Assignment Using Web 2.0 and Inquiry

I am pretending I have been given the following research packet by a teacher and I need to add some web 2.0 and Inquiry-Based Curriculum ideas to the project. http://www.madison.k12.ct.us/teacher_benchmarks/Gr%206%20Social%20Studies%20Country%20Cube%20or%20Brochure%20or%20PPTa.pdf
• An educational - curriculum content area first. What is the content?
European Countries Research Project
• What is the learning standard?
Standard 3: Geography – Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.
• What do you want the students to know when they are finished?
Students will learn about a country in Europe. They will present information on the geography, topography, population, history and a special interest topic of their choice about their European country. The students will share their projects and gain knowledge about other European countries from their peers. The students will be required to use several information searching techniques and the final project will contain a Works Cited.
• How will the learning be assessed?
Students will be creating a cube displaying the information they have researched about their country. Each side of the cube will contain information from a category and the final side will contain the Works Cited. Students will be given an outline of the types of information they are expected to find about their country and they will be expected to include this information on their cube.
• What technology have I embedded into the project?
The class will be using a wiki page as a ‘home base’ where they can find information about the project requirements, the categories and the research questions for each, the Diigo bookmark sharing page and a link to the databases and a map of Europe such as the one found here: http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/europe.htm. These tools would involve the Expore and Connect and the Focus Phase of Inquiry and the map would even serve as part of the Investigate phase.
I will be hosting a Diigo page with bookmarks for quality information on European countries to aide in the Investigation portion of the Inquiry Phase.
• What will be the "knowledge product" infused with technology?
The teacher is planning on having the students create 6 sided cubes to present their information about their country. I would like to also create a collaborative slide show presentation to be viewed at the end of the research period. A tool like Slideshare would allow each student to present their countries information on a slide or two using the information they have included on their cube and allow the teachers to create a ‘walk through Europe” feel to the slide show. In this way, all of the students will be able to see information about all of the countries.
• What 21st Century characteristics does my assignment embrace?
This assignment teaches students to use inquiry and fits into the inquiry cycle in many areas. Students will be learning how to cite their work and give credit where it is deserved. They will learn about several technologies available to them as researchers and presenters. The tools I will use will be available at the library to ensure each student has access to them. Students will have a component of sharing information, which will enhance the social learning process.
• Have I embraced the inquiry cycle?
The inquiry cycle is present throughout the project. Students will connect with the knowledge they already have and focus their research by using the information provided on the wiki page. They will be investigating using the databases and research tools the library has available to them as well as websites that have been chosen for them and websites added to the diigo account. They will be able to prepare and create a presentation in two forms, allowing for more thought about their topic. They will be expressing themselves through the cube and the simple slide show presentation. Finally, they will be reflecting on what they have learned and assess others work when they view the slide show and the cubes.