Get out the iVote!

This is a link for this weeks assignment. It is called iVote! and sponsored by Northwestern University and the McCormik Tribune Foundation as a project designed to get young voters more engaged in the process of voting. It includes polling opportunities as well. It has, as it seems a portion of it listed as a blog. Under the about section they describe and map their mission of civic engagement and provide a calendar of events and polling opportunities. One has to become a member to participate in the polling results, but one can see the result of the polling online. It looks like an interesting project aimed at creating enhanced interest in the election and community action processes at the high school and college level. They have many levels of engagement with the students personal interest structure designed to help them discover what issues are important to them. They have a presentation of information in PowerPoint that has some interesting stats about young voters,their use of technology and the degree to which they are electronically tuned-in. One of the stats I found interesting was that 15 percent of instant messaging users are logged in 24/7. That is a dedication to being in touch that to me is troubling. There are also some small page views which give an idea of how the program is implemented online without one having to sign-up. It seems to geared toward motivating educators to use this resource in their lesson plans. Unfortunately, this program seems to be geared only to Illinois youth--it would be a valuable tool on a nation level in my opinion. I do wonder how they limit participation to just Illinois youth?