Mathematics for Business and Personal Finance

Unit 6: Managing Business Finances

WebQuests

The International Internet Population

Introduction
The Smithsonian Institution is planning a museum exhibit on international Internet usage. The Smithsonian believes that the Internet is a basic feature of many societies around the world. At the same time, not everyone has equal access to online information. The Smithsonian hopes to teach people more about Internet use and how it varies in different countries.

Imagine that to find the best displays for the exhibit, the Smithsonian is hosting a nationwide competition. Your class has been invited to submit entries. If yours is chosen, you will win a trip to Washington, D.C. to celebrate the exhibit's grand opening. Then, the exhibit will tour science and technology museums across the country, so lots of people will see it. Your work could really travel!

Task
Your class will prepare several entries for the competition. To start, conduct Internet research and write up your findings. Then, in teams, you and your classmates will create visual displays and an audio guide for the exhibit. The Smithsonian is looking for the most engaging entries, so be creative!

Process
1. Choose one country from the list to research:

China
France
Mexico
South Africa
South Korea

2. As you research, write down the answers to the following questions. In this country:

What is the population?
How many have access to the Internet?
How many Internet users have access to Broadband?
How do people access the Internet (personal computers, web cafés, mobile phones, etc.)?
What language or languages are used online?
Is Internet content censored or restricted?
What are the five most popular sites?
How is Internet usage different in this country than in the United States?

3. Use the news sites provided to look up recent technology trends in that country. Print out a story and bring it to class.

4. Once you are back in class, form groups. Your group is based on the country you chose. Start the group meeting by reviewing your answers and news articles. What are the most important and intriguing things you learned? Do your findings agree with what your classmates discovered?

5. As a group, you will create one display for the exhibit. Your display will illustrate an interesting fact about Internet usage in your country. If your group wins, the display will be on view at the exhibition. So, think about what format best suits the information you want to convey. You may choose from the following list, or ask your teacher if you want to make something else:

Map
Graphs or charts
Timeline
Picture collage
Poster
Video
Presentation slides

6. Next, your group will write a short audio guide to go with the display. The audio guide is a recorded message that museum visitors listen to with headphones. Yours should explain the display in about three minutes. The audio guide can include a story, a song, or dialogue with different characters.

7. Once your group has finished the display and audio guide, present them to the class. Are your display and audio guide effective? Did you leave your classmates with more unanswered questions?

8. Based on class feedback, make any necessary changes. Then turn in your written answers, display, and audio guide to your teacher. Now they are ready to go to the Smithsonian!

Resources
Here is a list of Web resources to use while researching your topic:

International Internet Usage

Technology News Sites

Evaluation

	Beginning 3	Developing 6	Accomplished 9	Exemplary 12	Score
Research	Information is inaccurate or inadequate	There is evidence of only a little research	Research is thorough and relevant	Research is thorough, and the information selected is detailed and interesting
Written Answers	Little relevant content is included	Some relevant content is presented	All content relevant to the topic is included	Content is complete, and additional interesting details are included
Writing Quality	Most of the writing is not in complete sentences, and most capitalization and punctuation are not correct	Some of the writing is in complete sentences, and some capitalization and punctuation are correct	Most of the writing is in complete sentences, and most capitalization and punctuation are correct	All of the writing is in complete sentences, and proper capitalization and punctuation are used
Visual Quality of the Display	The layout and organization are confusing	Information is organized consistently	Information is organized in a meaningful and attractive way	Information is extremely well organized, and the design eye-catching
Presentation Skills	The presentation is difficult to follow or too short	The presentation is complete and organized	The presentation is detailed, and student refers to notes only occasionally	The presentation is interesting, thorough, and memorized

Conclusion
Nice work! You submitted a highly competitive entry. The judges at the Smithsonian are impressed, and your class can expect an answer any day.