New Media and Society

Appendix I

STUDY 1

Operational skill assignments

Assignment 1. (max. 12 minutes)

• Task 1.1 Go to the website of the Dutch Tax and Custom Administration (www.belastingdienst.nl).
• Task 1.2 Click on the link ‘Download and order’ in the menu on the right.
• Click on the subject ‘Marriage’, placed in the column ‘private’.
• Click on the link to the brochure ‘When you are getting married’.
• Task 1.3 Open the brochure ‘When you are getting married’.
• Save the brochure in the folder ‘Marriage’ on the desktop of the computer.
• Task 1.4 Use the back-button to go back to the ‘Download and order’ page.
• Click on the link ‘Declaration 2006’ placed in column ‘private’.
• Click on ‘Declaration software 2006 (Windows)’
• Task 1.5 Save the file ‘Electronic declaration IB 2006 for Windows’ on the desktop.
• Task 1.6 Go back to the homepage of the Dutch Tax Administration.
• Add the homepage to the favourites (or bookmarker).
• Task 1.7 Use the search engine on top of the website using the keyword ‘save-as-you-earn deduction’
• Open the third search result of the search assignment.

Assignment 2. (max. 8 minutes)

• Task 2.1 Go to the Child care allowance website of the Dutch Tax and Custom administration: www.toeslagen.nl/reken/kinderopvangtoeslag/
• Complete the fields using the information given.

Formal skill assignments

Assignment 3. (max. 10 minutes)

• Task 3.1 Go to the website of the Central Office of Information, postbus51.nl.
• Follow the options Accommodation / Rent / Rental price/ Rent Subsidy.
• Choose the option: ‘What is rent subsidy and how do I apply for it?’
• Task 3.2 Click on the link ‘Applying for rent subsidy’.
• Go to the homepage of the Allowance website in the new window.
• Go back to the homepage of Postbus51 in the old window.
• Task 3.3 Perform a search on the Postbus51 website with keyword ‘rental price’.
• Open the first search result.
• Open the second search result.

Assignment 4. (max. 10 minutes)

• Task 4.1 Imagine that you just moved to Nijmegen. You would like to look up the physical office addresses of the following organisations: IB-Groep, UWV and CWI.

Information skill assignments

Assignment 5. Parking (max. 12 minutes)

• Task 5.1 Imagine that you just moved to Rotterdam. Because it is hard to find a parking spot, you decide to buy a subscription to a parking lot. Find out how much a subscription to the car park named ‘Spaanse Kade’ costs. Use the homepage of the municipality of Rotterdam (www.rotterdam.nl).

Assignment 6. Theft (max. 12 minutes)

• Task 6.1 Imagine that, during a day at the shopping mall, your passport is stolen. Use a search engine (e.g., www.google.nl or the one you use at home) to find out what type of document you need to apply for a new passport after the old one is stolen.

Assignment 7. Salary (max. 12 minutes)

• Task 7.1 Imagine that you are 25 years old. In between September 1st and December 30th you had a full-time job in a factory (40 hours / week). Your wage was 1275 euro gross every month. This was not much. Use a search engine (e.g., www.google.nl or the one you use at home) to find out whether you were entitled to a higher salary during this period. (Yes, because the salary was lower than _ euro. / No, because the salary was higher than _ euro)

Strategic skill assignments

Assignment 8. Salary (max. 12 minutes)

• Task 8.1 When your employer paid you too little, what financial recourse do you have can you then personally obtain? Sort this out using the internet.

Assignment 9. Elections (max. 30 minutes)

• Task 9.1 Image that there are national elections soon. You are in doubt whether to vote for the PvdA, the CDA or the VVD. You have the following opinions:
• You are in favour of using nuclear energy;
• You are in favour of a high child care allowance;
• You are against having two nationalities.
• Using the Internet, find out which of these three political parties have your first, second and third preference.

STUDY 2

Operational skill assignments

Assignment 1. (max. 6 minutes)

• Task 1.1: Go to the website of the CBR (www.cbr.nl).
• Task 1.2: Click on the link ‘Motor’ in the menu on the left.
• Click on the subject ‘Motor and scooter’, placed in the column ‘Brochures.’
• Task 1.3: Open the brochure ‘Motor and scooter.’
• Save the brochure in the folder ‘CBR’ in My Documents.
• Close the brochure.
• Task 1.4: Use the back button to go back to homepage of the CBR website.
• Task 1.5: Add the homepage to the Favourites (or bookmarks).

Assignment 2. (max. 5 minutes)

• Task 2.1: Go to the website of Marktplaats (www.marktplaats.nl).
• Click on the link ‘Uitgebreid zoeken.’
• Task 2.2: Complete the fields using the information given.
• Task 2.3: Execute the search function and select a result.
• Perform the search.
• Open the third search result.
• Task 2.4: Save the logo of Markplaats in the upper left corner on the desktop of the computer.

 
Formal skill assignments

Assignment 3. (max. 8 minutes)

• Task 3.1: Go to the website of the ANWB (www.anwb.nl).
• Follow the options Car / Sell / Selling Occasion.
• Choose the option: ‘Selling my car via Auto Trader.’
• Task 3.2: In both windows, go to the homepage of the site opened.
• Go to the homepage of the Autotrader website in the new window.
• Go to the homepage of the ANWB in the old window.
• Task 3.3: Perform a search on the ANWB website with keyword ‘beach’.
• Open the first search result.
• Open the second search result.

Assignment 4. (max. 8 minutes)

• Task 4.1: Find the addresses of the following three Museums in The Hague. Use the museums’ website:
• Het Mauritshuis (www.mauritshuis.nl/).
• Het Museon (www.museon.nl/).
• Het Letterkundig Museum (www.letterkundigmuseum.nl).

Information skill assignments

Assignment 5. T-mobile (max. 10 minutes)

• Imagine… 8 months ago you subscribed to a mobile telephone contract with T-mobile. Now you would like to take advantage of the new T-mobile iPhone offer. Answer the following question, using the T-mobile website (www.t-mobile.nl):

Is it possible to subscribe to a T-mobile iPhone contract as a continuation of your current subscription?

Assignment 6. Restaurant (max. 10 minutes)

• Imagine… You would like to go out for a luxury dinner in Amsterdam next week. You prefer the restaurant with the most Michelin stars. Answer the following question using a search engine (e.g., Google or the website you use at home): What restaurant would you go to? 

Assignment 7. Go boating (max. 12 minutes)

• Imagine… You bought a rubber boat of 9.84 feet in length. You can reach a maximum speed of 17 mph with this boat. Answer the following question using a search engine (e.g., Google or the website you use at home): Are you allowed to use this boat in public waters like the Maas?

Strategic skill assignments

Assignment 8. Shopping in Amsterdam (max. 15 minutes)

• Imagine… You and your partner take your son out for shopping in Amsterdam. You would like to go by car, but the ride would cost you 4 Euros for every 12,4 miles, not counting 4 hours of parking in the centre of Amsterdam. Because your son has a train pass (which might offer possibilities for you too), you wonder if this option would be cheaper then using the car. Use the Internet to figure out which option is cheaper.

Assignment 9. Travelling (max. 25 minutes)

• Imagine… from March the 7th through the13th of next year you are going on a trip to London with your partner. You would like to book two tickets from a nearby airport (in the Netherlands or just across the border) and a hotel in the centre of London.
  Find out how much this would cost using the Internet, aiming to identify the cheapest options. Consider flight, hotel and travel expenses to and from the airport in London.