The 2012 Election

I have two reactions to the fact that the election is only two days away. My first reaction is "thank God!" because this process is exhausting to watch. My other reaction is one of excitement and anticipation because it is historical, as are all elections. With that in mind I have a few election resources to share.

For anyone who is a political junkie or is interested in finding out more about this election there is 270 to Win which offers the latest in electoral projections, state by state polling, and more including election simulations.

At this website you will find videos of election coverage based on the three basic political points of view. The videos are sorted into collections with one labeled conservative, another is labeled liberal, and a third is labeled politically neutral. There is a fourth choice which is "watch it all" and videos from all three points of view will play. The videos come from various news and information sources, many of which are known for their strong political leanings.

The last of the three new resources is called Legistalker which sounds creepy but it is actually a useful site. This site tracks the Tweets, YouTube videos and other online activity of legislators from around the country. Just type your zip code in the search bar and it is supposed to show the three members of Congress that represent you (2 Senators, 1 House member). It got my Senators correct but it was wrong for my member of the House of Representatives. While the site clearly has some bugs to work out it is actually a good way for someone to keep tabs on what your elected representatives are doing. Many members of Congress use Twitter to communicate and if you aren't part of the Twitterverse, this site allows you to follow what they are saying.

Then there are some resources that I have shared before but they may be new to some such as I Side With which is a survey you take and it matches you with the candidate with whom you have the most in common. Try it and you may be surprised.

Lastly, I shared other resources in a previous post which can be found here.

Election Resources

Students from around the nation are returning to school at the same time that America's two big political parties are holding their conventions. As a result there is no better time to share a few web resources that can assist teachers who want to help students understand presidential elections in our country.

The most difficult aspect of presidential elections is probably the electoral college system we use in this country. An excellent resource that addresses this issue is this You Tube video from C.G.P. Grey titled How the Electoral College Works.

Another aspect of campaigns is political advertising. Helping students to understand how propaganda is used in the political process is another challenge. A great resource to address this is the Living Room Candidate. This site features political ads from 1952 up to 2008 which can be search by year, political issue, and type of ad. This site is also a good resource to show how American culture has changed over the past 60 years. One final resource is the You Tube Politics channel. It is the go to resource for videos from the current presidential election. This site could be used in conjunction with the Living Room Candidate to discuss political propaganda and how it is used.