Branches of Power is a web-based video game developed by iCivics, founded by Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor, whose mission statement is:
We envision a nation where all young Americans
are prepared for active and intelligent citizenship. To support this vision,
iCivics provides engaging and effective on-line educational games and
curricular materials for students and teachers.
My
favorite part of the above mission is right up front – preparing young
Americans for active and intelligent citizenship. A noble cause. The question is: Does Branches of Power serve
this mission? Yes, it does.
The game
is a real-time simulation format, designed similarly in structure to FarmVille
or The Sims. The goal is to use all
three branches of government – Executive, Legislative, and Judicial – to seek
out issues citizens care about and grow them into laws. To win, you must convert all ten game issues
(e.g. Terrorism, Health and Safety, etc.) into laws before time expires (30
minutes!).
This game is addictive. The design is fun (cartoon-based) and the gameplay is intuitive. I enjoyed responding to prompts asking me to
control the President, especially. With
him I was able to hold a press conference to put issues on the national agenda
(such as Outer Space; awesome!) and answer questions from the press to begin
cultivating the issue toward future legislation.
Once you answer the questions “right”, your Legislator moves
in to conduct a town hall session.
Similarly to the experience of a national press conference with the President,
you gather support for your issues by answering questions – this time from
supporters. Once the issue is sponsored,
this is where the magic happens – deliberation within Congress! The game makes sure you know that, just as in
real life, you need 50%+ support of both houses and to aim for a 2/3 majority
to override a presidential veto. Once
the law is passed, the President reviews the bill and then:
Victory!
This game seems awesome! Also, this game seems really conducive to teach students about how the three branches of the government work. I wonder if part of the effectiveness of this game is that it is made by a company that was founded by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. It may seem obvious, but games that come from credible sources are a lot more effective then games that are just made by gaming companies. Like this game, I think games that are made in collaboration with intellects in the actual field would be a lot more effective.
ReplyDeleteThis game seems really effective, and I also like the mission statement behind it!
I agree with Anna. This game seems like a perfect example of a clearly educational topic made fun and engaging. Personally, I am not super engaged when reading a textbook about how the three branches of government work together, or listening to a lecture about the topic. This game, in contrast, seems like an awesome way to provide content in a way that students will remember as fun and interesting. My game Scratch, although at once cognitive and fun, did not incorporate specific educational content, but more focused on the process of creating an animation. I certainly think that the process has merit, and there is a level of problem-solving that is necessary to getting the animation to perform correctly, but the link to any content area is not quite clear. I think that the idea of controlling the President in this game is also really fun and empowering. This seems like a game I could get addicted to.
ReplyDelete