The ReDistricting Game November 2, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Games & Simulations, US Government.Tags: Games and Simulations, Gerrymandering, US Government
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Created through the USC Game Innovation Lab – part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts’, Interactive Media Division, the ReDistricting Game gives the player new insight into the apportionment and redistricting process. With five different missions, see the power of cartography and politics collide as you work to make state legislatures, the courts, and political parties happy.
Our senior US Government students love the game. It would be great for any 9-12 students studying government or civics, possibly for middle school too as each mission does have a basic and advanced level.
Good luck!
Typeracer…a fun little competition October 13, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Games & Simulations, Webbased tools.add a comment
Who doesn’t like a friendly competition? And to see how typing skills are doing? An extra bonus. Typeracer allows you to set up an account, or log in as an anonymous guest and type a series of sentences. While you type, your speed and accuracy go head-to-head with other typists somewhere out there on the web. At the conclusion of the “race,” you receive a speed and accuracy rating.
A fun little game break and a skill polisher to boot!
Mummification goes digital August 11, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, Games & Simulations.Tags: Egypt, Interactive, Mummy, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
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Don’t all units on Ancient Egypt at least mention the pyramids and mummies? This 
site will fit right in. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago has a great simulation site that explores the process the ancient Egyptians used to mummify a person. With the opportunity to click on new vocabulary words, the simulation takes visitors through the seven step process of mummification.
The Oriental Institute also has a great Teacher Resource Center with lesson plans and information geared toward the middle and high school levels.
Jeopardy…online and free August 6, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Games & Simulations.Tags: classroom Jeopardy, Games, Jeopardy, Jeopardy template, JeopardyLabs, Trivia
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Spending hours on the couch with a stiff neck can have its rewards too, I guess. In the process of a variety of searches, I found JeopardyLabs, an impressive game template for a trivia game that can be played online, has a way to be saved on a flash drive and played without an internet connection, and allows game authors to use basic HTML to incorporate images into their JeopardyLabs games as well.
The template was easy to manipulate (I haven’t tried the HTML features yet) and the final product works well (see example here). Students and teachers alike could create JeopardyLabs games, they would be perfect for interactive whiteboards, and are easily embeddable into wikis or web pages.
JeopardyLabs is a super alternative to (and easier than) PowerPoint. Thank you Matt Johnson of Washington State University, Vancouver for creating a great tool for the classroom.
