Webquest: History of Medicare Exhibition

Student Introduction

Your class has received a grant for creating a Web-based exhibition about the history of medicare in Canada. There are just two conditions: it must make the subject interesting for teenagers, and it must be accurate and informative. The grant agency requires that you make use of images and information from the Web resource Making Medicare: The History of Health Care in Canada, 1914–2007 and other authoritative Web sites.

Task

Your task is to develop an on-line exhibition that will be interesting to other teenagers. You will use the Making Medicare Web resource, as well as other reputable Web sites that you locate. You will need to work on an overall theme as well as a main message, select images, write text, and then create and make a presentation to your class.

Roles
Working in groups, each team member is responsible for researching, selecting images, and writing text for the Web site content assigned to him or her.

Student Steps

1. Divide your class into groups of four or five students.
You will each be responsible for selecting images and writing text.

2. Review the Web resource.
As a team, review the organization and content of the Making Medicare History. Notice how it is divided into eight time periods, from 1914 to 2007. Explore the History, Key Players, Geography and Costs and Benefits sections. Notice that the History section begins with a brief overview of the entire period. Notice also that each section contains text and images.

3. Divide the content of the Making Medicare History among all team members.
Each person could be responsible for two time periods or for one or two strands, such as Key Players and Costs and Benefits, over more than one time period.

4. Research your chosen content.
Familiarize yourself with your content. Think about the most important points to convey about your sections.

5. Discuss and refine the theme for the exhibition.
As a team, discuss what you have discovered in your research. What is interesting about your sections? Now try to decide on what the focus of your on-line exhibition will be. The broad theme of your on-line exhibition is the history of medicare. As a team, discuss what your project should focus on: the overall history, key people in the history of medicare, the battle for medicare, or a theme of your creation.

To refine the theme, think of how you would explain it in one sentence. Museums call this the Main Idea or the Main Message. As a group, write one sentence that is the Main Idea behind this exhibition. Possible Main Ideas are:
Medicare is a constantly evolving medical care insurance system.
The creation of medicare was a victory for everyday people.
The medical profession as a whole (including doctors, nurses, health researchers, technicians, dieticians) has benefited from medicare.

6. Create an exhibition outline.
Divide your exhibition content into sections, with each team member responsible for one section. For each section, decide how many images should be selected and how much text should be written for the caption. Be realistic. If each team member selects five or six images, and writes a 25-word caption for each, that will produce an exhibition of 20 to 30 images and 500 to 750 words. Should there be an introduction? Music?

7. Select images.
Individually, decide which images best convey your theme. Select the number of images that were decided upon by your team and copy them into a folder.

8. Write a caption for each image.
Individually, write text for each image according to the guidelines developed by the team.

9. Decide how to present the text and images.
How might you group the images? Should they appear clustered on one page or should they appear on separate pages?

10. Think of a title and write an introductory text.
As a group, come up with a catchy title for this on-line exhibition. Write a text to introduce the exhibition. This text should be no longer than 75 words.

11. Create a presentation.
Decide on a format and create your presentation from your text and images. Some options are two-dimensional mock-ups on poster board, a PowerPoint presentation, a Web-based presentation or a Flash animation.

12. Make your presentation to the class.
Present your exhibition, and then listen to the presentations of your classmates. Did you succeed in making the subject interesting to other teenagers? How did other groups make the subject interesting? How did this project change your view of medicare?

13. Use the rubric to evaluate your work.

Conclusion

In this Webquest, you had the opportunity to create an exhibition while learning about the history of medicare in Canada and the people and organizations that played a role in establishing the system that exists today, as well as the regional activities and the costs associated with it. We hope that this activity increased your knowledge and appreciation of medicare as an important social program, as well as your awareness of the Making Medicare History as a useful source of authoritative information.

Evaluation Rubric

Knowledge	Level 1: Beginning 1 point	Level 2: Developing 2 points	Level 3: Accomplished 4 points	Level 4: Exemplary 6 points
Research Skills	Uses few strategies. Takes no notes.	With help, uses some strategies. Takes some notes. Attempts to organize information.	Uses several strategies. Conducts organized research from this Web resource with some assistance.	Independently conducts organized research using all relevant  components of the Web resource, consults other reputable Web sites, and organizes research findings.
Score:
Technology Skills	Requires assistance to access and use electronic sources of information provided.	Requires some assistance to access and use electronic sources of information provided.	Independently accesses and uses all electronic sources of information provided.	Independently accesses and uses all electronic sources of information provided, accesses extra information, and assists other class members.
Score:
Teamwork	Team unable to agree on theme, storyline and method of presentation.	Team agrees on theme but not all members participate in final decision. Members are unsatisfied with process and result.	Team agrees on theme. Unclear if all members are unsatisfied with process and result.	All team members participate in defining the theme. All members are clearly satisfied with the process and result.
Score:
Presentation Skills	Reads notes to class and shows static images with no additional commentary.	Uses notes as guideline but does not read them. Presents static images and text with some commentary.	Uses presentation outline effectively. More than one presentation strategy used, such as PowerPoint, digital images, mock-ups of Web pages.	Uses presentation outline effectively. Successfully uses various presentation strategies, such as PowerPoint with visual and text media, animated images, sound and commentary.
Score:
Communications Skills	Rarely communicates with clarity. Rarely uses appropriate vocabulary.	Sometimes communicates with clarity. Sometimes uses appropriate vocabulary.	Usually communicates with clarity. Usually uses appropriate vocabulary.	Consistently communicates with clarity. Consistently uses appropriate vocabulary.
Score:
Problem-solving Skills	Unable to follow steps required to complete Webquest.	Is able to follow steps required to complete Webquest with assistance.	Is able to follow steps required to complete Webquest independently.	Is able to follow steps required to complete Webquest independently, and assists other team members achieve overall objective.
Score:
Application of Skills and Concepts	Shows little understanding of how Web resource could be used.	Shows some understanding of how Web resource could be used.	Shows good understanding of how Web resource could be used.	Shows thorough understanding of how Web resource could be used.
Score:
Total Score	/42