Thing 7: Hands On Activity and Capstone Reflection

Here is the address to the website I created for my AP World History course.   http://web.me.com/infolit/whap/
I had started it last fall, but during the course of the recent weeks (and because of the needs of this assignment) I have added substantially to it.  It is by no means complete, but I have the essential components for the class at the site.  I have tried to create sites that were easy to update and add to and that weren't limited by the rudimentary tools of the district-endorsed host, School Center.  I have yet to find a design or collection of materials that make a site I have created a "must-go-to" place that my students will check regularly.  It has been very much a challenge to get my students to use whatever site I create.  The link above is my latest version of a AP world history site.  I am hoping this one is seen as more useful to the kids.
In the past, I have tried to create a blog for each course, but there were rarely used.  Partly because of technical issues within the district and partly because of lack of interest, my previous blogs went pretty much unused.  One of the biggest reasons I started a Facebook page was because it was a simple means to communicate with a significant portion of my students.  In terms of getting information out to most of my kids, Facebook has proven to be more useful than a dedicated course blog.
I take these courses with you, Ron, because they force me to think out of my normal word and text-based methods of instruction and learning.  I get encouraged to try new things and to discover the new things out there.  I also receive local encouragement from Kelly Kermode at Eastern.  She has been very good at helping me find and try new things. 
Presently, I am having my philosophy students use My Fake Wall to create a fake Facebook page of conversation posts between Rene Descartes and other "friends" and "adversaries" from the Enlightenment.  The posts will revolve around his philosophy and his life.  It will be a "tree free" assignment where they have to send me a link to their Descartes page.  The entire assignment is not "tree free", however.  The description of what I wanted and how it will be assessed was printed out on a single page.  I will look at each of their pages and send them a grade by email.  We use CIMS for our grade management software (hopefully for the last year) and will file their grades digitally from home. 
Most of the class are seniors in their last 3 weeks of high school and I am really enthusiastic with how they have taken to the assignment by using the fake Facebook site.  Previously it had been a challenge for me to get them to use any other source besides their text, but now they are not only using their book, but also actively seeking out additional information from a variety of websites for text and pictures. I am requiring them to cite their sources of information for both photos and text.  They are actively creating a coherent dialog using text and online sources that will explain the ideas of Descartes and his relationships with his actual peers and as well as his intellectual "peers" from the Enlightenment.