Canada and Japan

A Webquest to compare the two countries using Hyperstudio Multimedia Authoring

 

Introduction__Task__Process __Internet Resources__ Assessment__Conclusion

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Introduction

Have you ever wondered just how many people live in Canada? Wouldn't it be interesting to compare the population of Canada with Japan? Imagine, Japan is much smaller than Canada but has many more people than Canada. Maybe you'd like to compare Japanese money with Canadian Loonies and Toonies. How much is 10,000 Yen in Canadian dollars? Does it snow in Japan? What animals are different? What is school like for Japanese children? Well, here's your chance to find out! In this project you will choose one topic of interest to you from the list below and compare Japan and Canada on that topic. Best part of it all - you get to make your project on Hyperstudio!

 

Government History - summary of a major event from each country, within the same time period, with the same theme for example, a major catastrophe. Government - capital cities, flags, regions, forms of government (grade five) Economy - money, imports, exports, trade (grade six) Tourism - major cities and places of historical significance Geography Physical Geography - area, neighbours, mountains, high/low points Climate - seasons, rainfall, temperatures Flora and Fauna - interesting animals and plants and where they are located Society Population and People - numbers of people rural and urban, or ethnic background, or transportation Language - primary languages and who speaks them Religion - summaries of main religions and who practices them Arts and Culture - select one: music, art, crafts, literature, festivals and compare Education - compare school life, rules, schedules, curriculum and compare Society and Conduct - compare traditions and customs, or sports and hobbies

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1) Research the Internet, encyclopedias, other books and sources for information related to the topic you chose above.

2) Gather the research and focus in on interesting facts, ideas and concepts related to your topic. Create a Hyperstudio Multimedia project based on the interesting information you found. Your project or 'stack', will be three cards in length.

• The first card must introduce the particular topic you chose. Focus in on something specific to the topic you chose for example, if you chose Population and People - transportation, research two methods of transportation in Canada and Japan like buses and trains, or bicycles and cars. Compare bus and train use in both countries. How many people use trains in Japan? In Canada? What percent of the population use trains in each country? Essentially, the key to a successful project is to keep it simple and focussed on comparing one or two specific areas in both countries. For example, researching all sports in Japan and Canada would be too much work, as you'd soon find out. Clearly state exactly what you will be comparing, either as part of a title or in a sentence.
• The second card must develop the comparison in some detail (if you were to write your information on a piece of paper it should take every other line of one side, at least.)
• The third card must summarize or conclude your comparative research. You might think about making opinions and summaries based on the research you did for example, "Overall, Japanese people use trains much more often than Canadians do while Canadians drive their cars more often. I think this is because Japan is a very crowded country and doesn't have enough room for cars, like Canada does. Maybe Canada would benefit from better public transportation."

3) Before getting into Hyperstudio it is best to actually plan out what your three cards might look like.

• click here to go to a printable blank Hyperstudio Storyboard you can use to plan your three card stack

4) Within your three card project you must include the following:

• buttons to each card and the first card in the stack
• at least two animations in the stack (or only one morph in the stack)
• at least one sound
• at least two 'New Button Actions'
• one use of the 'Cookie Cutter' tool
• at least two text boxes (one text box that can scroll)
• at least two graphics

*Click here to see a sample project*

Criteria	Level 3 or 'B'
Evidence of student research	The research directly relates to the chosen topic. The research contains facts. Other people can learn from this project.
Organization of Stack	Screens may lack some details or need refining but overall has a flow between cards that 'makes sense.'
Use of Graphics	Graphics, layout and text all 'fit together' well. Each card uses similar layout features and design.
Card Design	Each screen or card has easy to find and use buttons and tools. Moving to different screens does so in a way that 'makes sense'.
Language	Sentences are complete with few errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation and spacing.
Use of Language	Language is appropriate. Few nickel and dime words are used. Quarter words are abundant, and relevant to the topic.