Notes, referencing, reflective journal etc.

The presentation must be interactive and interpretive. The audience should be given the opportunity to become involved in the topic and participate in someway by doing some or all of the following.

  • Ask the audience questions and respond to their comments.
  • Initiate and guide a debate or discussion with the audience on your topic. (based on research)
  • Give the audience options / allow them to select choices on a web page to see alternative paths one could follow in your inquiry.
  • Ask students to help you with a survey on the topic to gauge the attitudes and opinions of the wider community.

Resources Text / Journals

New Internationalist – Copies in the library. A must read Journal - Issues

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-Web Sites go to Social Science web site

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-The Journal of Futures Studies (JFS) is published by the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies,

-TamkangUniversity, Tamsui, Taipei, Taiwan -

HawaiiResearchCenter for Futures Studies - (HRCFS) is one of the oldest and best-known futures-oriented academic research institutes in the world. Located within the Department of Political Science of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the HRCFS, through research and consultation, enables individuals, communities, government agencies, and business organizations to examine possible and preferred futures.

The Centre for Future Studies explores the geography of time. We scan the horizon to identify the contours of change and their likely consequences, five to fifty years ahead. We aim to give our clients a strategic advantage by mapping the critical pathways to the future.

For each of the five aspects of inquiry shown below, state the focus questions that could guide an

investigation into your topic.

Sample Focus Questions
Your inquiry must include questions related to each of the aspects listed below. The questions suggested here are provided as a guide. If student research and discussion is focused on a significant number of the following questions the process of inquiry will exemplify the theme – History and futures.
Definitions / What is the topic and key question that will guide this inquiry?
What justifications are there for focusing on this inquiry topic?
What are the predictions for the future in relation to your inquiry topic?
What are the limitations of your inquiry topic in terms of time and space?
Sources / What sorts of sources may be useful in an historical study of future trends in this inquiry topic?
What primary and secondary sources may be relevant and reliable for this inquiry?
Are there special problems related to the availability and reliability of sources for an historical study of the future?
Backgrounds
Changes
Continuities
Motives
Causes / What are the current trends in relation to the inquiry topic?
How have such trends been perceived in the past?
What are some likely causes of these changes or continuities?
What changes or continuities could occur in this area in the future?
What changes or continuities should occur in this area in the future?
Effects
Interests
Arguments / Who may have motives for causing this change or continuity and what historical evidence do we have for these assumptions?
What were the effects on individuals and groups of the changes and/or continuities identified in this inquiry?
When it began, who was advantaged by this change and/or continuity and who was disadvantaged?
From a futures perspective, to what extent may the long-term advantages of this change and/or continuity outweigh the disadvantages?
Reflections
and
Responses / What are you learning about this issue, its history and its possible and probable future?
What connection can you see between this study, and others that you have done or might do?
What problems did you encounter in the research, and how did you respond to them?
How is this study helping your understanding of history as a discipline, and of the history of the future?

Student Guide to Research Assignment

  1. Define the scale and scope of the problem or issue to be investigated
  • Find definitions from a variety of sources.
  • Comment on the level of agreement on defining the problem?
  • Why have you chosen this topic?
  • What are the limitations of your inquiry in terms of time periods, scale, scope and space.
  1. Sources
  • What useful sources have you found to study future trends in this inquiry topic?
  • What primary and secondary sources may be relevant and reliable for this inquiry?
  • Are there special problems related to the availability and reliability of sources for an historical study of the future in this topic?
  • Who are the authorities on this topic?
  • Is there general agreement on the broad issues of this topic?
  • What are the areas of greatest disagreement or conflict?

3.Backgrounds / Changes / Continuities / Motives / Causes

Causes

  • What are the major causes of the problem?
  • Is there general agreement on the causes of the problem?
  • Are there any identifiable groups that hold particular perspectives on the problem?

Change and Continuities

  • What are the current trends in relation to the inquiry topic?
  • How have such trends been perceived in the past?
  • What are some likely causes of these changes or continuities?
  • What changes or continuities could occur in this area in the future?
  • What changes or continuities should occur in this area in the future?

4.Effects / Interests / Arguments

  • Who may have motives for influencing change or continuity on this issue?
  • What historical evidence do we have for these assumptions?
  • What were the effects on individuals and groups of the changes and / or continuities identified in this inquiry?
  • Who is most affected in a positive and / or negative way, by changes and/or continuity in this problem?
  • From a futures perspective, to what extent may the long-term advantages of this change and/or continuity outweigh the disadvantages?

5.Reflections and Responses

  • What are the possibilities for the future of this problem?
  • What is the probable future for this problem?
  • What is your preferred future for this problem?
  • What connection can you see between this study, and others that you have done?

6.Journal

  • What problems did you encounter in your research, and how did you respond to them?
  • What have you learned from studying this topic?

How to integrate your evaluation of sources and methods:

According to Inge, the political gains of the Plebeians ......

In Easton's comprehensive assessment of the problems of the Republic, he described the reforms and policies as being practical, illogical but uniquely effective. It is this sophisticated way of expressing a rational opinion and the criticism and appraisal of primary sources such as Livy and Polybius that makes this source reliable.

Starr acknowledged this as patriotic exaggeration, further adding to his historical credibility and reliability as a source.

Cairns holds the generally-accepted views that ......

It is perhaps a sign that modern readers are sensitive to political malpractice that modern historians seek to criticise whereas ancient historians are full of praise.

It is not fair to judge these actions from a modern viewpoint.

A recurring argument suggests that attitudes, laws and social customs favouring Patricians, created an atmosphere which increased the....

Traditionally, historians have divided the history of Egypt into three main eras.

While it has become trendy to investigate the history of women, the reality of old records ......

Many geographers have divided the islands into three main groups.

If PC Globe is based on CIA documents, then its accuracy would ......

Despite the limited survey instrument....

Raw data is in complete contrast to the collated data displayed in Smith (1995),

Expert's ideas cast an interesting light on the topic because she is (a communist, a 'greenie', a neo-

conservative, a radical thinker, a government bureaucrat, …..).

Expert's values are evident when he …..

While her view may accepted by a vocal minority, Expert's motive (to undermine the government) casts

some doubt on the reliability of her views.

Expert's accuracy is evident when he cites such respectable sources as Student's statistics.

Because this source is a personal diary, Expert's reliability can be questioned.

While some sources say ……, most sources make the point that ……

Despite the contradictory views of Expert, most other sources suggest ….

Even though most people think that ….., the views of Expert have been very influential in changing

people's attitudes.

As seen in Expert's views, ….

Expert's description shows …..

According to figures quoted by Expert, …..

Compared to Expert's informed judgement, the views of Student and Teacher may seem naïve because

they consider only a small fraction of the whole issue.

Many well-respected sources agree that ….

The current debate regarding ...

Each author has different views on whether or not...

Expert has argued that .....

While some scholars may differ, it seems that ...

This website is clearly the work of a passionate anti-blahblah group and, as a result, its credibility suffers

when it refuses to acknowledge alternative views.

The issue of .... has preoccupied economists/geographers/historians for decades.

There are many reasons explained by Expert and Student.

Expert has suggested …..

It would seem that Expert and Student contradict each other.

The weight of evidence would suggest that…

Considering all opinions, it would seem that …

Because Expert has an anti-government perspective, her argument is …

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography usually contains a brief summary of content and a short analysis or evaluation. Depending on your assignment you may be asked to reflect, summarise, critique, evaluate or analyse the source. While an annotation can be as brief as one sentence, the standard annotated bibliography consists of a citation followed by a short paragraph.

An Annotated BibliographyModern History in years 11 and 12.

This means in addition to the correctly set out a bibliography, you have to make comments about the usefulness of the source, using all or some of these points to guide you:

Readability (Suitable for high school students? University? Scholars? Written by a native speaker of English or Chinese—any problems?)

Depth of coverage (brief, general, detailed?)

Theme/Main argument – what question was this author addressing? What was his/her hypothesis in answering this question?

Bias (Did the author favour one point of view—either as a national of one country or another, or from the standpoint of a particular time—a Cold War outlook, perhaps?)

Applicability to your topic (How useful was it for answering your topic question? Particular insights into any aspect?)

Example 1

Hoepper, Brian, et al (1996). Inquiry I: A Source-based Approach to Modern History. Milton, Q: The Jacaranda Press.

Written for high school students; general coverage of how and why the Communists ultimately triumphed in China, including numerous primary sources. Credits CCP’s combination of attempted reforms which improved quality of life for ordinary people with their strong nationalism as they fought the Japanese and their pragmatic willingness to cooperate with people who were ideologically opposed to communism in order to defeat the foreign invaders. No obvious bias in what is said, although they do not include any criticisms of the CCP.

Example 2

Bowman, R. (2007) Ancient Greece for senior students. Melbourne: Nelson Thomson

This book consists of 70% primary sources and 30% text written by the author or other modern historians. While the author is not responsible for the accuracy of the primary and secondary sources, she is responsible for choosing the best translations and transcribing them faithfully. Bowman claims in the introduction that the primary sources in this book are not summarised or edited in any way. The selection of sources to be included in this book has all the potential to be biased. Bowman has selected sources which construct debate about the issues she has chosen to emphasis. The problem with this is that there may be other sources out there, and there may not be a historically-important debate in the first place. Bowman's sources are carefully referenced, and are chosen from a variety of publishers. This suggests a high degree of reliability, even if the sources were selectively chosen. Because the sources are excerpts, the context of the complete primary or secondary source is not apparent although short introductions explain the stance of the author and the nature of the original work.