I was surprised to see that Carmen Sandiego is still worthy software for students in this technological age, considering it was popular when I was in elementary school 10 years ago....wow that's a long time.
Anyway, it was another Social Studies program that caught my eye this time: something newer and more complex. It is called Real Lives: Interactive Life Simulation. It is published by a company called Education Simulations and a brief description goes as follows: " [students learn about] The life experiences of individuals from different cultures and political systems and the economic opportunities, health issues, family issues, schooling and work choices that they face in their particular culture" (LearningVillage.com). The program is $25.00 for a downloaded version and $29.00 for the home edition, per the Educational Simulations website. There are also multi-packs of c.ds to be used in the classroom: 6pack for $149.00 and 30 pack for $699.00. For the Site License
(available for schools) : $1.00 per enrolled student in the school, minimum $250.
Basically, the program is set up to let students learn about life around the world through a character they create. It is so fine-tuned as to allow students to experience life through almost any country and culture in the world. Through their character, students can learn about religion, statistics, everyday life, poverty, etc. in that particular country. Then when the student is tired of that life or completes that character's life, they can move on to a new character and learn about that way of life. The program is made to encourage diversity and learning about geography and multicultural history for the students.
This program is geared toward Social Studies teachers and I am an English Major with a History Minor, so it would seem that this doesn't really apply to me in my classroom. First of all, I think this program could be used in just about any classroom to build understanding and diversity about other cultures. It just sounds like fun to be able to experiece some parts of life in other areas of the world. Secondly, I think I would like to use it in my English classroom as a way to teach my students about characterization and what goes into creating that fictional lead character. Also, I think the software would be helpful in educating students about life for future stories. The program seems solid and has many good reviews from teachers who have used it. It is very educational even from just a general viewpoint and I think it would useful in many, especially diverse, middle and high schools.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
This sounds like a great program. In an increasingly "globalized" world, children need to be learing how to respectfully interact with diverse people, especially those different cultures and religions. Teaching students empathize with people different from themselves rather than just judging will provide them with a really critical life skill.
Post a Comment