RESTART
<h1>Have you ever wanted to be in the shoes of a Foreign Service Specialist?</h1>
<img src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/dyFlfjpYzGser8ErMn/source.gif" class="center-img" >
<h3>Well, here's your chance!</h3>
<h1>[[Let's begin!]]</h1>
Alrighty then - it's time to pick - whose shoes would you like to fill in?
<ul>
<li>[[Medical and Health Specialist->MHS]]</li>
<li>[[Information Technology Specialist->ITS]]</li>
<li>[[Engineering Specialist->ES]]</li>
<li>[[International Programs and English language Specialist->IPEL]]</li>
<li>[[Law Enforcement and Security Specialist->LES]]</li>
</ul>
<p>Welcome to the island of Kitang in Mernisia, 780 miles south of the equator. With a population of just over nine thousand people, Kitang's gorgeous beaches attract tourists from all over the world, including the United States. The low cost of living has also enticed a numberof U.S. citizens to settle down in Mernisia. Mernisia's tropical climate has also led to the growth of a number of animal species, some which aren't present in the U.S. The United States and Mernisia have extensive bilateral exchanges between each other.</p>
<p>[[Sounds neat!]]</p>
<p>Welcome to the island of Kitang in Mernisia, 780 miles south of the equator. With a population of just over nine thousand people, Kitang's gorgeous beaches attract tourists from all over the world, including the United States. The low cost of living has also enticed a numberof U.S. citizens to settle down in Mernisia. Mernisia's tropical climate has also led to the growth of a number of animal species, some which aren't present in the U.S. The United States and Mernisia have extensive bilateral exchanges between each other.</p>
<p>[[I'm ready to get started!]]</p>
<p>Welcome to the island of Kitang in Mernisia, 780 miles south of the equator. With a population of just over nine thousand people, Kitang's gorgeous beaches attract tourists from all over the world, including the United States. The low cost of living has also enticed a numberof U.S. citizens to settle down in Mernisia. Mernisia's tropical climate has also led to the growth of a number of animal species, some which aren't present in the U.S. The United States and Mernisia have extensive bilateral exchanges between each other.</p>
<p>[[Let's begin!!]]</p>
<p>Welcome to the island of Kitang in Mernisia, 780 miles south of the equator. With a population of just over nine thousand people, Kitang's gorgeous beaches attract tourists from all over the world, including the United States. The low cost of living has also enticed a numberof U.S. citizens to settle down in Mernisia. Mernisia's tropical climate has also led to the growth of a number of animal species, some which aren't present in the U.S. The United States and Mernisia have extensive bilateral exchanges between each other.</p>
<p>[[I'm ready!]]</p>
<p>Welcome to the island of Kitang in Mernisia, 780 miles south of the equator. With a population of just over nine thousand people, Kitang's gorgeous beaches attract tourists from all over the world, including the United States. The low cost of living has also enticed a numberof U.S. citizens to settle down in Mernisia. Mernisia's tropical climate has also led to the growth of a number of animal species, some which aren't present in the U.S. The United States and Mernisia have extensive bilateral exchanges between each other.</p>
<p>[[Let's start!]]</p>
<p>Alright - You are a Medical and Health Specialist working in Mernisia.</p>
<p>You start the day off just right - making yourself a cup of hot coffee in the clinic kitchen.</p>
<p>You then hear a bell at the front desk. There's a line of two families at the front desk - both wanting to be seen first. Who do you call into the treatment room first?</p>
<ul><li>[[Family 1 - after all, they were here first]]</li>
<li>[[Family 2 - they seem to be insisting that their child is seen first.]]</li>
<li>[[Ask family 2 why they seem to be insisting that their child is seen first.]]</li>
</ul>
(set: $patientsSeen to 0)
<p>You're now helping out family 1.</p>
<p>Family 1 consists of a couple. The woman claims to have taken a bad fall and has severe bruising on her body.</p>
<p>You measure height and weight, check her vitals, and ask her for her symptoms. As she is not a minor - you also ask her whether she is comfortable having her spouse in the room, to which she replies no.</p>
[[Ask her husband to step out of the treatment room]]
<p>You're now helping out family 2. You perform a medical check-up on the girl.</p>
<p>You measure height and weight, check her vitals, and ask her for her symptoms.</p>
<p>She tells you she has a fever and a sore throat.</p>
<p>While this could just be the common cold or seasonal flu, you notice that her symptoms are congruous to a virus - "Coldvid-99". While the virus is not deadly, it is highly contagious.</p>
<p>You give the family masks and also put on protective gear for yourself. What do you do next?</p>
<ul>
<li>[[Perform a blood test for Coldvid-99]]</li>
<li>[[Ask the patient whether she knows anyone with Coldvid-99]]</li></ul>
<p>Good call.</p>
<p>Family 2 claims that their child has a high fever and believe that she might be highly infectious.</p>
<p>Who do you decide to help first?</p>
<ul><li>[[Family 1 - after all, they were here first]]</li>
<li>[[Family 2 - a highly infectious disease should be top priority->Family 2 - they seem to be insisting that their child is seen first.]]</li>
</ul>
<p>You draw blood from the little girl and hand the test samples to your lab technician.</p>
<p>You know that it would take two days for the results to be processed and so you tell the little girl and her family to come back in a few days for the results. For safety, you tell the family to take the necessary precautions and self-isolate to avoid the potential spread of the virus. You also prescribe the girl some tablets to help reduce her fever.</p>
<p>Finally - you give the family a patient satisfaction survey.</p>
(set: $patientsSeen += 1)
<ul>
(if: $patientsSeen < 2)[<li>[[Check on Patient 2->Family 1 - after all, they were here first]]</li>]
<li>[[Wrap up for the day - it's almost closing time]]</li>
</ul>
<p>The girl's mother replies that she does not.</p>
<p>She also mentions that her child can't possibly have Coldvid-99 as she took a vaccine for it the previous day.</p>
<p>You realize that the girl isn't sick - her symptoms are just side-effects of the vaccine.</p>
[[That's so relieving to hear - but why wasn't the vaccine indicated in her vaccination record?]]
Good work today! It's time to head home.
[[Back to start->start]]
<p>You're right - good catch.</p>
<p>You communicate your concern to the family - and they agree - it's so strange that the vaccine was not noted down in the record.</p>
<ul>
<li>[[Try calling the clinic which the mother says they got the vaccination done at]]</li>
<li>[[Test the child.->Perform a blood test for Coldvid-99]]</li></ul>
<p>You call up the other clinic. They respond saying that on record, they did give the little girl a vaccine and are unsure why her personal health record was not updated.</p>
<p>You update her record and submit a complaint of malpractice to the MED - they might have made a similar mistake for other patients. You treat the girl for the common cold - giving her a syrup to reduce her fever.</p>
<p>Finally - you give the family a patient satisfaction survey.</p>
(set: $patientsSeen += 1)
<ul>(if: $patientsSeen < 2)[<li>[[Check on Patient 2->Family 1 - after all, they were here first]]</li>]
<li>[[Wrap up for the day - it's almost closing time]]</li>
</ul>
<p>Upon hearing that he has to be out of the rooom, her husband starts arguing with you. He claims that he needs to be there in order to ensure his wife gets the proper medical treatment.</p>
<p>A few minutues into the argument, the wife agrees that it's alright to have her husband in the room.</p>
<ul><li>[[Insist that she doesn't have to have him there]]</li>
<li>[[Respect her decision and carry on with her check-up]]</li></ul>
<p>You insist that she doesn't have to have him there. Notheless, she reluctantly seems to inist that he should be in the room.</p>
<ul>
<li>[[Respect her decision and carry on with her check-up]]</li>
</ul>
<p>You carry on with her check-up but realize that her bruising don't seem consistent with those from a fall. You suspect that this is a case of domestic abuse.</p>
<p>Suddenly the patient start complaining about pelvic pain. You check her tummy and notice that she might have a ruptured spleen.</p>
<p>[[Ask an assisting doctor to get her into surgery]]</p>
<p>Good choice.</p>
<p>The patient gets put into surgery and her spleen is fixed while her husband is in the waiting room.</p>
<p>You inform the other doctor about your domestic abuse suspicions. The other doctor tells you that they'll handle the case, ask the woman about domestic abuse, and report it to the authorities as needed. You on the other hand might need to turn in for the day - your shift is almost over.</p>
<p>What do you do?</p>
(set: $patientsSeen += 1)
<ul>(if: $patientsSeen < 2)[<li>[[Check on Patient 2->Family 2 - they seem to be insisting that their child is seen first.]]</li>]
<li>[[Wrap up for the day - it's almost closing time]]</li>
</ul>
(set:$ticketsResolved to 0)
<p>You check the ticketing system. Today you have a choice of two high priority tickets to choose from</p>
<ul><li>[[Fixing a bug in the database for the local clinic]]</li>
<li>[[Fixing a bug in the database for the local clinic]]</li>
<li>[[Help out with creating a new feature for the U.S. embassy in Kitang]]</li>
</ul>
(set:$ticketsResolved += 1)
<p>You open up the ticket. According to the ticket, the clinic computer displays the messgae: “error establishing a database connection”.</p>
<p>There are several possibilities for this issue. Which one do you choose to investigate?</p>
<ul><li>[[Corrupt files in the clinic system]]</li>
<li>[[Database overload from a traffic spike]]</li>
<li>[[Incorrect Database login credentials]]</li>
</ul>
(set:$ticketsResolved +=1)
<p>Get out those coding skills - let's help work on creating a feature for the U.S. embassy system.</p>
<p>The particular feature you're working on right now is a tracker to help log the satisfaction of people who come to the embassy.</p>
<p>[[Let's begin coding!]]</p>
<p>You pay a visit to the clinic to check for corrupt files in the clinic system, but there aren't any.</p>
[[Go back and retrace your steps ->Fixing a bug in the database for the local clinic]]
<p>Yes! This seems to be the issue! There has been a sudden traffic spike which has caused a database overload.</p>
<p>You refresh the system and close expired connections.</p>
<ul><li>[[Reach out to the clinic to verify that the system is working]]</li>
(if:$ticketsResolved<2)[<li>[[Help out with creating a new feature for the U.S. embassy in Kitang]]</li>]
<li>[[Turn in for today]]</li>
</ul>
<p>You call up the clinic through a secure line and verify that they are using the right credentials</p>
<p>Nothing seems to be amiss on their end.</p>
[[Retrace your steps->Fixing a bug in the database for the local clinic]]
<p>Yup! It's all good! Good work - and thanks for checking in!</p>
<ul>
(if:$ticketsResolved<2)[<li>[[Help out with creating a new feature for the U.S. embassy in Kitang]]</li>]
<li>[[Turn in for today]]</li>
</ul>
<p>Good work today! See you tomorrow for some more technical challenges!</p>
[[Back to start ->start]]
<p>[[Code some more!]]</p>
<p>[[And code some more - coding takes time!]]</p>
<p>Oh no - you've hit a blocker! You're almost done - but you need the backend team to work on the relay of information to the server.</p>
<p>While you can fix this yourself - it's better to create a ticket for someone else to address it for now. It's time to do something else.</p>
<ul>
(if:$ticketsResolved<2)[<li>[[Help fix the clinic bug->Fixing a bug in the database for the local clinic]]</li>]
<li>[[Turn in for today]]</li>
</ul>
<p>You've been assigned to fix the electronic security door at the U.S. Embassy in Kitang.</p>
<p>You first gather up your supplies and toolkit. Next - you drive over to the embassy.</p>
<p>[[Examine the door]]</p>
<p>Upon examining the door - you find that there broken bolts. You check your tool kit for more bolts - but you seem to have left them back at your workstation.</p>
<ul>
<li>[[Ask the embassy if they have spare bolts on site]]</li>
<li>[[Call a friend to retrieve the bolts for you]]</li>
</ul>
<p>Unfortunately they do not. Perhaps you should ask your friend to get the bolts for you?<p>
<p>[[Yes->Call a friend to retrieve the bolts for you]]</p>
<p>Eureka! You're in luck! Your friend is just a block away from the embassy and he just happens to have the right size bolts for the job!</p>
<p>He's at the embassy in a matter of minutes and hand you the bolts.</p>
[[Carry on fixing the door]]
<p>You keep working on fixing the door for an hour.</p>
<p>Finally you think you're done!</p>
<ul><li>[[Turn in for the day]]</li>
<li>[[Test if the door works]]</li>
</ul>
<p>You leave for home as the sun has almost set - but just as you are about to park your car in your garage, you get a phone call: the consular officer tried to use the door - but it didn't open!</p>
<p>Looks like you'll have to go back tomorrow to fix it again. Next time - please test what you fix.</p>
<p>[[Back to start->start]]</p>
<p>Good job - a good engineer always tests their product at the end!Now, it's time to turn in for the day. Keep up the good work!</p>
<ul><li>[[Play again->start]]</li></ul>
(set:$IM = 0)
(set:$CG = 0)
(set:$SFV = 0)
(set:$PC = 0)
<p>You are supposed to help develop a long-term English language programming stategic plan to help train local children in Kitang in the English language.</p>
<p>In the 21st century, the students have to know how to read and communicate using more than just words on paper or a computer screen. Communication takes many forms, and your classroom teaching will benefit by bringing in these new forms of communication. Today - you are going to spend your time investigating new concepts and media through which you can help these children pick up the english language. You'll explore what these forms are and how you can use them in the classroom to help students develop their language skills and to solve problems in an ever-changing world of communication.</p>
<p>[[let's get started!]]</p>
<h2>Pick a form to explore</h2>
<ul><li>[[Instant Messaging]]</li>
<li>[[Comics and Graphic Novels]]</li>
<li>[[Short-Form Video]]</li>
<li>[[Podcasts]]</li>
</ul>
<br>
(set:$temp to ($PC+$SFV+$IM+$CG))
<ul>
(if:$temp<4)[<li>You'll be able to turn in for the day after you've completed all your research!</li>]
(if:$temp>3)[<li>[[Wrap up for the day]]</li>]
</ul>
(set:$IM = 1)
<p>Instant messaging consists of short bursts of information and uses abbreviated words and idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms. Visuals often play a larger role than words or text. One of the earliest forms of instant messaging, texting, was popularized with the first pocket-sized cellular phones and is still the dominant form of interpersonal communication among youth populations worldwide despite new apps and technologies that have come along since. Other messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Twitter have the ability to use memes (still images with added text) and GIFs (brief animations or moving images), which add further ways to communicate information and ideas. Learning to navigate instant messaging has grown more and more important to English language learners, as these spaces are full of irony, sarcasm, and hyperbole, all forms of figurative language that present difficulties for learners.</p>
<h2>[[WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF INSTANT MESSAGING THAT STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW?]]</h2>
(set:$CG = 1)
<p>Although some educators may be very familiar with these genres, for many teachers and students, comic books and graphic novels remain a relatively new and unfamiliar opportunity for learning. The combination of words and images aids in comprehension and meaning for language learners while providing creators opportunities to tell stories in unique and powerful ways. Simply put, a comic book is a story told in art: words and images are arranged in a series of panels to convey a plot, with characters, information, themes, etc. A graphic novel is just a longer comic book and is sometimes several comic books that have been bound together as chapters.</p>
<h2>[[WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF COMICS THAT STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW?]]</h2>
(set:$SFV = 1)
<p>Apps such as Instagram and TikTok have popularized the use of short video clips to express peoples’ opinions, ideas, and talents as well as build global networks of shared experiences. These videos are typically one to three minutes in length, and often shorter; this short length helps distinguish them from longer video blogs, or “vlogs.” (Vlogs also tend to be highly edited which requires greater skill with digital tools.) Unlike traditional filmmakers or broadcasters, short-form video creators’ goals go beyond desires to entertain, inform or provoke. They want audiences to interact with their videos, gain inspiration, create responses, and produce videos of their own.</p>
<h2>[[WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF A SHORT-FORM VIDEO STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW?]]</h2>
<h2>WHAT ARE PODCASTS?</h2>
(set:$PC = 1)
<p>Podcasting has grown from a niche format for news, commentary, and entertainment into an increasingly popular and powerful way to reach a global audience through audio broadcasting. However, rather than relying on radio equipment or even live-streaming audio, podcasts are recorded and then posted online for listening or downloading when it is convenient for the listener. A search for available podcasts on services such as Stitcher, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts revealsthousands of shows on a tremendous variety of topics ranging from sports and science to international exchanges and K-Pop music. Anyone can record a podcast and publish it online, giving opportunities for teachers and students to be part of a global community of storytellers, idea-sharers, and information providers.</p>
<h2>[[WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF A PODCAST THAT STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW?]]</h2>
<h2>WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF INSTANT MESSAGING THAT STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW?</h2>
<p>Because language is constantly evolving—especially social language—it can be difficult to monitor the vernacular being used in instant messaging at any given time. In this way, students can often provide insights and wisdom into abbreviations that are of the moment. It can be disarming and a little unsettling for some educators when students are comfortable communicating in those new spaces. Yet when it comes to teaching meaningful, effective, clear communication, teachers can provide instruction or guidance to students with regards to texting and instant messaging.</p>
<p>Instant messages make significant use of visual icons, known as emojis, to substitute for words or punctuate an idea. For example, a text saying, “I took a boat to my cousin’s home across the river” might translate into the image below:</p>
<img src="https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/image_3_1.jpg" alt="" >
<img src="https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/image_4_0.jpg" alt="" >
<p>Instant messages are dialogues between two or more individuals. Many individuals keep all of their text messages as an archive of ideas and an artifact of their various relationships. An instant message is no different than a voicemail or sticky note: short, to the point, and disposable.</p>
<h2>[[HOW MIGHT WE CREATE INSTANT MESSAGES AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE?]]</h2>
<h2>HOW MIGHT WE CREATE INSTANT MESSAGES AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE?</h2>
<p>One of the benefits of using emojis in the body of a text is that visuals are a common language—an apple looks like an apple, an elephant looks like an elephant—wherever one might go. Considerable work goes into the design of emojis so they are universally understandable. Ask students to list the emojis with which they are most familiar and discuss when they first started reading text messages. Consider creating an emoji word wall and adding new emojis to represent new vocabulary terms and common slang, figurative language, and idioms.</p>
<p>Because instant messages are almost always establishing conversation between two or more people, they are an excellent way for students to practice voice and formal vs. informal language. One activity is to ask students to create a series of text messages between two or more characters. These might be original characters or characters from a book, short story, article, or film the students are studying. Challenge students to make each character’s texting style unique. Which character uses emojis? Which uses GIFs? Who texts in complete sentences, and who texts in abbreviated language? How might our texting style reflect our personalities?</p>
<p>[[Learn about another medium->let's get started!]]</p>
<h2>WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF COMICS THAT STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW?</h2>
<p>The answer to this question has been the subject of a great deal of work at American English. Several articles, webinars, and even an original comic book have been devoted to exploring the answer to that question.</p>
<h2>[[HOW MIGHT WE CREATE COMICS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE?]]</h2>
<p>Since the vast major short-video creators create their work as a hobby or work only for themselves, there are a limitless number of formats that short-form videos can take. Nevertheless, there are still a few common elements that differentiate short-form videos from other digital video content.</p>
<p>Short-form videos typically start with an enthusiastic greeting from the creator and line or two describing what the video will be about. For example, a creator might say, “Happy Tuesday everyone! Today I’m going to show you five of my favorite things from my home in sixty seconds or less.” Short-form videos use a familiar tone as well, addressing the audience directly through the camera. Ask students to consider why short-form video creators would want to address the audience directly. How does that choice impact the relationship between the creator and audience?</p>
<p>Short-form videos are perhaps best known for popularizing pop culture phenomena and trending new or unknown phrases and idioms. Short-form videos often feature creators lip-syncing a well-known pop song, adding their personal style to a dance move, or completing some form of physical or verbal challenge. The last type has become one of the most popular formats, with eating challenges such as “How many super sour gummy candies can you fit in your mouth at once,” or balancing challenges such as “How quickly can you stack ten paper cups without tipping them over?”</p>
<p>Ask students to list five challenges they might issue to members of an international community. How might it be useful to see how people from other cultures respond to a challenge? What might we learn about American culture by looking at some of its most popular short-form videos?</p>
<h2>[[HOW MIGHT WE CREATE SHORT-FORM VIDEOS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE?]]</h2>
<h2>HOW MIGHT WE CREATE SHORT-FORM VIDEOS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE?</h2>
<p>Short-form videos are an efficient and effective way to bring digital storytelling into your students’ learning experience. They require less time to produce than traditional short films, they encourage interactivity, and they present numerous opportunities to integrate meaningful language and cultural content.</p>
<p>Students might create a physical, artistic or linguistic challenge and issue it to their classmates through a short-form video. For example, students might challenge their peers to translate a favorite song into American English lyrics and sing it. Consider asking students to watch four or five challenge videos and respond to two of them with videos of their own. In this way, students share a connected experience but without the difficulties posting to social media may cause in your learning environment. Students might make two-minute videos about the start of their days so that students from other locations worldwide might better understand your students’ life experiences. Your students might then use a free digital tool such as Adobe Spark, Instagram, or Canva to apply digital layers of captions, stickers, and filters to that video. Asking students to make intentional choices about the digital layers on their videos—from style to content to arrangement—and then asking them to explain those choices is a powerful way to activate an ongoing literacy mindset of solving problems through applied knowledge.</p>
<p>In groups, students might recreate important moments in the history of their families, communities, or nations with their peers by standing still in the middle of a scene—like if someone said “freeze” while that event was happening. While the group remains frozen in a depiction of that event, the creator moves the camera and narrates what is being depicted. This challenge is similar to the social media mannequin challenge that features people standing perfectly still as the camera moves around. However, the American English version adds cultural understanding and expressive oral language elements to develop critical thinking skills through creativity.</p>
<p>[[Learn about another medium->let's get started!]]</p>
<h2>HOW MIGHT WE CREATE COMICS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE?</h2>
<p>By creating comics, students have the opportunity to demonstrate their English language skills in context without having to rely on the written word to communicate their ideas. When students create comics, teachers can use the visuals to help decode what may be incoherent English and uncover the writer’s intent. The visuals present another tool when having a writing conference with students to discuss their composition skills. The visuals to help guide the student and the teacher to better understanding and communication.</p>
<h2>[[Learn about another medium->let's get started!]]</h2>
<h2>WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF A PODCAST THAT STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW?</h2>
<p>While every podcast has a unique format to appeal to its particular audience, there are a number of very common features. Familiarizing students with these features can help them listen with more purpose and for deeper comprehension, while also preparing them to produce podcasts of their own.</p>
<p>Podcasts follow a format or structure that organizes ideas and information for the listener. There are a variety of formats. Teachers can guide students through an analysis of any given podcast and help students to make sense of what they are hearing. Try listening to a few podcasts as a class and ask students questions such as: Does this podcast include interviews? If so, are there multiple interviews, or does the podcast focus on just one individual? Does the podcast include stories? Are these stories journalistic pieces of reporting, autobiographical memoirs and recollections, or imaginative works of fiction? Does the podcast include commentary and opinion? If so, are these the opinions of the hosts, the interviewees, or a combination of both? Is the podcast intended to inform or entertain? What evidence leads you to this conclusion?</p>
<p>Podcasts typically have hosts, the main narrators and moderators of the podcast, whose personalities often determine the style and tone of the podcast. Here are some questions to help with identifying the style and tone: Are the hosts very serious or somewhat comical when discussing the topic? Do they use very formal language or is the podcast more conversational? It’s common for podcasts to feature two or more co-hosts, with each person bringing a different point of view to the discussion. The chemistry between these various hosts is often what makes a podcast so compelling. Ask students to describe the personality, attitude, or tone of the podcast hosts they are hearing. What language is being used that led the student to that conclusion?</p>
<p>Podcasts typically start with an introduction, setting up the topic for the episode. Often these introductions begin with a brief story or an interesting collection of facts from the hosts. Sometimes these stories and facts are personal to the hosts; very often they are not. These stories and information are supposed to create interest for the listener. Ask students to compare their own life experience to the one included in the introduction. Challenge them to consider the following: if they were to make a podcast about the day they had yesterday, what information would they include during their introduction that would convince a listener to keep listening?</p>
<p>Podcasts often feature music that break up sections of the podcast into manageable chunks and organized ideas. The music provides atmosphere for the podcast and can have a significant impact on the listener. Ask students to choose music of their own they think could be used effectively in place of the music in the podcast and justify their choices. Consider challenging students to compose an alternative instrumental theme song for the podcast to which they are listening and use details from the content of the podcast to justify their composition.</p>
<p>Podcasts are most always accompanied by show notes and/or a transcript. The show notes typically include an outline of the episode and time stamps indicating key moments or segments in the podcast. They also include links to additional information referenced in the podcast. A transcript accompanies many podcasts, allowing listeners, and students, to follow along with the recording or to review information without listening again and again. Ask students to create their own set of show notes for a podcast based on what they understand to be most important and some additional research into the topic.</p>
<h2>[[HOW MIGHT WE CREATE PODCASTS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE?]]</h2>
<h2>HOW MIGHT WE CREATE PODCASTS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE?</h2>
<p>Creating podcasts provides an excellent way for students to practice all of their traditional literacy skills—reading, writing, listening, and speaking—in the production of an audio product for an audience. Podcasts do not require expensive equipment—all that is necessary is a way to record student voices. Even the acts of writing a podcast script or conducting interviews in front of a live audience can be rich literacy experiences unto themselves. Posting a podcast can be done using a podcast hosting service such as such as Anchor or Podbean, but it can also be done with YouTube or just by posting the audio file in a Google Drive, Box, or Dropbox folder and sharing a link with listeners.</p>
<p>Some ideas for podcasts include:</p>
<ul><li>Students might create “A day in the life of…” podcasts to share the experiences of the people in their communities or even their own experiences.</li>
<li>Students might research an aspect of American culture of interest to them and create a podcast that shares what they learned. Future episodes could feature deeper inquiry questions.</li>
<li>Students might structure a conversation or debate around an issue of global importance, such as one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Future episodes might feature a different SDG or the opinions of listeners.</li>
</ul>
<p>[[Learn about another medium->let's get started!]]</p>
<p>Good work today! You learnt so much! ery soon - you'll be relaying this information to all the students that you'll be helping out!</p>
<p>[[Back to start->start]]</p>
<p>A diplomatic security agent does tonnes of interesting things - from protection of foreign dignitaries to dealing with cybersecurity. Today you're going to fill in the shoes of a passport fraud officer.</p>
<p>[[Are you ready??]]</p>
<p>Before we get started, you've got to learn about some features of a valid U.S. passport</p>
<p>In a valid U.S. passport, you would notice the following things:</p>
<ul><li>The photo would have a portion that is transparent</li>
<li>The USA logo would overlap the photo and you would be able to see the photo background under it</li>
<li>The photo has to show an ear</li>
<li>All typed text should be in the same font and same size, and aligned</li>
<li>Typed text should be in a compress sanserif font and black in color</li>
<li>Everything in the passport should be of the same sharpness</li>
</ul>
[[That's interesting]]
<p>Great! Now for all the following passports help identify which ones are valid. Note that the below passports are all actually fake as they were created for this demo. So - we've intentionally designed them so that they fail the aforementioned conditions.</p>
<p>So, click "FAKE" if you think the passport is fake, ignoring the fact that it might have:</p>
<ul><li>An invalid photo</li>
<li>Unaligned typed text in a different fonts and sizes</li>
<li>Typed text not in a compressed sans serif font</li>
<li>Varying text sharpness</li>
<li>Blur-marks</li>
</ul>
[[Let's see the first passport]]
<h2>Is there something wrong with this passport?</h2>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/1rodgerBlank.png" >
<br>
<ul><li>[[Yes->1 YES]]</li>
<li>[[No->1 NO]]</li>
</ul>
<p>That's right! There are multiple things wrong with this passport</p>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/1rodgerBlankfix.png" >
<ul><li>1. For starters, there is no signature in the "signature of bearer section"</li>
<li>2. The name of the person should be in upper case.</li>
<li>3. The passport has passed its date of expiration</li>
</ul>
<p>[[Let's move on to the next passport!->p2]]</p>
<p>Unfortunately that's wrong. There are a bunch of things wrong with this passport:</p>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/1rodgerBlankfix.png" >
<ul><li>1. For starters, there is no signature in the "signature of bearer section"</li>
<li>2. The name of the person should be in upper case.</li>
<li>3. The passport has passed its date of expiration</li>
</ul>
<p>[[Let's move on to the next passport!->p2]]</p>
<p>Here's the next passport - does it seem like it's a fake?</p>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/2nancy.png" >
<br>
<ul><li>[[Yes->2 YES]]</li>
<li>[[No->2 NO]]</li>
</ul>
<p>That's right! There's something amiss with this passport</p>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/2nancyfix.png" >
<ul><li>Upon careful inspection, you'd notice that the passport number on the top right hand corner doesn't match the number on the bottom left hand corner. It's a very subtle detail - but these details help distinguish valid passports from fake ones!</li>
</ul>
<p>[[Let's move on to the final passport for the day!->p3]]</p>
<p>That's not right. There's something amiss with this passport</p>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/2nancyfix.png" >
<ul><li>Upon careful inspection, you'd notice that the passport number on the top right hand corner doesn't match the number on the bottom left hand corner. It's a very subtle detail - but these details help distinguish valid passports from fake ones!</li>
</ul>
<p>[[Let's move on to the final passport for the day!->p3]]</p>
<p>Here's our final passport for today - does it seem like it's a fake?</p>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/3maddie.png" >
<br>
<ul><li>[[Yes->3 YES]]</li>
<li>[[No->3 NO]]</li>
</ul>
<p>While there might seem like there's something amiss with this passport - it's actually perfectly fine (discarding the flaws we mentioned in the beginning).</p>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/3maddie.png" >
<p>Do you still think there's something ammiss with the passport? Let us know if you do! For now - it's time for you to wind up and go home - we're done for today! Good job!</p>
[[Try again?->start]]
<p>While there might seem like there's something amiss with this passport - it's actually perfectly fine (discarding the flaws we mentioned in the beginning).</p>
<img src="../../assets/interactiveAssets/3maddie.png" >
<p>Now - it's time for you to wind up and go home - we're done for today! Good job!</p>
[[Try again?->start]]