Apr
22
VCE English Outcome 2: Identity and Belonging Webquest
AUSTRALIAN IDENTITY WEBQUEST
Two things about the following webquest: try to stick to the stated time limits for each section of the quest because; this is supposed to be a quick, informative and fun on-line excursion. If you find you are struggling to answer the questions for each section in the time allotted, move faster!!!
A. http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/previous/celebrating_australia.asp (15 mins)
This site is the homepage for a Powerhouse Museum display called “Celebrating Australia: Identity by Design”.
1. What Australian icons are described here in the exhibition promotional material (list more than 12 icons)?
2. What values or themes does the promotional material link with the artistic designs of the eras of: post-Commonwealth Australia, 1930’s, 1940’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s?
B. http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/collection_interactives/ (5 mins)
Look through the Flash animation of “Oscar’s Sketchbook”.
1. Choose a page/scene from the sketchbook that you consider intriguing, and describe the story behind the picture. Make sure you include the page’s title in your description.
C. http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ (10 mins)
Use the search function on the site to answer the below about the two Australian works.
1. Describe what each painter has tried to capture about Australia and Australians in Tom Roberts’ Shearing the Rams and in Charles Conder’s A Holiday at Mentone.
Just for fun, and the less said the better! http://www.henrythornton.com/article.asp?article_id=3829
D. http://www.convictcreations.com/ (25 mins)
This is an incredibly detailed site. To answer the questions, you will need to progress through a number of internal links to find relevant information.
1. How did D.H.Lawrence describe Australia?
2. What reason in their introduction does the site’s author give for the Australian sense of humour/pride?
3. In the section about Australian history, do you agree with the author’s views about the differences between Australians and Americans in the piece “Class war: The foundations of Australian Egalitarianism”?
4. How many Victorians signed a petition for Ned Kelly’s life to be saved?
5. What role did the Eureka Stockade play in shaping Australian’s sense of identity?
6. What was the story of John Simpson?
7. How many days did Simpson survive in Gallipoli?
8. In the section about Australian culture, what traditions does the author believe Australians to hold dear?
9. What examples does the author give about the Australian capacity to support the underdog, or “siding with the loser”?
10. In the section dealing with Australian animals, is the author correct in what they express about “The unsung heroes of Australian culture”?
There is a last “hidden” section to this site. Return to the home-page, go to the bottom and click on “identity”. Reading these essays provides a good insight into one person’s perspective on what it means to be an individual Australian.
E. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXo4VeiIXPk (Extension activity)
In 2009 this competition “to create, rate and air television ads that promote a better, fairer, more progressive Australia” was run by an on-line political lobby group called Get Up – you can view the screened winner of the competition at https://www.getup.org.au/campaign/ozin30seconds&id=51
Extension task: What do you think? What would your entry be?