ACTIVITY #1: POLITOPIA, THE LAND OF CUSTOM MADE GOVERNMENT (10 POINTS)
For your first activity, you're taking a trip to Politopia. Politopia is a land where you can customize your government simply by moving. Here's how it works:
The government's role in your economic affairs diminishes as you move North and increases as you move South.
The government's role in your personal affairs diminishes as you move West and increases as you move East.
Where you choose to live in Politopia represents your opinion as to the proper role of the government -- that is, the extent to which you believe the government should be involved in individual economic affairs and/or individual personal affairs.
One quick note ... there are obviously a lot of instructions below but don't let that worry you. Since I'm asking you to do some very specific things, I've given you some very specific directions so you won't be confused at any point. That requires a lot of instructions but the length of the instructions is not necessarily an indication of the length of the activity!
Step 1 -- What's Politopia?
Start by following this link - http://www.politopia.com/introduction1.htm - to the introduction section of Politopia. On each page of the introduction, make certain you understand the information on that page before using the 
button. On the introduction pages you will also see links to many other things, which you are welcome to explore later. Initially, though, once you understand the introductory material on a page, use the button to continue to the next page.
Step 2 -- What's the "best" place to live?
When you reach the end of the introduction, you will see a 
button. Use that link. Before you take the quiz, Politopia asks for some personal information. Since the final link to the quiz won't work unless you fill in the information, you'll have to answer the questions but it's up to you whether or not to use your real information. The people who've put Politopia together are legitimate so I don't think you'll have any problems if you provide your real information. (I think they're collecting data for a study.) However, if you prefer to provide bogus information, it won't interfere with your activity in any way.
Once you've filled in the information requested, you can use the take the quiz link to start the quiz. The quiz has about 15 questions and you must answer each in order to move on to the next. The questions are opinion questions so there is no right or wrong answer but it's important for this activity that you read each question and the possible answers carefully and take your time deciding which of the answers best fits how you feel about government.
Step 3 -- What's in the rest of the country?
When you answer the last question, you will go to a map of Politopia and, based on your answers on the quiz, a description of your political views about the proper role of government. It will begin with something such as "SE- You would feel most at home in the Southeast region because you advocate ..." Read your results carefully. You might even want to print the page or copy and paste the results into a Word doc. (It's sometimes hard to get back to a page in Politopia.)
After you've read your results, don't click on the Next button. Instead, look for the Interactive Map link at the top and/or bottom of the page. Use that link to go to a more detailed map of Politopia. If you move your pointer over each section of this map, you will see a description of the role of government in that section. Each description is brief and I'd like for you to read all of the descriptions in the following order.
Centerville
West
East
North
South
Northwest
Northeast
Southeast
Southwest
Begin by putting your mouse pointer over the word Centerville and reading the paragraph that pops up. Continue with the rest of the list above. If you follow a different order than the one given in the list, that's okay ... the order I've given you seems to make more sense to students who aren't used to these concepts. If you click on each section, you will also meet some of the people who live there. If you wish to do that, that's fine with me but remember that for this activity you need to look at the descriptions of the regions, not the residents.
Step 4 -- Is this the right result?
I'd like you to try one more quiz in order to test whether or not you think your Politopia results were valid. The quiz you're about to take has questions that are more specific and more policy oriented than the Politopia quiz. To start, go to http://idealog.org/en/quiz. When you arrive, you'll get a pop up asking if you are sure this is where your teacher wants you to be. Just ignore it and click OK. You are now at the first page of the two-page introduction. You will also see a link for a tutorial. I'd love for you to go through the tutorial but it is NOT a requirement for this activity.
Use the Self-Test link to access the quiz. Again, you cannot advance to the next question until you answer the current question. Since these questions are more policy-oriented, it's possible you'll be asked your opinion on an issue about which you know nothing. If so, just consider the question carefully and answer as best you can. On each question, you'll chose A or B.
Once you've answered all 20 questions, you'll get your results. With this quiz, you'll get a box divided into fourths rather than a written description. Since we skipped the tutorial, you'll need to study the box for a few minutes but I think you'll understand it and understand your position within the box. You cannot copy-and-paste the box but, again, you might consider printing the page or even sketching the box on a piece of paper so you'll have the results.
Step 5 -- Summarizing the Results
Once you've finished what you need to do on both the Politopia and Idealog sites, write a summary of your results that includes the following.
your Politopia quiz results
a brief description of the four Politopia regions -- Northwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest
your Idealog self-test results
whether or not you think the two results are the same or at least similar and, if not, why you think that might be
whether or not you agree with either or both of the results -- In other words, after thinking about it, are the two results pretty accurate in describing your views on the role of government?
make specific and detailed connections to course content (Sometimes students do a good job of summarizing what is in the course material, but do not connect that summary to an activity they have completed. Other times, students tell a great story, but fail to connect the story to course materials.)
Three quick points ... First, I encourage you to use the vocabulary that the sites use but I will NOT accept copy-and-paste answers. Second, the descriptions of the four Politopia regions are pretty good descriptions of the various ideologies in American politics. Use your work to show me that you understand them. Third, always (always!) include course concepts in your work. If you're reading your margin notes and watching the presentations, you'll have plenty of material from which to choose on every activity.
Please be careful to use correct spelling and grammar.
Step 6 - Getting Your Work to Me
By the deadline shown in the Course Schedule on the main page of the syllabus:
Send me your answers to the six items requested in the body of a new email to dramyglenn@earthlink.net.
Put only your name and Activity #1 at the beginning of your email.
Be careful to use the correct subject line. If you are not positive you know the correct subject line, go back and read your syllabus carefully. Emails with incorrect subject lines will not reach me. At best, you'll correct your mistake later and your assignment will be late. At worst, your assignment will never reach me and you'll receive no points for it.
Late answers will lose one point per day late, including weekends and holidays.
READ THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS FROM THE MARGIN NOTES.
