Table of Contents

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Introduction to the e-text, Social Studies 11

Background:

Social Studies 11 teachers have long felt frustrated at the lack of up-to-date textbook resources. This is particularly so in regard to the Geography module of the course. The subject matter is the world today, yet our last base text, Stewart Dunlop's Towards Tomorrow; Canada in a Changing World; Geography was already 13 years old as the year 2000 began. Our problem was compounded by a lack of good replacements on the market. Dunlop's work was excellent, but it was too dated to continue using. Even were there a good text available, high book costs would force us to continue using whatever resource we purchased until it was as long in the tooth as Dunlop.

District Social Studies department heads discussed the matter and decided to compile a replacement work ourselves. We agreed to use a framework that was quite similar to Dunlop's to minimally disrupt existing teaching strategies. Our concept went well beyond just another paper resource, however. The text would be maintained electronically and updated regularly. Schools could adapt the text to their own needs by adding or subtracting material or changing questions before reprinting their own, customized, product. A CD version could also be made available to teachers and students, complete with hyperlinks, allowing them to extend their knowledge by linking to web pages with the click of a button.

District department heads approved the project. Cathy Molinski shepherded the project through school board and the Joint Educational Planning and Implementation Committee, and secured funding for the project. A writing team was formed and the work that you see in front of you is the outcome of the project. This is not, however, a final product. This is an ongoing project that will continue to evolve and improve over time.

A huge voluntary time commitment, in addition to 5 paid writing days meant that the paperback version of the text could be produced at a fraction of the cost of a traditional textbook. The cost of CD's is negligible. It is our hope that quite current material will be available to students at all times and not just at the start of a 10-15 year textbook cycle. As the 1999-2000 school year came to a close a team of three experienced teachers and a student teacher was formed and writing commenced. The first edition was completed in the last weeks of August, 2000.

The writers expect that continued input from students and teachers will enable us to improve this work annually. Suggestions should be submitted, by e-mail to kbenoy@nvsd44.bc.ca or by snail-mail to Sal Audia at Handsworth Secondary School or Kevin Benoy at Sutherland Secondary.

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Technical Details:

Paperback Version:  The printed version of this text is fairly conventional and was prepared in Microsoft Word. Where text is hyperlinked in the CD and electronic versions, the URL's have been printed in parentheses. Since networked computers in school labs will not allow hyperlinking, this will also allow students to connect with web sources by manually inputting the URL.

CD and Electronic Versions:  These versions have more flexibility than their print cousin.

For the General Reader:

• Finding a word or phrase.  Use the find capability of the software. Click on the <edit> menu at the top of the screen or press <Ctrl> and <F> at the same time. A pop-up-menu will appear. Type the word or phrase in the box and click on <Find Next>. This will take you to the first instance that the word appears. Click on <Find Next> again to continue searching.
• Hyperlinking.  Text that appears in blue and is underlined allow you to link directly to web pages. If you are already connected to the internet, clicking directly on the text will automatically open up the linked page. If you are not already online, a pop-up-box will ask you to enter login details to open a connection. The appropriate page will then appear.
• Copying Text.  Normal copyright procedures apply to this work. If text is copied or cut-and-pasted into another work, it should be cited in the same way as from other sources. A citation note should be made and this work should be acknowledged in a bibliography.
• Copying Images.  All of the images used here are either from the personal collection of Kevin Benoy or are, to the best of the authors' knowledge, public domain images. All may be re-used for non-commercial purposes.

For Teachers:

• Customizing the Text.  The authors grant permission for this work to be customized by individual schools provided that the following procedures are taken. On the title page of any altered chapter, the person responsible for the changes should insert the following phrase after the author's acknowledgment: "and modified by ______________." An additional note should be inserted in a text box on the last page of the chapter, itemizing whatever changes were made. These provisions are intended to protect the original writers from liability for copyright infringements that might be added to the text at a later date.
• Volunteers Wanted.  Any staff interested in joining the project should contact Kevin Benoy at Sutherland Secondary School.

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