Spies Like Us: An in depth analysis of Eastern Europe

Spies Like Us: An in depth analysis of Eastern Europe

A Web Quest for 12^th Grade (AP European History)

Bethany Nottingham
browndog1530@yahoo.com

The Berlin Wall Comes Down: November 9, 1989
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Introduction

The year is 2009, the twentieth anniversary of the fall of communism. You have just landed a high-ranking position in the United States government. The president has asked you along with other officials to conduct an in depth analysis of the political, economic, military, and social developments of the former communist nations in eastern Europe in order to determine where assistance, supervision or intervention may be needed.

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Task

As either director of NATO, the Secretary of State, the Undersecretary of State for Europe, Chief of the NSA, the DCI, or the Chairperson of the JCS, you will work together to develop this report for the president. She feels that as the leading world power, it is our responsibility to promote democratic ideals throughout the world. Therefore you must maintain a watchful eye on these former communist nations to assure her that democracy prevails.

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Resources

Listed below are several websites that may be helpful in your task. You may also use any sites you find relevant to your search as well.

Sites containing historical background:

http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/

http://www.andreas.com/berlin.html

http://www.historyguide.org/europe/lecture16.html

Governmental agency sites:

http://www.csis.org/ee/

http://www.epa.gov/oia/dark.htm

http://www.nsa.gov/about_nsa/index.html

http://www.state.gov/p/eur/

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/rls/dos/index.cfm?docid=436&clid=299

Sites containing documents:

http://www.nara.gov/exhall/originals/kennedy.html

http://www.aynrand.org/medialink/berlin.shtml

http://www.seerecon.org/KeyDocuments/KD1999062401.htm

http://www.rferl.org/nca/special/10years/

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_501000/501580.asp

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/eu.htm

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_515000/515968.asp

http://library.thinkquest.org/10775/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/newsid_734000/734123.stm

http://www.franklincollege.edu/matweb/maharry/budapest/NPRreports.html

http://www.uga.edu/columns/990215/front2.html

Sites containing pictures:

http://www.dieberlinermauer.de/berlinwallhome/berlinwallhome.html

http://www.swlink.com/~ateo/

Other helpful links:

http://plato.acadiau.ca/COURSES/POLS/Grieve/3593/~3593.html

US Department of State "regional desk"	Press releases and policy statements on the "Newly Independent States"
Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL)	Searchable index of daily press briefs
RFE/RL Special Report 10 years after	Articles and interviews 10 yrs after fall of communism
RFE Weekly News Features	Page long articles on current events
Washington Post Balkans Report	.
Study on NATO enlargement	The "official" line on costs and benefits
OSCE	Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe
Corruption: Johnston Colgate U Biblio	Professional bibliography and index to web resources
Transparency International	Tackling corruption through info and institution building
Centre for the Study of Democracy	Bulgarian--promoting institution-building
Slavic Research Centre	Comprehensive multilayered site based in Japan
Eurasia Foundation	Democratic and free market institution building
Russian and East European Network Information Center	U of Texas premier site: If you can't find it here, look harder!
Freedom House: Nations in Transit Reports	PDF files from a respected source: articles & country reports for EVERY country in the region
Crisis Web	Analysis of Bosnia & South Balkans
World Bank: Europe & Central Asia	Mission, news releases, data
EBRD	European Bank for Reconstruction & Development
Centre for Study of Public Policy	Summaries of hundreds of articles on public opinion & democratization (Richard Rose, Director)
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)	News and judgments
Russian & Eastern European Studies (REES)	A Pittsburg U guide
Amina	A page criticising Russian actions in Chechnya
gallupphoto	Interesting photo-journalism from Czech viewpoint
CentralEurope.com	Daily news focused on the region
Russia.com	Daily news on the faltering Russian state & economy
Eurasia Research Center	News and analysis
Baltic States Weblinks	.
Bosnia Home Page	CalTech University
Open Society Archives	Central European University on communism & cold war

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Process

In order to successfully complete this WebQuest you will need to work as a group. It is up to you to decide what each member in the group will do. The group should consist of six members as stated above.

Each member is responsible for researching their individual role and generating a written report outlining recommendations, which coincide with their position in their sphere of influence.
Once individual reports are developed, the group will work together to create an overall analysis to be presented in written and oral form.
The oral presentation may include PowerPoint; video, charts, graphs or any other means you deem appropriate.

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Evaluation

The following rubrics will be used to determine your final grade for this project. Please note that you will receive both an individual as well as a group grade for this WebQuest.

Rubric for Individual report

Grading Category	Beginning 0-6	Developing 7-12	Accomplished 13-17	Exemplary 18-20	Score
Product: Individual Research	Little or no research was conducted	Research skills need to be developed more	Research was complete and accurate. All major aspects of the subject addressed	Research on the subject is comprehensive and extensive
Product: Assessment of web sites	Little or no assessment was done	Needs to better organize and differentiate importance of web sites	Assessment is appropriate and information obtained is relevant to subject	Assessment is organized, detailed and innovative in relation to the subject
Product: Historical Accuracy	Little or no attempt is made at determining historical accuracy	Needs to check for errors in accuracy	Information is accurate and complete. All major aspects of the subject addressed	Information is accurate and precise. Subject is explained in detail
Product: Mechanics	No product produced or too many errors	Writing was confusing or difficult to read. Text contained many errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writing was clear and interesting with a moderate amount of errors.	Writing was easily understandable and exciting to read. Text contained few or no errors.
Teacher comments

Rubric for group grade

Grading Category	Beginning 0-6	Developing 7-12	Accomplished 13-17	Exemplary 18-20	Score
Product: Group Dynamics	Group did not work together	Group alienated one or more members or did not effectively work together in a productive manner	Group worked well together to achieve their outcome. All members contributed.	Group worked well together to produce an outstanding analysis and recommendation. Each member contributed greatly.
Product: Analysis of documents	Group did not analyze documents	Group needs to work on analysis of appropriate documents	Group analyzed and determined which documents and websites were appropriate.	Group analyzed and selected informative and exemplary documents relevant to their subject.
Product: Design	No product was produced	Product was laid out in a confusing manner. Some material was inappropriate and irrelevant to the subject.	Product was laid out well with appropriate materials.	Product displays an exciting and interesting design with appropriate materials and images that contribute to understanding.
Product: Organization	No presentation given	Presentation was haphazard and confusing. Little or no print materials or presentation aids used.	Presentation was moderately well planned. Reasonable conclusions offered. Adequate print materials or presentation aids used.	Presentation was planned in a logical manner. Explanations and reasons given for conclusions. Print materials or presentation aids useful for others interested in the topic.
Presentation: Delivery	No presentation was given	Presentation was not rehearsed. Presenters were confused and difficult to understand.	Presentation was rehearsed. Presenters shared tasks and were understandable.	Presentation was well rehearsed and coherent. Presenters shared tasks equally.
Teacher comments

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Conclusion

By completing this assignment, you have successfully researched the methods a president might use to gain information on foreign affairs. By taking on the role of a government official, you have learned how vital each advisor to the president is when asked to take on a task such as this one. Aside from generating a report, you have also become well versed in the status of eastern European nations since the fall of communism in 1989. Are these nations better off now than they were under communism? Who has benefited the most from the transition? Who has not? Which countries have most successfully navigated the changes, and why? Why is it that many people in the region think their lives were better under the communists? Is capitalism really better than communism? These are some of the many questions I hope you will approach in your research. Have fun!

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