Social Studies games - your experiences
Gaming has long been a part of social studies with simulations, role-playing, board games, and other turn-based games playing a central part in many social studies classrooms. Countless teachers have used off the shelf games or even invented games for their students. With the rise of personal computing in the 1980s, games took on a new life in social studies classrooms. Games such as Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego became staples of many social studies classrooms.

Given our first two readings on gaming (below) how do you think games can be incorporated into social studies. Think broadly and take into account you personal experiences as a learner and a teacher. How do you think games can be used effectively in social studies? What are some limitations? What are some games you have played (as a student or teacher) in school social studies and what are some game you have not played but would like to?

The readings for this response are,

1.    Paper, S. (1998). "Does easy do it? Children, games and learning." Game developer magazine, June, 1998. Retrieved July 10, 2007, http://www.papert.org/articles/Doeseasydoit.html

2.    Gee, J. P. (2005). The Classroom of Popular Culture: What video games can teach us about making students want to learn. Retrieved July 10, 2007,  http://www.edletter.org/current/gee.shtml  


For more info see

Marsh, C. J. (1981). Simulation Games and the Social Studies Teacher. Theory Into Practice, 20(3), 187-193.

Posted by jklee ( Oct 03 2007, 11:09:38 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [14]

Disaffected! Game Information The game I chose to review is called ?Disaffected?. Persuasive Games LLC created the game and suggests that it may be used to discuss labor issues and management. It is free to play and suggests no target age. It is a game that you can download from this website http://www.persuasivegames.com/games/game.aspx?game=disaffected Game Structure and Teaching The purpose of this game is to show issues related to labor and management issues within businesses. It also has an underlying context of suggesting that monotonous work could lead to ignorance and inefficiency. Curricular based goals and objectives could be derived from U.S. History in Goal 5 and Goal 11. Both of these goals deal with industry, labor unions, movements, and other issues relating to the impact industry and manufacturing has had on social, economic, and political relationships. An indirect educational aim that this game entails is the empathy that is gained for the employees of these stores. It shows how difficult it might be to run a business with low staff and impatient people. It might encourage students to be more patient and understanding at consumer stores. Instructional uses of this game could include using it to analyze relationships between employees and bosses, and talk about the impact this has on business success. You might also be able to talk about the importance of customer satisfaction in business success. This game seems to be geared more toward high school and post-secondary education. This game does achieve some of the 21st learning skills such as communication and problem solving. Both of these skills are needed to keep the customer happy and make the simulated business successful. I think also that this game aims to suggest a new way to look at business operations and take a critical eye at the problems that employees face in big business. It also suggests that some problems are not addressed by companies and employees are forced to work in those conditions. Game Play The game starts off with choosing a level of difficulty. Next, you are given instructions on how to use the keyboard to move your ?employee?. You see a simulated store front (FedEx/Kinkos) and my game started out with two employees. The computer automatically issues problems that employees often encounter, such as too many customers at one time, boredom, and fatigue. This makes it difficult to make the customer happy. The game can be played with one or two players at one time. The objective of the game is to service the customer and get them their product as soon as possible. The computer automatically makes the customer leave if they are unsatisfied, so there is a time constraint. The game proceeds in levels, you must master the first level to proceed to the next. The game ends on the last level of game play, when you have satisfied all customers appropriately. Game Critique The limitations of the game include only focusing on the relationship aspect of the business situation. I think it could be better served if they talked more about the economic side of how the business runs. They did a fairly good job in indicating what things might help or hinder a business?s success. The non-monetary costs are low, depending on how well you play the game. If you are not that good, it might take you much longer to succeed. The cultural context of this game is very contemporary and includes only white employees, but several ethnic customers. It is obviously presented in an industrialized town/city with younger employees and older customers, perhaps sending a message about what kind of people work where. Finally, the downsides of this game could be that it doesn?t do well enough to address the economic side, and also it seems to ?put-down? service workers in retail by suggesting that they sometimes cannot do their job appropriately. Posted by amlong3 ( Oct 01 2007, 07:03:13 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Sim City Classic Game Review #3 Sim City Classic ? Ron Jones No one has done it yet, so what the heck! Game Information: Name: Sim City Classic Company: EA Games Educational use: simplified civil engineering, development of cities Target Age: seems to be young adolescents Platform: PC Address: http://simcity.ea.com/play/simcity_classic.php This game is an oldie. It looks very DOS, but it contains the basics for play. Later versions, which must be purchased and updated, are state of the art. SimCityscape is 3-D and looks really modern. Game Structure and teaching: The purpose of this game is to teach about the growth of cities from villages to towns, concentrating on economic management, rather than political development. The direct curricular aim is not easy to see. This game could align with US History or with Civics & Economics, although the age range seems to be middle school. Perhaps a magnet elective like Odyssey of the Mind would be a good fit. An indirect aim could be to have the learner make decisions concerning development, and allocation of resources. Instructional uses could be the development of cities during the late Industrial revolution, growth of cities in response to industrialization of the late 1800 to late 1900?s. I think that this game could fort the 21st Century initiative in that it familiarizes the learner with the development of societies in a technological format Game play: The object is to design a city from a bare landscape. There are forests, lakes and rivers, and the city must fit within the confines of the land. (Geography still rules!). The first step is to build a power plant, lay out residential, commercial, and industrial districts, connect them with power transmission lines and roads. The game proceeds through time increasing month by month, from the year 1900. At various times neighborhoods are built, commercial and industrial zones are developed and then abandoned. There are even natural disasters, floods, fires, tornadoes and earthquakes, programmed in that effect the developed areas. All the while the infrastructure must be adjusted, adding newer zones, building roads and power lines. The game tracks population, satisfaction levels with the city and revenues from the tax base. There are budget adjustments that can be made with spending on infrastructure and with the tax rates. Game Critique: In playing this game I found that it was possible to set up the town and watch it grow, adding development zones and spending the budget as needed, all while doing something else. This lack of rapid change is a drawback, as it could be boring to some students. On a libertarian vein, I found that adjusting the tax rate downward did not have the effect of stimulating growth nor, because of growth, stimulate revenue. This leads me to suppose that the game was designed by people who disregard the Laffer Curve?s proven benefits. Posted by rejones ( Oct 01 2007, 03:23:13 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

The Sims by Rachel Palmer Game Information: I observed a male playing The Online Sims game. Electronic Arts is the creator of this program. The company is one of the largest developers with over $3 billion in sales in 2007. I was able to download a trial version of this game. To purchase the game there is a $9.95 monthly charge. Game structure and teaching: The objective of the game is to create a virtual identity and survive in a virtual world. There were not any clear educational uses stated. Upper middle school and high school students could play this game fairly easily. The player does learn to make economic choices in this game. I could see this game used in a high school accounting class. Game Play: In The Sims players don?t die. You could play the game forever. The objective of the game is to create and sustain a ?Sim?, or virtual person. The player had a week to use the trail version of the game. During that week the player was able to create one Sim, purchase a property, find a job, and create two friendships. The player had to maintain levels of certain functions for the Sim such as fun and hunger. Critique: The reason I chose to observe a man playing this game, is because this is considered a female game. This particular player seemed more interested in set up a home and getting a job than in meeting other players. When the player was approached by another player, he was not interested in creating a relationship. Instead the player wanted to gain information from the other player. Posted by rkpalmer ( Oct 01 2007, 10:05:01 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Discover Babylon General Information: Discover Babylon was developed as a joint effort by the Federation of American Scientists, Cuniform Digital Libratry Initiative, Walters Art Museum and Escape Hatch Entertainment for the Learning Technologies Project. It is available as a free download at www.supersmartgames.org or the Discover Babylon website at www.discoverbabylon.org/index.asp. The game's stated purpose is to expose players to "Mesopotamia's diverse contributions in writing, mathematics, literature, and law...". Discover Babylon is targeted at 8 -14 year olds and is only available for Windows operating systems. Game Structure: The game operates in a scavanger hunt format in which the player must navigate through time, accomplish tasks along the way and find a missing archaeologist. Throughout the journey, players accumulate points for information uncovered while on their quest to visit Mesopotamia's key cities - Ur, Uruk, Babylon, Nippur, and Nimrud. The game does address several of the objectives of the NC Standard Course of Study for World History. Discover Babylon is appropriate for middle school through high school students and even adults who desire to learn more about Mesopotamia. The game does meet the requirements for 21st Century Skills by requiring players to solve problems such as bartering for food and understanding of geography. Game Play: The game begins with the broadcast of an earthquake in Baltimore which was created by a time shift attributed to an archeaologist who has time traveled to the past. The player begins his quest in a museum. He must navigate his way through the museum to find hidden items that make time travel possible. Once these items have been found, the player time travels to Babylon and assumes the identity of a 12 year old boy. There he learns what life was like from schooling to aquiring food in the city market. After each phase of the time travel is complete, the player leaps through time again to a different city, assumes another identity(such as a 13 year old fisherman) and continues his quest to find Professor Dax in order to bring him back to the present. On each leg of the journey, the player can choose to explore his envirionment further or continue his search for Professor Dax. The game concludes when the Professor has been found. Additionaly, the amount of points the player earns is dependent upon how much information he gathers/learns during the various phases of time jumping from city to city. Game Critique: Discover Babylon is a resource that all social studies teachers can implement in their classrooms. Cost is not a concern since it is free. The game can be downloaded by students for play on their home computers as well. Discover Babylon is fantastic way to introduce students to ancient civilizations. Students will learn and understand more about Mesopotamia from this game then they ever could from reading a texbook or watching videos. The one drawback of the game is the amount of time required to download (approximately an hour). If a teacher is planning to utilize the game in her classroom, the download needs to be completed prior to the day of intended use. The next time I am scheduled to teach a World History Course, I will definately include this game in my unit/lesson plans. Posted by japrober ( Oct 01 2007, 12:44:18 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Peace Doves Game Name: Peace Doves Company: nobelprize.org; sponsored by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (largest financiers of research in Sweden) Stated Educational Uses: The game teaches children about the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970 and the countries who possess nuclear weapons. Target age for use: 15+ Cost: Free online game Platform: web based The purpose of Peace Doves is both educational and political. The game is educational in that students will learn more about the countries that possess nuclear weapons. Peace Doves gives the player key information about each country like how many nuclear weapons they have, rankings in comparison to other countries in number of weapons possessed, historical conflicts, and whether or not they are legally allowed to own nuclear weapons by the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970. The game is political in the sense that the dialogue between the doves makes the policy suggestion of halting and disarming the growth of nuclear weapons in the world. In regards to the NC Standard Course of Study, 9th graders are learning about world history and this game could be supplemented to fit into this curriculum. Ninth graders must understand and know the current state of world affairs and through this game; a student would know where each country stands in regards to nuclear weapons possession. I found the game was helpful in highlighting each country that owned a nuclear weapon and where that state was geographically located. Possible instructional value of the game would be to either test a student?s knowledge of geography and history in regards to nuclear weapons or an evaluation of what students learned during a lesson on world nuclear proliferation. This game is a test of base knowledge on current world affairs. This game allows for students to think about nuclear disarmament as an important political issue for world actors. Peace Doves, taking fifteen minutes to play is an easy and interesting game. Remembering which countries possess nuclear weapons and how many they have in comparison to one another could be hard for students to recall. This game highlights geography and further information for all the countries that possess the weapons. Peace Doves starts by calling into action eight doves to disarm countries that own nuclear weapons. A player is given at the bottom of the screen three boxes in which to pay attention to information. The first box is labeled Message on the Ring which dispatches information about the mystery nuclear armed country. A player then must make the judgment on which country the message is pertaining to. The second box is called Pick a Destination where a map of the world is displayed. When the cursor is moved over the countries of the world the countries that have nuclear weapons are highlighted. It is then up to the player to select the country that corresponds with the information given in the message. The last box labeled Activate a Peace Dove sends one out of the eight doves to the country chosen. The mission will be complete if the information is correct and failed if the information is incorrect. With a one player option, the game ends with a summary of the countries that were disarmed or still armed. I only failed to disarm France?s 500 nuclear weapons. At first I believed the game to be too simple for fifteen year olds but by playing I learned about the number of weapons, rankings, history, and geography of each nuclear armed country. The content of the game is definitely important given the current state of world affairs. Teachers could then introduce the potential emergence of Iran into this mix of nuclear weapon owning countries. I believe that this game would be a great way to supplement this discussion. The interactive map was a useful tool during the game. Content that might be surprising for students is that Turkey, Cuba, South Africa, Israel, and Pakistan all possess nuclear weapons and that Russia owns more weapons than the United States. Although teachers could just tell students this information, the facts presented by the game were much more engaging and visually stimulating. A student could potentially recall the information easier if they remember playing Peace Doves by visualizing the map or failing to disarm a certain country. Posted by rsbumgar ( Sep 30 2007, 10:42:07 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Jamestown Online Adventure Game Review Game Information: Jamestown Online Adventure is a free web-based game. The game takes place in the year 1606 and you are the captain of the Jamestown Colony. Your job is to set up the first permanent English colony in the New World. Jamestown Online Adventure is ideal for a U.S. History lesson, taught in fourth, or eighth grades. Bob Dunn is both the creator and flash programmer of Jamestown Online Adventure. Historyglobe.com brings you the game free of charge. Jamestown Online Adventure does require a Flash 7 or higher. Game Play: Jamestown Online Adventure makes you the captain of a new English colony. You are given a copy of the London Company?s instructions to help guide you. Your job is to maintain a successful colony based on four things: food, health, morale and wealth. Fellow colonists as well as Native Americans are there to help you. The format is question-based. You are asked a series of questions about where you want the ship to land, how to interact with the Native Americans, what type of town to build, who will work, what crops to plant, and what activities should gentlemen participate in. At the end of the game, you are given a report on the state of your colony based on how well you are producing food, how healthy your colonists are (ie. Are disease and starvation present), how much money you are making for the London Company, and how good of a leader you are to your colony. You even get to compare your colony to the actual Jamestown colony at the end. Only one person can play this game at a time. The game ends when you have answered all the questions. There are a total of six questions. In a recent game, I chose my colony to be set up in a marshy area. I built a village, instead of a wooden fort or castle. I had my men fishing and hunting, instead of searching for gold. All men worked. I planted tobacco, wheat, and corn. In the end, my score report stated that I had good food sources, poor health, good wealth, and a fair morale. My colonists were not too happy with my decision to trade with the Indians, and to make all men work. Game Structure and Teaching: Jamestown Online Adventure is an educational U.S. history game. This game would be ideal for a fourth or eighth grade social studies classroom. While it does not deal directly to North Carolina, it does describe the settlement of an English colony. The game is very short, perfect for an introductory lesson into the colonies. Specifically, the eighth grade NCSCoS refers to the roles and contributions of Native Americans on colonies. Jamestown Online Adventure directly refers to Native Americans in some questions. You also have the opportunity to ask for a Native American?s advice with what type of structures to build and what crops to plant. Indirectly, this game gives students the opportunity to see what it was like to live back then when there was little settlement. The game illustrates the notion that the luxuries we have today were not available. The colonists truly had to live off the land. Jamestown Online Adventure does incorporate some of the 21st learning skills. However, the critical thinking one must utilize in this game is far less than in other games I have reviewed. The player must answer questions about his colony. However, the possible answers are already given. You do not get to see the direct impact your answer has on the colony until the very end of the game. Thus, the player is not forced to react to a positive or negative decision. Critique: Jamestown Online Adventure is truly an educational game. It takes only five to ten minutes to complete. It would serve as a perfect introduction to the English colonies. I think the game would really engage students and get them to thinking about what life was like when the English were settling in the U.S. This game could only be used efficiently in a North Carolina or U.S. History course when students are studying Native Americans and the New World. Honestly, I was a little disappointed with this game. I thought there would be more action, and I would actually get to see the impact my decisions had on my colony. There is no room for creativity as you are already given a choice of answers to the questions. On the upside, Jamestown Online Adventure does an excellent job of imitating life in the early 1600s. The sound effects and graphics are well done. The game also illustrates that life in the early 1600s was extremely hard. A colonist had to work very hard just to stay alive. Posted by slcarte2 ( Sep 30 2007, 08:07:33 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [11]

Scribble States SCRIBBLE STATES Scribble States is a game that revolves around the geography of the United States. There are three versions of the game. In one, the player must draw and then recognize one of the fifty states, in another draw and be able to name the capital of the state, and in the third draw and know the state nickname. Players can choose to answer 10, 20 or 30 questions per quiz. The cost of the game is free, and is available online at www.addictinggames.com/scribblestates.html GAME PLAY: The player has a ?pencil? that is controlled by the mouse. Using the pencil, the player must connect a series of dots that will recreate one of the fifty states. At the bottom of the page, a grade for the drawing is given; as the drawing progresses, the point value goes down according to how many mistakes and/or misdrawn lines are made. Once the drawing is completed, a multiple choice question appears asking the player to identify the state that was just drawn. Again using the pencil, the player must bubble in the answer. Points are deducted from the quiz part of the player?s score based on the amount of time it took the player to choose the correct answer from the given list. At the end of the game the player is given an overall grade average for all of the drawings and quiz answers. STRUCTURE AND TEACHING: Purpose: educational. Possible instructional uses: enrichment activity/independent study activity to help with memorization of US geography. The game also provides practice using a computer mouse to create the drawings, which promotes motor skill use and development. CRITIQUE The game can be played quickly if the player recognizes all of the states he/she has just drawn. That may depend on how adept the person is at using the mouse to follow the dot-to-to pattern to make the drawing clear enough to recognize the state. When I played I could not figure out what a perfect drawing would look like. I tried going very slow and drawing precisely, but the grade I received for those drawings was not more than a point or two different from the ones where I drew rather quickly and the state outline looked a bit messy. I also had difficulty figuring out how fast was fast enough to answer the question to get a score higher than the low 90s. The timer apparently started the second the question flashed on the screen, and the value declined quickly. Even on the states I recognized immediately I never got a score higher than a 94. Either I took too long to answer the question, or I took to long to bubble in the answer so the computer could read it. At the end of my game, my average drawing scores were 84 and the question score average was 93. Even though I did not miss any question, my overall grade was only a B. The game might best be used as a refresher for a geography unit for elementary school students, or as time filler for middle school students. Posted by emartin2 ( Sep 30 2007, 04:01:29 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Activism: The Public Policy Game Activism: The Public Policy Game Game Review Activisim: The Public Policy Game is a web-based game created by Persuasion Games. It can be accessed for free at http://activismgame.com. This game was commissioned by the 2004 Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). The aim of this game is not in the realm of academic education but in political education. It has no curriculum based used but can be used with upper middle and high school students who are learning about government and political issues. A person playing Activism first enters their location, age range, and gender. This is used to compare to other games played in your area, in your age range, or by your gender. The player then creates a virtual activism plan that prioritizes the public policy issues most important to them by allocating different numbers of activist to each area. There are total of 10,000 activists to be dispersed. They player could also chose to load another player?s plan sorted by location, age, and gender. There are six issues the game discusses are economy (includes tax reform, healthcare, and college tuition relief), education, corporate policy (revives the economy by sending corporate tax dollars to the treasury), security, military, and internationalism (improving relationships between the U.S. and the international community). While the player is allowed to set their own priorities they are not allowed to ignore any of the six public policy issues. Each of the 6 issues has its own ?mini game? and all six appear on the screen at once. The player must play all six games simultaneously and keep the issues balanced. Each mini game has a gauge that indicates how well the player is performing in that area, color coded in green (good), yellow (okay), red (failure). If any of the six mini become red the game is over. There are also three ?Quality of Life Indicators? which are a light bulb, the dollar sign, and a peace symbol. These signs effect how difficult it is to manage other issues. In order to win the game the player must bring all six of the gauges in the green level. I have played this game a number of times and have never been able to get more than two public policy issues into the green area. The game starts as soon as you press play and you must prioritize your areas while playing the 6 mini games. You can change your priorities as you play but that distracts you from the mini games. This purpose of this game is educational and political. The object is to help John Kerry and Congress work together. This game would fit in the high school level United States history with the formation of political parties, AP United States Government and Politics. This game would demonstrate to the students how difficult it is to balance all different aspects of government simultaneously and would help them determine what their own personal opinions regarding public policy are. It also may open some of their eyes to the issues faced by Congress that they were never aware of. Critique: Activism is very busy and complicated because there are so many things going on at once. It takes a great deal of time to play as it does take quite a few minutes for anyone of the issues to fall into the red area and it takes a good deal of time to get an issue to go into the green area. Also, because this game was made for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee it is biased. However, this bias can be used to discuss differences in the parties as the GOP also has a political game online called Take Back Illinois. Posted by akhager ( Sep 29 2007, 02:21:10 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

The Political Machine Game Review Game Information: The game I chose to review for our third game review is called The Political Machine. While the game does cost money in order to play, I viewed a demo of it found here: http://www.politicalmachine.com/game.aspx. While the game does not specify an age group it is intended for, the student needs to have a firm understanding of U.S. politics and government. Therefore, the game is best suited for students at the secondary level learning about civics and economics. Game Play: The Political Machine allows players to choose between four different types of the game, including ?quick game? that is based on real world issues, or ?fantasy? game where the issues and state values are randomized. The player may also choose to play ?campaign mode? where he/she goes through different levels and in the end will face the top political candidates of all time. In the multi-player version of the game, players compete online against one another. In all versions of the game the player is a campaign manager for a United States presidential candidate. Players are allowed to create their own candidates (represented via avatar) or use real previous Presidential candidates such as Bill Clinton, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. The player must travel around the country in order to campaign and win voter support for his/her candidate. Some of the issues the player is faced with include the economy, policy decisions, and the War on Terror. Players are required to buy ads, make speeches, and go on T.V. as well as do other things in order to campaign for their candidate. If these activities make the candidate low on money the player must launch a fund raising event to help raise more money. Before the player goes to each state to campaign, they may view the top five issues that are most important to the people of that state as well as the political orientation breakdown (Republican, Democrat, and Independent). The players are confronted with scandals, ?smear merchants, spin doctors,? and other crises throughout the game. The main goal of the game is for the candidate to achieve 270 electoral votes for his/her candidate on Election Day. Structure and Teaching: The purpose of this game is to expose students to the processes that go on in campaigning for an election. The game helps the students grasp all the different things campaign managers and candidates must do in order to run for President. If the player chooses to play the ?quick game? that represents the actual political orientation and important issues to each state, the player will learn about real state political issues. The player is also forced to think about the issues that are important to him/herself. Many times secondary level students are unsure as to what kind of issues they are passionate about, and I believe this game is a great way to expose some of those issues and hopefully be a chance for political self exploration. The game hits directly on the issues of 21st century content because it encompasses issues that deal with global awareness, finance, economics, business, as well civic issues. This game would be great for a U.S. government or civics course. Critique: This game exposes students to the issues and realities campaign managers and candidates must face when running for election. The game allows students to engage in active learning and problem solving skills. Players must plan out and gear their speeches and ideas to the individuals or groups of people they need the vote from in each state. The ultimate goal of the game is to become President but in order to do that the player must realize and understand how to achieve votes in order to do this. So for example, if the player is representing a Democrat and is visiting South Carolina and looks to see prayer in school is a major issue there, they may think about focusing on that issue. However, the player must realize that many Democrats in South Carolina may not agree with prayer in school, and if the candidate focuses on that issue, he/she may upset the Democratic base in that state. There are costs associated with the game. The monetary cost of the game is anywhere between 20-60 dollars (depending on the vendor). Although I was not able to play the game, it will require a lot of time to complete. The game would require much classroom time if started from the very beginning. I believe Locke (who presented this game in the class) said when he used it in his student teaching he brought in a version that he previously started. This being said, I do believe the game would be very beneficial in the classroom. The graphics and pictures used are very aesthetically pleasing and there is a sense of humor brought to the game with spin offs of real television shows. However, the game does not expose the student/player to anything that happens before the Presidential election (i.e. primaries, financial issues with campaigning, etc). Posted by jlsmit13 ( Sep 29 2007, 01:42:02 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Darfur is Dying General Information: Darfur is Dying was developed by students at the University of Southern California and produced by a partnership of Reebok Human Rights Foundation, International Crisis Group, and MTV Networks. The game targets the liberal sector of society, particulaly youth in their late teens and twenties. Players are encouraged to forward the game to others in an effort to inform as many people as possible of the horrors in Darfur. It is available online as a free download. Structure: The game draws attention to the genocide that is currently being conducted in Darfur. The concept of genocide is part of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for US History. Although the game's purpose is to inform players of the conditions in Darfur, it goes beyond informing. The game and its designers are constantly encouraging players to become politically active and suggest ways players can become involved in socio-political issues through various means such as contacting their representatives in Washington DC. The game is probably too graphic or disturbing in its descriptions of atrocities to be used with middle school students. It would be more appropriate for high school students even though the game's graphics and simulations are low-tech to the point of being childish. Darfur is Dying does address the demands of 21st Century Skills by encouraging players to utilize the Internet to communicate to others. Game Play: Players are required to choose an identity of a refugee. They must help their refugee camp survive for seven days by completing tasks such as collecting water from a well. However, water collection is not an easy task. The player must navigate his way safely to the well and back without being captured or killed. If the player is able to help his camp survive for seven days, he has won the game. Even if the player survived, he is constantly reminded about the refugees who perish and suffer daily. Critique: I felt the game was too political. I would be hesitant to use it in a classroom because of the constant emphasis on political activism on a world wide scale. As a public school teacher, my role is to inform students of world events, not to push a specific political, social, or economic agenda upon them. I believe my role is to develop the knowledge and abilities my students need in order to make informed decisions about issues and topics. It is up to them to develop their own course of action, if they choose to, concerning a political, social,or economic problem which cues their interest. Posted by japrober ( Sep 24 2007, 12:06:00 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

review of Lemonade Tycoon 2 Game Review #2 - Ron Jones Name: Lemonade Tycoon 2 v.1.1.23 Company: Jamdat Mobil, Canada Educational use: Economics & Business Age target: middle to high school Cost: Free Demo, cost is $19.95 Platform: PC http://www.supersmartgames.com/Big_Kids/Life_Skills/Lemonade_Tycoon_2/ Game Structure The purpose of this game is to teach the fundamentals of economics and business. SCOS for 10th grade Civics and Economics Goal 7 ?The Learner will investigate how and why individuals and groups make economic choices.? The indirect educational aims is to develop an entrepreneurial spirit of ownership and business success. I believe that it could be used as young as 6th graders, with scaffolding, up to a 10th grade C&E class. It absolutely fits with the 21st Century initiative because once the basics of supply & demand business model has been learned, then global economics can be understood. Game Play This is an economics game, teaching the business side of retail. You are given a bicycle push-cart to sell lemonade on a street corner. You have to have to choose and buy a location, stock your cart with supplies, adjust recipes, pay permits & salaries. You can buy locations anywhere around NYC from the Bronx, to Grand Central Station, to the Statue of Liberty, with an increasing cost for more popular locations. You have to analyze foot traffic to find the best locations. Advertising is also available. The game is timed in days, with a time-chart showing weather (upon which lemonade sales is dependent), and you play until you are successful and build a monopoly of lemonade stands, or you go bankrupt. People are shown coming to the stands and either buying with an icon showing satisfaction or dissatisfaction, or leaving if the line is too long. You can adjust your recipe for taste, but it costs you your stock. The recipie must be adjusted because if customers dislike it, others leave and you will lose potential sales. You have to daily buy supplies of cups, ice, lemons, and sugar. You have top employ people to attend the stands. As you earn more money you can expand your pushcarts and buy more locations, but you also have to spend for more permits, supplies and wages. There is a page of reports that track sales, costs, profits and the bank account balance. It is a single player game, but the program has competition built into higher levels. You have to compete with various business plans, learning as you go. Game Critique This game concentrates on the supply side of capitalism. The only effect on demand that can be made is on taste appeal, location and price. There doesn?t seem to be any explanation of the motivations of the customer?s rational choice, either than price. This seems lacking. The cultural context is that its setting is NYC, but the customers and staff are multiracial. It?s a pretty cool game in that it teacher the basics of economics ? costs of labor, cost of materials, overhead and capital costs ? in a simple manner. This is a public good, as not for nothing is economics called the ?dismal science?. Posted by rejones ( Sep 23 2007, 10:22:38 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Trade Game Review Trade is a web based game on the Nobel Prize website (www.nobelprize.org) and it can be accessed for free. This game was commissioned by the Nobel Prize organization along with other games that explain the accomplishments of Nobel Prize winners in the areas of chemistry, medicine, physics, literature, and economics. The website does not explicitly state educational uses but it can be used to help demonstrate how trade can boost the economy of one country while setting another into a depression. A person playing Trade assumes the role of the trade ruler of an island. First the player must choose one of the four islands to rule. Each island has a different profile; some have high numbers of laborers while others have high numbers of technology resources. The high labor islands produce jeans and the high technology islands produce cell phones. Once the player chooses an island they get to create a physical identity and choose another island to trade with. The trade ruler then determines how much of each product is produced and how much to trade. The trading island can accept or deny the trade terms. The goal is to make a trade that benefits both islands equally. The trading island will accept a trade that is equal for each island or better for them (though they will be reluctant to accept an equal trade). After the trade the citizens of the trade ruler?s island either praise or condemn the ruler. One trade is made each turn for a total of 3 turns. After the 3 turns the player is allowed to see their progress. I attempted to play this game four or five times and I always managed to make my citizens angry at some point. It takes a great deal of knowledge of economics to be successful at this game. However, with trial and error a student having difficulty understanding economics may be able to figure out the ins and outs. The Nobel Prize organization commissioned Trade with the purpose of educating the player about Bertil Ohlin?s study of how two countries benefit from trade. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics in 1977. Within the curriculum this game applies to tenth grade social studies competency goals 7, 8, and 9 as well as high school economics. Outside of the social studies curriculum this game helps develop problem-solving skills through trial and error. Also, it teaches about fair trade. A wealthy country with many technology resources can help a country with many laborers by promoting fair trade over high profits. It would be best used in a high school or middle school social studies, economics, or business class. I had a great deal of trouble understanding trade and supply and demand concepts in high school economics. This game would have helped me better understand how trade works way back then! This game would be easily integrated because it is a short game, lasting about 2-3 minutes per game. For maximum impact a student would need to play a few different times in order to see how economies profit depending on the trade. Critique: Trade is short in length and does not allow for much change in the amount of exports produced. Not knowing much about economics I found it frustrating that the other island would deny the trade agreement without giving advice. Posted by akhager ( Sep 23 2007, 06:11:40 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Review of 3rd World Farmer Game Information: 3rd World Farmer, a free web-based game, simulates real-world mechanisms that may cause poverty in third world countries. 3rd World Farmer is presented by Arcade Town and created in Denmark by Ole Fabrious Toubrou, Frederik Hurmund, and Benjamin Salqvist. This game is a great starting point for discussions about 3rd world issues. This game would be ideal for use in grades 6-10. Game Play: 3rd World Farmer puts you in the shoes of a family of farmers. You are located in one of the poorest parts of the world where you are forced to make important decisions that will impact your family. You must decide what crops to plant, how you will invest your money, and whether or not your children will go to school. While playing, you should aim at keeping your family healthy, while investing in infrastructure that will allow your family to prosper. The game ends when the last person dies. In a recent game, I lasted 33 turns. I started out with four family members. By the time the game ended, I supported a total of eight family members. I was able to decide whether or not my family members would get married and have children. The more family members you have, the more money you will earn and the longer your family will survive. However, as you progress through the game, the family members get sick and die if you do not give them enough medicine. Medicine is extremely expensive. Also, you have to focus on buying crops and livestock so that your family will have enough money to survive. Each turn lasts a year. After each turn, you are given an annual report on how your crops and livestock faired. I lasted 33 turns, which is 33 years. In 33 years, two family members got married and each had a child. Game Structure and Teaching: 3rd World Farmer is an educational game that allows the player to manage an African farm and experience the difficulties and hardships one might face in a 3rd world country. This game would fit perfectly into the 7th grade curriculum in North Carolina when students learn about Africa. More specifically, players will have to recognize the relationship between economic activity and the quality of life in Africa, which directly correlates to Competency Goal #6 In the NCSCoS. While satisfying the NCSCoS, 3rd World Farmer indirectly makes issues concerning poverty relevant to the player. The player is forced to deal with the same everyday concerns as an actual 3rd world farmer. The game also promotes 21st century teaching methods by encouraging players to use decision making and problem solving skills. Players must incorporate critical thinking to make complex choices for their farms ? whether it be the purchase of crops or animals, buildings, medicines, schooling, or cell phones. Players soon realize that these critical choices will impact their family and their future in the game. Game Critique: This game is ideal for a social studies classroom. It teaches students about third world countries, various natural resources, and budgeting. However, given the annual report at the end of each turn, one must be able to read and understand the complex tables of information regarding productivity, livestock and crops. Thus, I believe this game would not be appropriate for the lower elementary grades. This game could be extremely short or extremely long, all depending how long your family survives. For me, it took around 30 minutes. I lasted 33 turns. The only downside to this game is that you cannot save and exit the game. Thus, you must keep playing until you quit or all the family members die. For some, I would think that would be quite some time. However, on the upside, this game gives its player an identity. The player must place his/her hopes and needs into a game player whose fate relies solely on him/her. Creating this identity encourages the player to reflect more deeply about their experience as a third world farmer and the implications poverty has on today?s population. Posted by slcarte2 ( Sep 23 2007, 05:16:21 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Waterbusters This is a game to teach tips for water conservation at home. It is tied to elementary social studies curriculum in grade 3, competency goals 1 and 3. Players can also learn more about how to save water around the house. The game was created by Seattle Saving Water Partnership. The game is simulation where the user, assuming the identity of Phil Dumpster, has begun a quest to find ways to save water around his house. He asks his friend Bert the Salmon to help him. The cost of the game is free, and is available online http://www2.seattle.gov/util/waterbusters/ GAME PLAY: Phil Dumpster is on a mission to reduce his family?s water bills. Phil asks his friend Bert the Salmon to help him find areas around the house where he can save water, money and the environment. As Phil, you have to quickly find and repair water leaks and also to install water saving devices around the house. Phil will have to find the tools to make the needed repairs and equipment changes. The player uses the arrow keys to walk Phil into various rooms around his house looking for potential water loss. Along the way there are tools scattered about that he will need to make repairs. (wrench, plunger, etc.) Once Phil has picked up the needed tools, he can make the repair. If a repair is needed but Phil has not yet picked up the necessary tool to make the repair, nothing will happen. Tools are not needed for everything, sometimes just ?smarts? about water usage. Once a problem is solved, Bert the Salmon pops up with congratulations and additional water saving tips. At the beginning of each level, you have a supply of water drops at the top of the screen. As time goes on, water drops disappear. You must fix all the water issues in Phil?s house before your water drops run out. Each water drop represents 15 gallons of water. The faster you fix the water problems, the more water you save. As the levels increase, there are more problems to solve (Phil?s family are apparently slow learners, as they are frequently the ones wasting water) and after level one you must avoid Running Taps---a game hazard. A faucet with running shoes is patrolling a particular area of the home; Phil must avoid this and still fix the problem. If Running Taps captures Phil, 2 water drops (30 gallons of water) are deducted from the water drop total at the top of the screen. When I played, I successfully fixed the water issues around Phil?s house and managed to save 191 gallons of water. (I was captured by Running Taps twice). If your game is successful, you receive a Water Busters Certificate and a Water Saving checklist that are printable from the game site. STRUCTURE AND TEACHING: The structure of the game puts the player in the middle of a typical home, though we only see the downstairs rooms of the kitchen, utility room and two bathrooms. This is explained at the beginning of play by reminding the player that washing clothes, flushing the toilet and showering are the biggest uses of water around a house. Purpose: educational and social?natural resources are becoming scarce, we all can do our part to help. Possible instructional uses: enrichment activity to reinforce the need for water conservation, especially in areas of drought. CRITIQUE: The game is rather simple, and does not require a lot of prior knowledge to play. The game is a quick play, about 10 minutes total. It is rather simplistic, but would be good for elementary grade children. Older children would find it too simple and probably not absorbing enough to keep their attention. Posted by emartin2 ( Sep 23 2007, 04:41:44 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Where Is That? Where IS That? This is an online game that is fun for younger students in the elementary school grades specifically third and fourth grade. this game is developed by Pearson Education and is found on the internet for free. It is a web based game. The purpose of this game is to get young people familiar with places around the world. The player is simply given a region to choose from and than that player has to name that state or country in which is highlighted on the screen. The game is straight forward and easy to play. The game unfolds as the following. As the student plays they choose a level to play. For example, level one is to identify which country or state is highlighted. If the student gets the country or state correct they are given a point. If the student answers incorrectly they are given an explanation of the correct answer. A player can get a maximum of ten points per round. Level two is to the spell the name of the highlighted state or country. In level three you are given the capital of the country or state and you have to identify the country. In level four your are given the capital and you have to spell in the correct name of the country or state. In the last level your country or state is highlighted and you have to fill in the capital. Each of these levels becomes more and more challenging to a young student. Only one player may play the game at one time. The game begins and ends when the player chooses to stop on whatever level they feel they need to improve on. A teacher may request that all students play all levels until they get at least half or five questions right. I played the game and proceed from level to level. However, with me being an adult the game was not challenging like it would be for a young student. I purposely answered some questions wrong to see what would happen. The purpose of this game is to teach young students geography. By learning about geography the students will be able to learn about regions or sections of the world that they other wise would have no clue about. A huge positive about this game is that it goes over the incorrect answers. Students are instilled to learn from their mistakes at an early age. Indirectly students learn spelling and language skills by practicing the spelling of state and country capitals. As they pronounce these words they will be able to enhance their speaking skills and enunciation. An English teacher could use this game to allow students to practice their writing skills by writing a story about a particular state. A Social Studies teacher can use this game an introduce certain states on a topic about geographic differences. For example, Why does it snow in New Jersey and not in Florida? This game allows students to access the computer and have some enjoyment while learning at the same time. By allowing our students to familiarize themselves with the computer they will be better prepared for the future, and therefore become computer literate at a young age. Computers and the use of the internet has become vital to the success of students in all academic settings and therefore needs to be stressed at a young age. As for limitations to this game I would suggest a few things. I would like to see the students to be able to learn more about a particular country or state. It is good to know where the particular place is located and what the capital is. However, it would be nice to be able to seek out information about a particular place in order to learn particulars about that place. Also I noticed in order to get back to the main screen with all the levels on it, a player has to backspace through the number of questions that was asked. In another words I had to backspace no less than ten times to get back to the main menu. If a student answered questions wrong they would have to do this even more. This could be frustrating and annoying to a young student and this could make that person lose interest in the topic at hand. This could cause the teacher to work harder in trying to recapture the students interest in that topic. Time could also be a problem for an instructor if they are a fixed schedule. The use of this game would probably work best in a classroom with a teacher assistant. This way the students can be broken up into at groups and be given small group instruction on how to use the game. This would make playing the game more managable for both the teacher and students. Overall this game has potential to help students understand places and regions thus enhancing the social studies curriculum. By learning geographic regions a student will learn about different cultures and different views on various topics. Overall this game has more positives than negatives and should be used in the classroom. Posted by mjcrotea ( Sep 23 2007, 03:33:25 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Food Force Food Force World Hunger is a very interesting game in regards to social studies education. This game was put together by the United Nations World Food Programme. This game is designed to educate people about world hunger and the obstacles that are involved in the process of traansporting food around the world in order to stop hunger from happening. This game would be appropriate for students in grades seven through nine. The game is free to play and takes about thirty to forty five minutes to play. Each mission allots the player a certain amount of time to complete the task at hand. The game is a web based game and does not require any software installation. The player is required to go through six different missions. Each mission practices a different challenge to overcome when it comes to delivering food. Some examples are putting the right combination of food together for the people of Sheylan, air delivering food to appropriate areas that need it, watching out for rebels and natural disasters, and developing a community that can become self sufficient and feed itself are just a few. A player tries to attain a certain score on a particular mission. If the person does not score well enough they are given the option to play the mission again. For example, I tried several times to come up with the right combination of food when making a food ration. Each time I was unsuccessful but learned a little bit more about how much rice, salt, bean etc to use. As I play the game more I eventually put the right amount of ingredients together in order to have the correct ration put together. The game ends after the player has completed the sixth mission. The purpose of this game is to make the player aware of all that is involved in feeding the world. It is not as easy as it seems. It is the responsibility of the player to make decisions when dealing with rebels and to choose the most appropriate response so that food, time, and money are not lost. This game provides people with over general knowledge about world conflict, regional issues, and economics. Some educational goals when playing this game are macroeconomics, how do countries provide financial aid to areas in desperate need of help. What social customs and beliefs have led to war and other problems and disease about a particular region. What can an ordinary student do to help or become more involved. Indirectly students can learn about medicines and missionary care in parts of the world where some medical problems are more prevelant than here in the United States. A science teacher could talk about a unit on medical geography and AIDS. This game highlights severe problems of the 21st century and issues that are currently problematic in the world, and therefore making the student aware of what dangers the world faces today in order to prepare them better for tomorrow. Our class readings have had a particular focus on 21st century thinking and the thought process. This game has topics related to that thought process. This game in my opinion does not have any limitations with regard to social studies. This game provides a student with a spring board of topics that are directly related to social studies. As a student learns about these topics that can branch out into other areas of learning in other core subjects. Spending one's time to play this game is a great idea for a student to do. Whether they play FoodForce at home or at school they will booster their knowledge in social studies. This game sends the signal that world starvation is everyone's problem and not one person can solve the problem. It is going to take a collaborative effort to reduce hunger from becoming a more serious problem that what it is right now. Overall this game is entertaining and educational and does a great job of teaching. Posted by mjcrotea ( Sep 23 2007, 03:33:04 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Red Box Review by Rachel Palmer Game Information: This week I played The Red Box (http://www.redbox.gov.uk). The game was created by the U.K. Treasury and Revenue and Customs. The game is available free on-line. It is a single user game. The game concludes when the gamer has entered all of the buildings. Game structure and teaching: The objective of the game is to raise enough money to keep the services needed for the community going. There are two versions of the game available: ages 7-11 and the other for ages 11-16. I choose to play the 11-16 age category. The game does meet some of the educational goals set out in the NC Standard Course of study. The game does help students study how and why groups make economic choices. It also examines the economic decisions and the quality of life of citizens. Finally, students study the different forms of government within the U.K. Game Play: The game was very easy to navigate. You need a fast internet connection to be able to play this game. You rotate from building to building by clicking on the fountain in the middle of the square. The questions, which are multiple choice, change depending on which building you enter. The player can earn cash for your community with each right answer you get. In addition, you have the opportunity to play games to earn extra money. The games relate to the questions you answer. For example, in one game you are a customs agent looking for smuggled goods. Critique: I was disappointed in the game. The questions were like a standardized test. There were questions that required prior knowledge that were frustrating. The games were boring with little skill involved. I do not think I would use this game in a classroom. Posted by rkpalmer ( Sep 23 2007, 10:41:31 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Gazillionaire Review for Gazillionaire Game Information The game I reviewed was called Gazillionaire produced by Lavamind Inc. It is a software based game that aims to increase economic and business skills of all ages. It is $29.99 to purchase. I chose the free trial version. Game Structure & Teaching The purpose of this game is to teach entrepreneurial skills based on important concepts such as supply and demand. It is intended for educational use. Direct curricular-related educational aims and goals follow with the NCSCOS in goals 7, 8, & 9. These goals focus on the following themes: Individual and group economic business decisions, analysis of the U.S. economic system, and factors that influence the U.S. economy. Indirect educational aims and goals might include intrinsic motivation to look more into business related fields and majors. It made owning a business exciting and intriguing. It also shares a lot of information about personal business issues as well. Possible instructional uses of this game include using it in a civics and economics 10th grade classroom. This would be a great game to explain the reality of business survival and development. I think it could also be used in marketing and business classrooms. Finally, I feel it might also be helpful for career investigation classes. Students could simulate a business to see if they like the process and have the necessary knowledge skills. I think this game does an exceptional job at achieving many of the 21st Century learning aims such as thinking, problem-solving, communication, interpersonal, and self-directional skills. This game seems to include all of these skills in play. Game Play The first thing you do is make several set-up decisions. You pick 7 planets with particular characteristics to be your base. Next, you create a name for your business and purchase a spaceship with your ?start-up? money. It gives you initial information such as who you are playing against (6 computer companies). You can also choose up to six players and a difficulty level. Once the set-up is completed you can read about how the game works and get advice. It gives you a mission: to collect 1,000,000 Kubars (dollars) before any of the other companies. One turn one, it shows you how the stock market is doing on that planet, and how business is going. You can do several things such as buy merchandise to sell on the next planet, you can also buy advertisement to sell your product. Throughout the process you must pay taxes, pick up passengers, etc. Once turn one is finished you can choose to go to another planet or stay at the one you started. However, it gives you a complete update on where you rank in terms of the one million kubars. There is an endpoint when one company reaches one million kubars. This game forces you to reckon with the supply and demand theory of each planet, it?s very interesting. Game Critique Some of the limitations of the game is that it costs money and may be too expensive for multiple use in the classroom. Also, it might utilize skills that students are not familiar with and perhaps turn them away from business related classes because they were discouraged. Non-monetary costs are relatively low. This is because the game allows you to initially choose how long of a game you would like to play. It gives the choices of very fast, fast, slow, etc. This reduces the limitation of time which is great. I did not see too much cultural context besides the fact that it is set in a ?futuristic? time period. It uses odd names and planets as the different ?towns?. Potential downsides is that it could be too complex for some students to understand, especially EC or ESL students. In this case, it may dis-encourage them from embarking on business adventures. I feel there may also be an opportunity for students to get too excited and too risky in real business decisions after playing the game. Overall, I liked this game but sometimes was confused along the way. Many students would benefit from this game simply because it gives you such an in depth look at business relations and perspective. Posted by amlong3 ( Sep 23 2007, 09:42:30 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Bloxorz Game Review #1 ? Ron Jones ***Ok, I mistakenly posted this last week as a comment to Erica's posting. DUH!*** For my first game I chose something simple. This game teacher a skill of manipulating an object across a grid using critical thinking skills, sequencing and mental imaging to pre-think possible moves. Game Info name : BLOXOR Company: DX Interactive No stated educational use No stated age Free and on-line http://www.addictinggames.com/bloxors.html Game structure Although the purpose of this game seems to be wasting your time, it is an exercise in logical sequential thinking, spatial cognition and to some extent, memory skills. Last week, I sat in a Department Leaders meeting at my middle school. We were urged that our various departments should embed any activity into our teaching to support our school?s goal of raising math scores. For Social Studies, any time we can stress logical thinking, cause and effect and sequencing skills it would help students in their overall math skills. This game does just that. Game Play This game is rather simple. It involves moving a rectangular cube around a grid. The cube must be maneuvered using the cursor keys, rolling the cube on its long axis or standing it on its end. The object is to move around the grid, and drop it into a hole by tipping it upright onto the grid square that is the hole. Along the way there are switches to activate hidden grid squares, and to split the cube in half, which is them manipulated separately. The game had 27 levels of increasing complexity. You may play for a while, stop at any level, record a code, then resume at any later time, entering the code and resume at the previous level. I showed this to one of my special ed. teachers, who called over a LD student. We showed him how to play, and he began to work the manipulations. After several levels, I asked him to describe its difficulty. He had trouble at first, planning the moves to get the cube to drop, using trial and error, and repeated attempts. On the last level he said that he could start to see how to move it, and to plan moves backwards from the hole. My teacher said that helping these kids to sequence steps is critical, for example in getting research projects ready. She was delighted that this game could help them practice these skills. Game Critique The biggest limitation is this game is a simple skill, not connected to Social Studies per se, nor tied to the SCOS. Additional downside would be its face-value entertainment, which may be seen by uninformed Administration personnel as just play time. But I think it has application to develop an orderly mind. Posted by Ron Jones on September 18, 2007 at 08:28 PM EDT # Posted by rejones ( Sep 22 2007, 08:29:54 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Review of Climate Change Game Information: The game I chose to review for our second game review is called Climate Change. The game is free, endorsed by the BBC, and made by a company called Red Redemption Ltd. It can be found online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/hottopics/climatechange/climate_challenge/. Although the game does not specify an age group that it is intended for, the student needs to be able to grasp certain concepts found in the game. This game is best suited for students at the secondary level learning about the United Nations or global climate changes. Game Play: The player is the President of the European Nations and has to ?tackle? global climate change during the years of 2000 and 2100. Throughout the game the player is given European policies to choose from that will help eliminate the climate change problems. The player must also try to persuade regional voting blocs to reduce their carbon emissions in order to alleviate some of the climate problems. Each turn in the game advances the President 10 years, therefore giving the player 10 turns. The player is allowed to pick a character for President that will represent them in the global negotiations (choices include varieties of sex and race). The main goal of the game is for the player to pick policies that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining vital resources. The policy areas include different aspects of government that include issues on the national level, issues concerning imports and exports, as well as industry, local, and household issues. Each policy that the President picks affects the resources, which include money, power, food, and water. The President can review the policy issues and find out what public opinion thinks about each one. After each change in policy the player is presented with a newspaper article on how his decisions affected his/her approval rating. The player is then presented with the opinions of six other regions (including North America, Africa, South America, Pacifica, and North and South Asia) and can learn how to influence that regions vote to reduce CO2 emissions. Throughout the years the President is confronted with ?crisis? situations that he/she must chose to either spend money on or ignore. For example, when I played the game I was confronted with a major flood crisis and choose to not spend billions of dollars investing in bigger flood defenses. In playing the game I eventually lost the election. After my ten turns to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, keep the economy up and running, and please the people of Europe, I failed. While I tried to balance what the people wanted with the resources our nation had left as well as reducing gas emissions, I was not reelected as President of the European Nations. Structure and Teaching: The purpose of this game is to expose students to the global climate changes that are taking place in our environment. The game also helps students get a sense of what international relations entail because it exposes them to negotiations and collaborations among several different countries. The game also gives the student a sense of what it takes to be a leader of a country (i.e. keeping the economy up while trying to reduce gas emissions, as well as keeping the people happy). The game could be used in several different courses including civics, economics, and world history. Critique: This game exposes students to a wide array of important topics such as global climate change problems and the processes of governments. The game requires students to engage in active learning and problem solving skills. The player has the ultimate goal of reduce carbon emissions but is forced with local problems, and he/she must figure out how to deal with the two competing interests. The game includes several of Gee?s learning principles including risk taking, customization, challenge, rethinking goals, as well as being pleasantly frustrating. There are costs associated with playing the game. In order to really get the full learning effect from the game I think it would take an hour or at least two class periods. The game also requires some background knowledge in government and climate change issues. The cultural context of this game is one of global awareness, and it sends a message to the player that says ?global climate change is a problem and countries must do something about it.? While I really enjoyed playing this game and hope to use it one day in my classroom, I feel there were a couple of downsides. For one I felt the game could be more engaging. The graphics were great but there was no sound to engage the student echoically. Also, the player has 100 years in which to be President and accomplish his/her goals, which is unrealistic in the real world. Again, the time required to play the game might hinder some educators from adopting its use. Posted by jlsmit13 ( Sep 18 2007, 07:33:08 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Stop Disasters! Game Information The game I chose to review was called ?Stop Disasters!?. The company that makes the game is Playerthree & it is associated with UN/ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction). Stated educational uses include teaching children and students about the risks posed by natural hazards. It also aims to help students understand how to build safer environments to prepare for such disasters. The targeted age use ranges from elementary-high school. They give you a choice between levels of difficulty to accommodate levels of learning. There is no cost to play the game and it is web-based. The game can be found at www.stopdisastersgame.org/playgame.html. Game Structure The purpose of this game is to teach students the risks and consequences of natural hazards including tsunami, hurricane, wild fire, flood, and earthquake. It aims to teach students how to build a safe environment in an area that is prone to natural hazards. It also aims to help students understand the strategy of planning a town in a potentially hazardous environment as well as share with them tips on what is best. The direct curricular-related educational aims and goals include Goals and objectives 8.04 and 8.05 in the NCSCOS for World History. These two objectives state that students need to analyze the changing world and competitive nature that have led to global issues and conflicts. It also asks students to hypothesize possible solutions. Other goals include Goal 6- Patterns of social order, especially objective 6.05: Analyze issues such as ecological and environmental concerns, political instability, where societies must respond. Indirect educational aims include mapping skills and architectural competencies. It also includes elements of social awareness and globalization. Possible instructional uses of this game are plenty. You could use this to help students understand current event issues like Hurricane Katrina or the Tsunami disasters. Many students don?t understand the conflicts that can arise from these incidents nor think about solutions to the problems. You could also use this as a geography skill, to share geographical concerns that some communities face. This game could be best used in middle and high school classroom settings. I would not recommend this game to elementary students because the concepts are too involved. I feel it would be best served in higher grade levels but useful in middle grades. Informal learning opportunities of this game include discussing pros and cons of geographical locations and talking about reasons why people might choose to live in these areas. This game achieves the 21st century teaching and learning aims including thinking and problem solving skills and interpersonal and self-directional skills. Game Play The process of game play is simple. It is designed for one-person play. You must first choose a scenario (earthquake, hurricane, etc). You must also choose a difficulty level 1,2, or 3. Next, the game proceeds by giving background information about the geographical location of your scenario and about the environment you are to manipulate. Then, it gives you your objectives and goals for the game, i.e. You must provide accommodation for 330 people, build a school, and a hospital. To achieve these goals, it allows you a monetary and time limite: $50,000 and 25 minutes. Once you have all of this information, you see a map and you start to build the town with the best knowledge of what structures will be best. It helps along the way to show you what materials are most strong. Once you have completed your environment, it simulates the natural disaster. Finally, you get a report about how well your community survived the hazard. This report includes how many deaths, how many buildings were destroyed, and how well your building skills did. In my own gaming experience, I chose the hurricane disaster and completed the task with zero deaths, four injured, and 2 buildings collapsed. I also did not protect the sea port so my mission had failed. Game Critique The game was very interesting and entertaining. It gives the player a real sense of responsibility and duty. The game was easy to understand and follow, with little confusion. I feel it could be very useful to teach students about geography and problem solving skills. There are limitations to this game that include not having enough political implications. It does not share with the player the complex decision making processes that go into natural disaster prevention. It makes the process seem too simple. It also does not give enough information about the societies that these disaster might strike. Finally, it does not share with the student the monetary complications that societies might face. For example, how do they get the $50,000, who decides what is built, etc. Non-monetary costs associated with this game are very little. The game does not take more than 25 minutes to play, and often is much shorter. The cultural context of this game is very broad. It includes many geographical areas all over the world and graphics on the game include many different ethnicities. The game does give a social awareness signal, it seems to encourage students to think about civic action. Potential downsides of this game could include the fact that it leaves out many of the important processes that go into hazard prevention. I feel this is a critical component. I also feel that it could lead a student to over simplify the decisions that are made when planning for disaster reduction and relief. Overall, I really enjoyed this game and feel students could benefit from it. Posted by amlong3 ( Sep 17 2007, 04:18:51 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Virtual Village Virtual Villagers Game Review Virtual Villagers is a PC game created by Last Day of Work Software. You can download a free trial at http://www.virtualvillagers.com/ or play a free trial without downloading at http://www.arcadetown.com/virtualvillagers/game.asp. A complete version of the game can be purchased for $19.95 from LDW Software. Virtual Villagers does not have a recommended at range for play but it seems to be geared toward children between 10 and 14. It also has no stated educational use aligned with the curriculum. Virtual Villagers is a simulation game played by one player (or partners who work together) that takes place on the fictional island of Isola. It simulates the lives of villagers who have fled their home after a volcanic eruption. The survivors land on the shore of Isola with no skills and little knowledge of how to survive on their own. In the free trial the island starts out with 7 survivors, both adults and children, who must be taught how to perform certain skills and jobs such as foraging, building and researching. The player can receive help from the computer to tell them how to teach the characters how to do new jobs or if they have experience playing, a player can help the villagers on their own. However, it is up to the player to discover strategies to help their characters thrive. For example, it seems like a good idea to teach many characters to forage, however, there is a finite amount of berries and fruit so the more characters who forage, the less food there is. Also, when the player selects a character to teach a skill to they should check that character?s interests and prior knowledge to decide on a job for them. For example, one character?s interests might include building so the player would want to teach them construction. Another part of the game is purchasing ?technologies? for the characters to use. The ?technologies? aid the characters in farming, medicine, construction, research (science), spirituality, and fertility. The free trial shows the technologies but does not allow the player to purchase them. An interesting feature of this game is that the characters continue to develop and grow even when the player is not playing. In order for a village to survive the player must check on their village as often as possible. Also, sixteen hidden secrets of the island are discovered as the game is played out. After playing the free trial it is difficult to determine if the game comes to an end. It appears that the game ends when the 16 hidden secrets are revealed. Virtual Villagers, similar to SimCity, is a leisure game with some educational uses. The game requires the player to use and develop problem-solving strategies. This game also relates to the third grade social studies curriculum, though not necessarily appropriate for third grade students. In third grade students analyze the multiple roles that individuals perform in families, workplaces, and communities. Virtual Villagers allows the students to observe the characters performing different roles in the community. Also, students in third grade analyze change over time in communities. This game actually allows the students to witness change over time as the village develops and grows. In fourth grade students study the Lost Colony of North Carolina. The settlers who came had little skill and knowledge of their new land. This game simulates the hardships the settlers of the Lost Colony may have faced. There are some drawbacks of using Virtual Villagers as an educational game in the classroom. As I mentioned before, Virtual Villagers is a ?real time? game, meaning that time continues to pass in the lives of the villagers even when the game is not being played. In order for students to see the change over time they would have to play often and over a long period of time. Also, in order for the village to survive, the characters must ?make babies.? A player does this by dragging a male or female character and placing them on top of the other. The characters then go indoors and ???. In my opinion this is inappropriate for elementary school and leads to questions not relating to social studies. This simulation can also easily be done by the students in the classroom and not necessarily on the computer. The only technology skill the students must know how to do is click and drag. With little technology integration, mature themes, and limited curriculum alignment this game is best suited for home play. Posted by akhager ( Sep 17 2007, 02:18:57 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Global Conflicts: Palestine

Background:

Global Conflicts: Palestine is currently available as a demonstration download for prospective gamers to examine prior to purchasing the software from Serious Games Interactive.  The developers of the game promote its use as tool to teach Civics, specifically international relationships.  The game is targeted primarily at older teens as it requires players to assume the role of a journalist reporting on life in Israel and the Occupied Territories.  For those who are interested in the game, it is available in different formats -  home play and educational versions from single classroom license to school wide license with supporting material.  For educators who are intersted in incorporating the game into their classroom, a classroom version can be purchased for 53.00 Euros or 397.50 Danish Dollars.  It is available for Windows or Mac users.  Buyers may purchase the game as a download or order the CD.

Game Structure:  

The purpose of the game is to aid youth in understanding the social and cultural implications of war and politics on the average person in the street, not the politicians who make the decisions.  Global Conflicts: Palestine illustrates how political decisions can impact peoples' lives on a daily basis.  Although the game's key selling point is Civics instruction, the game has greater applications as a tool for US History.  A main component of the NC Standard Course of Study for US History is Global Connections, specifically US foreign policy since 1963 icluding Israel, Palestine and recent terrorist activities such as 9/11.  In addition to exposing the player to the current tensions and animosities between Palestinians and Israelis, the game strives to develop empathy in the player for the average person caught between the politics of Arab verse Israeli.  The game also promotes decision making by requiring the player to assume the role of an American journalist of either Jewish or Palestinian ancestry.  The player must also decide which of three newspapers to write for - Israeli, Palestinian or European.

Social and cultural awareness become vital to the player as he navigates through the Occupied Territories seeking people to interview.  The player needs to carefully choose questions from a list that will support the position of the newspaper he is working for while at the same time not to offend the characters he is interviewing if he wants a story that his paper will print. 

The game does promote several 21st Century Thinking skills as the player progresses through his assignment to report on the effects of the Arab-Israeli conflict on the citizens of Israel and the Occupied Territories.  The player must decide how to synthesize the information obtained through the interviews, what to record in the notebook, how to solve problems, and communicate effectively with both Palestinians and Israelis in order to complete the assignment.  The game can be expanded upon by having the player keep his own notebook and compose an article using a word processing format or Powerpoint for presentation to the class. 

The game does have applications beyond the History class.  It could easily be utilized in a journalism class as a teaching tool for developing interview skills and article composition.

Game Play:

The game begins with the player choosing an identity, Diwan Massoud, an American journalist of Paletinian descent or Hannah Weismann, an American journalist of Jewish descent.  Next the player must choose a mision from a list of six.  (The demonstration download only allowed The Checkpoint).  Prior to embarking on the assignment, the game provided general guidelines or questions for the player to consider:  What happens at checkpoints? How easy or hard is it to get through? Why are checkpoints there at all? and Are checkpoints at all useful?  The final step prior to beginning the adventure is determination of which perspective and newspaper to write for - Israeli, Palestinian or European. 

The game is single player only or at least the demonstration download was. As the game begins, the player must navigate through a city or village and find characters who are willing to be interviewed.  The player must find all the characters who are willing to speak to him before he can write his story.  As the interviews are conducted, the player is presented with two guided questions he can ask.  The question the player clicks on determines the response he will receive from the character being interviewed.  The response then generates two more choices for the player to choose from.  This procedure is repeated until the interview is finished.  The player also has the option of recording the character's responses in the notebook provided by the game.  However, the notebook is limited in its storage capacity, so the player must choose what to keep and what to eliminate as he continues on his journey to interview more characters.  The player must be cautious of the questions he chooses in order to avoid alienating the characters he is interviewing, as well as be conscientious of the type of information his paper will print. 

I chose to report for the European newspaper and attempted to keep an open mind during the interviews regardless of the nationality or military status of the individuals I was questioning.  One of the characters I interviewed was a pregnant Palestinian woman.  As the interview progressed, I found myself empathizing with her to the point I was no longer an unbiased observer.  When I submited my article to the newspaper, it was reduced in size.

After the player concludes his interviews, he is ready to submit his article.   The game provides headlines and actual photographs to chose from to add to the article.  Once the article is submitted, one of several actions are taken by the newspaper's editor.  It is rated as good, bad, reduced in size or identified as not worthy of interest. 

Critique:

The game does have several limitations.  It is not a multiple player game so interaction with other players is limited.  The navigation through the village took considerable amount of time and required frequent use of the pop-up map to find the characters to be interviewed.  Other drawbacks were the options for questioning as well as the storage capacity of the game's notebook.    The assignment did require approximately an hour to complete so it would be difficult for students to play the entire game due to the time constraints associated with the Standard Course of Study for US History.  A solution to the time constraint problem would be to assign missions to the students and have the students make a presentation to the class.

Another drawback is the lack of action on the part of the characters.  The only action beyond the conversations with the characters was a brief shootout between a terrorist and the Israel Defense Force (it lasted about 3 seconds).  Some students may feel the game is repetitive or boring. 

The game does have attributes which make it appealing for instructional use.  One of the benefits of the game, or least this particular mission, was the lack of graphic violence.  The lack of violence should make the game acceptable to administrators, Boards of Education members and most importantly, parents.

Posted by japrober ( Sep 17 2007, 12:42:23 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Climate Challenge

Game Review: Climate Challenge
Bbc.co.uk

Climate Challenge is a free web-based game sponsored by the BBC. Contributors to Climate Challenge are as follows: Red Redemption Team and Oxford University. The educational use of the game is to educate all ages (although the game seems geared towards young adults and above) about the consequences of presidential decisions concerning climate change.

 The purpose of this game is to be both educational and political. Climate Challenge is educational in that the one player can see all the different types of decisions a president can make in regards to a public policy. The game is set up where the president can choose to make policies in these five domains: national, local, household, industry, and trade. There is a number of policy cards represented within each domain. These cards contain the policy such as build wind farms and included is the goal of the policy on the left side and on the right side is both a positive and negative quote of public opinion in regards to that policy. The president can choose any number of policies to help him or her maintain their goal to cut carbon emissions while continuing to stimulate the economy and responding to public needs such as healthcare and tax cuts. A player could lose the game by being voted out of office because of poor approval ratings based on their presidential decisions.

The game has first an optional tutorial and after running through the this the game can begin. First you must pick one character to be the president. There is a choice between seven characters all with differences in sex, race, age, and ethnicity. This president is the president of the European Nation and the player is also allowed to pick their president?s name. Then the president chooses which domain from which to start. There is a box always present in the upper left corner with the president?s resources listed such as money, power, food, and water. Bars are next to each item and when the resource is used red (negative) shading appears. Under the resource panel is a box for carbon dioxide emission cuts. For every positive decision made in regards to emission cuts green shading is applied. Decisions a president makes is judged by a newspaper article evaluating his or her decisions. Approval ratings are discussed and if public opinion is low enough a player can be voted out of office. Crises can also come up for any policy not addressed and the president must then choose to vote ?yes? or ?no? in order to respond to that particular issue. For example improving building structure was not addressed and a flood had occurred and as president he or she can either vote to increase funding to infrastructure in order to prevent future flooding or not. A player is always evaluating what public opinion will be, how much of their resources will be used up in the process, and what that means in regards to cutting carbon emissions which is ultimately the main goal in the game. There is also another stage where the president attends the Climate Change Summit in which they try and subsidize or give funding to countries in order for them to commit to cutting carbon emissions. A percentage is shown of how likely each country is able make a decision on whether or not they will pledge to cut their countries emissions.  

A player will begin to understand all the different areas a president?s decision affects. A president must a keep track of their resources, carbon emissions, and approval ratings. For example the first round I played I had a good record with the environment and the economy but I failed in my approval ratings and was voted out of office due to my policy of privatizing electricity. This game achieves many of the 21^st century teaching and learning aims, mostly in gaining valuable thinking and problem solving skills.

The limitations of this game are that choosing a certain policy will predetermine a public approval rating, in sum the game is already set to like/dislike a particular policy. Program writers must have based the game outcomes on the history of public reactions to past policies. Also the media is one of the main tools in which a player is graded on their choice, other leaders and interest group?s opinions are not included in this evaluation. There is little cost in playing this game; I believe overall this is a positive social studies game. A player can see the affect of their policy across all areas. The game teaches students how politicians decide policy and what challenges they face in making them, crises will arrive and a president must decide what should be done. Climate Challenge points out that an environmental factor like carbon emissions now greatly influence the world?s policy makers. Politicians of today should always be asking themselves, ?What the repercussion of this policy is in regards to the environment?.  

 

 

 

Posted by rsbumgar ( Sep 17 2007, 12:31:54 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Game Review of ElectroCity

Game Information:

ElectroCity is a new online computer game that allows its players to manage their own virtual towns and cities. ElectroCity?s goal is to teach players about energy, sustainability, and environment management in New Zealand. Students can even win prizes for their cities. For a student to win a prize, the student must be enrolled in the 7^th, 8^th, or 9^th grade at a New Zealand school. The game requires its players to deal with supply and demand, tourism, buying and selling within a fluctuating market, and budgeting. ElectroCity was made by Genesis Energy, a leading generator and retailer of energy in New Zealand. ElectroCity is free and can be played on any computer with Flash 8 or higher installed.

Game Play:

Each player is given a small town in New Zealand. Whatever you do with this town is up to you. You can build stuff, destroy stuff, or leave stuff alone. At the end of the game, you get four letter grade scores in four different areas ? security of supply, popularity, population, and environment. Your job is to balance the growth of your town with its environmental impact. When you are playing the game, your city is divided into grids. You can click on a grid and all your options for that grid will pop up. You get to decide what to do. Some of your options may be to save money, create a forest, or do nothing. When you are happy with your decisions you click next turn. Each game lasts 150 turns. ElectroCity mainly focuses on electricity and ensuring that your city has enough electricity for its people. Building a well or a small gas plant are some of your options for maintaining enough energy.

 

When I played the game, I named my city Tarheel Nation. I found that you should go through each turn quickly so you earn money to buy infrastructure for your town. When playing the game, you are able to see the population of your town, how happy your population is, how much electricity your town is using, as well as how well the environment is doing. You must find out your city?s natural resources and use them wisely to ensure the economic survival of your town. I found it much harder than I thought to conserve enough energy for my town?s population. Many times I had to buy electricity from other towns to keep my town running. In my town I was able to build a ski resort, beach, airstrip, dock, and campground. It took awhile to save up enough money for these things. The larger your population is the more money you get with each turn. In the end, I ended up with a C for energy management, A for popularity, C for population, and A+ for the environment.

Game Structure and Teaching:

This game is ideal for grades 6-12. ElectroCity is both fun and educational. Students are required to make important decisions concerning energy conservation and environmental management. To make these important decisions, students use the concepts of supply and demand, tourism, energy efficiency, and budgeting. This game would be ideal in a high school civics/and or economics course. According to the NC Standard Course of Study, students in a civics and economics course examine various economic concepts and analyze economic problems, actions, and policies. ElectroCity allows students to create a town and experience their town?s economic problems. Students must make changes to their town to ensure its economic survival. One of the key goals of any social studies course is to create responsible, politically and economically active citizens of the twenty-first century. ElectroCity?s primary goal is to increase students? awareness of energy, cost, and its effect on the environment. ElectroCity also strives to create an interest in energy controversies and lay an unbiased foundation for later learning. After playing the game, a teacher could ask students whether or not the playing of the game changes their outlook on energy conservation? Will students be more proactive about conserving energy? ElectroCity achieves 21^st century teaching goals be asking students to use thinking and problem-solving skills to keep their town alive. Players must make complex choices regarding their town and respond to the problems their choices might have.

Critique:

ElectroCity is a fun, educational game. It is easy to play, however hard to master. I could see this game also being used in a science classroom when students are learning about energy. It would be hard to integrate ElectroCity into a U.S. history, or middle grades course on Asia, North America, Europe, etc because it has no direct correlation. There is no time restriction with ElectroCity. You can start and stop a game at any time. You are given a city code so if you need to leave your computer, you can come back to your saved game. A game is over after 150 turns. It took me a little over 30 minutes to complete this game ? perfect for a class period. This game sends a message to its players that energy conservation is an ongoing economic issue. ElectroCity shows its players the various effects energy can have on a town. Players are forced to deal with issues such as population, supply and demand, and budgeting to ensure that their town has enough energy. ElectroCity?s main goal is to make its players more aware of the energy crisis with the hopes that they will try to better conserve energy. The only downside to this game is that it is geared more for students in New Zealand. Anyone can play it however, if you want to enter your city in the contest to win a prize, you must be a student in New Zealand. Also, some of the terms used in the game, such as ?local body rates? may be unfamiliar to students outside of New Zealand.        

 

 

Posted by slcarte2 ( Sep 16 2007, 07:12:37 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

Tribal Wars Review by Rachel Palmer

 

Game Information:

The game I played is called Tribal Wars (http://www.tribalwars.net/).  InnoGames GmbH, a German company, created and supports the game.  The game is a MMOG, is browser based, and cost me nothing to play.  To use some of advanced features a player would need to purchase a ?Premium addition?. 

 

Game structure and teaching:

The objective to the game is to create and maintain a small medieval village.  There were not any clear educational uses stated.  Upper middle school and high school students could play this game fairly easily.

 

The game does meet some of the educational goals set out in the NC Standard Course of study.  The game does force players to interpret and manipulate maps and models.  Players also have to have some knowledge of landforms.  The allocation of resources is another skill players need.  Finally, the player can?t help but implement some decision making skills.

 

Game Play:

You could play this game forever there is no end!  There are 12 different worlds to the game.  There were 366,325 registered players when I played.  After I had completed the registration process, I took a tutorial about the game.  The tutorial offers strategy and basic schematic information about the game. 

 

Once you enter the game you spend a lot of time creating your village.  You can also communicate with other villages.  I tried unsuccessfully to communicate with several of the other players through the game?s internal email system.  I invited other players to join my ?tribe?.  I also attempted to trade with another player. 

 

The heart of this game seems to be strategy. The player attempts to defeat others and make their village stronger.  While I didn?t see many battles they seem to be a significant feature of the game.

 

Critique:

I suspect, from the forums and informational websites I looked at that the game gets really violent.  However, the problem solving skills required to play the game are incredible.  I was surprised how much time and energy I spent in setting up this game.  In the beginning you didn?t feel like you were in a multi-player environment.

 

Due to its international popularity, I see this game as an obvious model for educators to use for designing games.  What the game lacks in historical value it makes up for in problem solving, economics, and political systems. 

Posted by rkpalmer ( Sep 16 2007, 06:38:15 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [1]

Peter Packet Game Review

Game Information:

     The game I choose to review is called Peter Packet and is intended for children ages 8 to 11. The game is made by Cisco, which is a large supplier of networking hardware and software. Peter Packet is a web-based game and can be found free online at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/edu/packetville/index.html.

Game Play:

     The main objective of the game is to help Peter, a computer packet that helps carry data from email messages from one person to another. In order for him to successfully deliver the message he has to fight off computer viruses and hackers who prevent him from getting his message to the intended person.

The game allows one player to help Peter Packet fight global problems by guiding him through the internet and helping him deliver email messages. The player can choose to help a young girl in Haiti go to school by sending an email to an international organization in order for her family to get a water filtration system for their village. Or the player can choose to help fight the spread of AIDS through education in Zimbabwe by sending an email to an international organization that provides funding for the opening of schools. Or the player may choose to help children attend school in India by sending a proposal to an international organization to obtain funding for a community center to help female children complete school.

When playing the game, I chose to help fight the spread of AIDS through education in Zimbabwe. Before I could successfully deliver the email message to the organization (People United for Schools) to provide funding for schools I had to complete three tasks. The first task was to help guide Peter through an internet server by protecting the information he carried from viruses and hackers. After this task was complete I had to help Peter help the computer router route packets so the email message could successfully get through. After this I had to navigate Peter through wireless space and avoided hackers to send the email message. After I completed these tasks the email message was successfully delivered and the village in Zimbabwe received several volunteers to help educate people on the spread of AIDS.

Structure and Teaching:

     Peter Packet has several educational purposes. The main purpose is to help children identify and understand global problems and ways in which they can help solve the problems. It exposes children to different parts of the world and the issues people in those parts of the world deal with. Since the game is made by a major computer technology company, it also provides children with computer knowledge. Throughout the game the player is given directions to help navigate Peter through the World Wide Web. Players are given simple definitions of things like internet, router, and servers, all of which are teaching children about computers. Given these educational aims I believe this game would be best used for fourth through sixth grade. At the end of the game the child is given an opportunity to learn more about the global problem that they chose by getting facts and ways to help from external internet sources.

Critique:

     The main purpose of the game is to help children understand the global problems our world faces today. While I believe it does expose the player to global problems I feel that the game oversimplifies the problems. It almost gives the message that computers and the internet can help solve world problems. The game also makes it seem like the global problems can be taken care of in a short amount of time (i.e. the amount of time it takes to send an email message from one computer to another). While I do believe the game simplifies world problems, it is a good way for children to learn about the rest of the world while not providing so much information that the child feels overwhelmed. The game is free but it does take a good amount of time and devoted attention to complete. It also requires the player to have a fair amount of computer skills already.

Posted by jlsmit13 ( Sep 16 2007, 09:06:21 AM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

eLECTIONS Game Review

Elections is an online game put out by Broadband. The purpose of this game is for the player to grasp knowledge about the US electoral system of the president. Terms such as electoral college, votes, campaign funds, and trustworthy all come into play. The target age group for this game is middle school age. Students in middle school will appreciate these terms as they begin to comprehend basic knwledge into the electoral system of the United States. This game makes students outside the box and puts them into the shoes of the candidate. Smart decision is key to being successful in this game. There game is free to download and is web based on the internet.

The game begins when the player chooses his or her party (Democrat or Republican). Then the player must choose three major political issues and support them, throughout the game. The object of the game is to get to the end of the game board and be elected president. A player rolls a die and moves the number of spaces accordingly. As the player moves along the game board he/she has both positive and negative situations that they must face. For example, a player may have a fund raiser and raise money for their campaign, however if a player does not make wise choices and takes sides or does not support their politcal issues than than that player will loose money and electoral votes in their column. Such educational goals as part recognition, the amount of votes it takes to elect the president, and bipartisan issues would be some things that could be found in this game that would be useful in the classroom. A teacher of younger students could have his/her students add up electoral votes and see how state size influences presidential outcome. Indirectly this game judges a person's behavior because only the person who can make decisions that will influence both sides of the issue will gain the most votes. A person can not support just one side of a topic and expect to have success. This reinforces topics in todays 21st century because of the many ongoing issues that face our world and therefore forcing people to be most flexible to needs of other people. A presidential candidate has to judge their own behavior before other people do it. This game also encourages people to get out and vote for the candidate of their choosing. In order to be in a democracy you have to cast your vote and not let others determine the outcome for you. When I played the game I lost the election 271-265. Some of the decisions I made such as taking sides on a key election issue cost me votes. Next time I hope I can make a few more decisons that would be beneficial to my campaign.

Since this game is about electing the president it is impossible to talk about every single angle of electing the president. This game leaves out how commercials and other propoganda devices affect presidential races. If I were to have one problem with this game that would be it.  News coverage and the media report canddiate information and can cause a candidate to go up or down in the gallop polls. This game tkaes a relatively short time to play and will not keep a person from getting other things accomplished in their day. It is well worth the time for a young student to play this game either in their classroom or at home. They will reap the benefits of learning about the electoral system and can decide how they would act as a presidential candidate. This game sends the message that a well rounded American who can make decisions that have the greatest positive impact will have the most success in politics and life.  I would definetly reccommend this game for another person to try. If this were a movie review Iwould give this three and a half stars out of four.

Posted by mjcrotea ( Sep 14 2007, 05:40:59 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [0]

A Review of Darfur is Dying from Erica Darfur is Dying

Darfur is Dying is game that provides a window into the experience of the refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players must keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by Janjaweed militias. Players can also learn more about the genocide in Darfur that has taken the lives of 400,000 people, and find ways to get involved to help stop this human rights and humanitarian crisis.  The game was created by mtvU in partnership with the Reebok Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group.   The game is simulation where the user, from the perspective of a displaced Darfurian, negotiates forces threatening the survival of a refugee camp.

The cost of the game is free, and is available online at http://www.darfurisdying.com
GAME PLAY:
One person playing per time, though you can choose to be a variety of different people:  Adult male or female, male or female child.  Each comes with own pros and cons depending on the gender.
The player selects an avatar and then enters the refugee camp.  As a camp member, you are responsible for maintaining the camp health for 7 days--measured by water supply (when low must exit the camp and forage) and food supply.  (Water from camp supply used to irrigate communal gardens that supply food)  You also must rebuild structures that are damaged from frequent attacks by the militia.  (Water brought to a brick making structure where bricks are made so buildings can be rebuilt)  To ensure your own health, you can visit a medical tent for treatment when new medical supplies arrive.

Periodically, you will have to replenish the water you used to water the gardens in the camp.  In order to do this, you will have to go outside the perimeter of the camp and find a well that is several thousand meters outside the safety of the camp walls.  Distance and direction to the well is given at the bottom of the screen, and you must run to the well and retrieve water.  The catch is that there is roving militia in the area, and you must hide to avoid capture or being killed.  (Fate often depends on the gender and age of the avatar you are playing as.)  

When I played, I successfully foraged for water several times before being captured.   I was able to keep the camp running for 4 days before all the water and food ran out.   If you get captured, your turn is over and you have to start again.  

STRUCTURE AND TEACHING:
The structure of the game puts the player in the middle of a refugee camp, which most of us will never know.   The hardships of finding food and water are demonstrated, as is the amount of time that is taken up to accomplish these things.

Purpose:  educational and political--crisis in Darfur demonstrated on basic level while also showing how to take political action and get involved.  Opportunities to "take action" pop up periodically throughout the game, allowing player to send information about the crisis to a friend, write to a congressman, make a donation to charitable organizations, etc.

Possible instructional uses: enrichment activity/independent study activity to chronicle the life of a refugee in Darfur.  


CRITIQUE
I think the game provides some insight into life in a refugee camp, which most of us will never experience.  It takes a long time to play, however?the goal is to get through 7 days at refugee camp.   Depending on how many catastrophes befall the camp in a given period, one day can take anywhere from 5-15 minutes.  Given how much material is covered in both courses, this may be too long to devote to an entire game.

The message of the game, of course, is that Darfur is in crisis and needs help.  By demonstrating how difficult life in a refugee camp is, the player is supposed to be moved to take action.  (Helped by the ?take action? pop up about every 3 minutes in the game.)   The downside is that the game simplifies the crisis in Darfur into only that of refugees, without any real mention of the political factors that also are at work in Sudan.




Posted by jklee ( Sep 12 2007, 02:50:21 PM EDT ) Permalink Comments [2]