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Activity 28
Web Search: The Pros and Cons of Free Trade

Adapted from "Technology in the Classroom, A Global Perspective on Virtual Reality," in Issues in Global Education.  New York: The American Forum for Global Education, June 1997, No.142.

Grade Level

Secondary

Introduction

The Internet gives students and teachers access to an enormous volume of information. Because of the broad range of resources available, students can gather materials which represent multiple perspectives and then analyze and debate significant global issues.  Obviously, this activity can be applied to a wide variety of topics selected by the teacher and students.

Teacher/Student Objective

The goal of this activity is to provide students with opportunities to increase their skills in gathering, using, analyzing and evaluating information related to a topic of their own choosing through the use of the Internet.

Gauging Student Understanding

The progress indicators cited reflect desirable end goals.  Teachers should be prepared to use a wide variety of observational, testing and authentic achievement evaluation measures in judging the progress of students.

Given the opportunity to work in groups, the students will identify a topic relevant to their discussion of free trade and interesting to research.  They will demonstrate their ability to organize themselves to perform the necessary research, prepare a written report and to present their findings to the class as a whole.  This activity will further illustrate the students' capacity to use information technology for gathering, organizing and presenting the information.

Suggested Materials

• Students should have easy access to online capacity either in class or in another convenient facility.
• The teacher should be sure that students have the ability to obtain materials needed for their presentation: overhead transparencies, alternate computer access in the form of peripherals enabling them to project their computer findings overhead.

Initial Data for Consideration and/or Process

The assumption made by this activity is that the students have been studying the topic of free trade and its impact on the world economy. The initial discussion might be based around a statement such as the following:

"More wealth will be created in 1998 than in any previous year in history and, since the rate of population growth is coming down, this new wealth will go further." The Economist

Briefly review the fundamental concepts of free trade and free markets.  Some of the questions the class might want to examine are:

• What policies should the United States promote to support the concepts of free trade?
• What policies are being pursued presently?  Which are being considered by Congress and the President presently?  What evidence is there of other countries pursuing similar or different policies?
• What are the presumed benefits of these policies?
• Who will benefit primarily from such policies?  Is the benefit widespread or limited?
• What are the disadvantages of free trade?  Who stands to lose?
• To what extent, if any, should American workers be protected?
• What is the role of the government?

Other Possible Activities

• Students might research the responses to technology through the ages.  This topic could form the basis of an extended interdisciplinary unit which may include literary works (e.g., Charles Dickens, H.G. Wells, Karel Capek, Jules Verne and Mary Shelley); printing, art and music; transportation, etc.
  
  
  

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