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First Web
Class On The Armenian Genocide Launched: www.LearnGenocide.com
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The Genocide
Education Project has launched Genocide and the Human Voice:
Nicole's Journey, the first online classroom about the
Armenian Genocide.
Genocide and the Human
Voice: Nicole's Journey uses
contemporary learning technology and methodologies to provide a
stand-alone lesson students attend online. Recognizing the
limited amount of class-time school teachers have compared to
the many important and required topics they must address, The
Genocide Education Project created an opportunity for high
school teachers to introduce their students to the history of
the Armenian Genocide, without having to devote full class time
to it. This Internet lesson fulfills the World History
curriculum requirements of the 11 U.S. states which currently
require instruction on this important history. The online
class is also designed to be used as supplemental coursework for
curriculum on Armenian Genocide.
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Screenshot: Students
interact with the lesson plan using various devices.
The cell phone is used by Nicole to send voicemails
about her journey and guide students through their
assignments. |
"This online lesson brings the
first genocide of the 20th century into the education system of
the 21st century," stated Sara Cohan, Education Director
with The
Genocide Education Project. "We believe that the more we make
up-to-date, quality educational options available to teachers,
the more they will choose to include the Armenian Genocide in
their course curriculum."
Through the voice of Dr. Nicole
Vartanian, Genocide and the Human Voice: Nicole's Journey
provides a background to the history of the Armenian Genocide
and the effects of genocide denial on subsequent generations.
Based on Nicole's real life journey to her grandmother's village
in Eastern Turkey, the lesson illustrates the continued pain
that genocide brings and the fortitude of those searching for
truth. After an introduction to the history of the Armenian
Genocide and Nicole's grandmother's moving story of survival,
the lesson walks students through a series of emails that Nicole
sent her mother describing her many observations and thoughts as
she undertook her journey.
The plan concludes with "The Eight
Stages of Genocide," created by Dr. Gregory Stanton, president
of Genocide Watch, a non-profit organization committed to
predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other forms of
mass murder. Using the events of the Armenian Genocide as a case
study, students learn the common stages of all genocides,
providing a global perspective on the subject.
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Screenshot:
Many assignments are
themed. In this one, students use a laptop computer
to send an email to Nicole. |
Teachers use the website
www.learngenocide.com to create an online classroom,
assigning students a private log-in name and password to access
the lesson plan section of the site. Once students have
completed the assignments, they are stored online for teachers
to access at a later date.
The readings and assignments are
geared toward high school students and mature middle school
students. Each section includes an assignment composed of short
answer questions and a writing component. Students read and
listen to historical text, survivor testimony and a variety of
other material, giving them a better understanding of genocide
and its impact on a nation of people and its future.
Created by the
award-winning web design company, Infivia Communication Visuelle,
of Montreal, Canada, the lesson employs the latest interactive
web features, including segments in which Nicole is heard
reading her emails to her mother, cell phone conversations, and
other material, engaging and suitable for high school students.
The Genocide Education
Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that
assists educators in teaching about human rights and genocide,
particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and
distributing instructional materials, providing access to
teaching resources and organizing educational workshops. |
