During the
last bit of our class on Monday, while we were discussing the games we looked
at, someone mentioned a class they were familiar with in which students were
assigned a country to study and act on behalf of during negotiations. I loved
this idea. I think taking on roles can be incredibly educational and I can
imagine using it in my class to create a miniature model UN, reenact The
Constitutional Convention, the Seneca Falls Convention, or dozens of other
events and organizations in politics. It also reminded me of another game I
played around with once.
NationStates is an online simulation game in which to found your own nation and
respond to issues that arise based on your values and ideals. You can play
seriously to try to build a thriving nation or for fun as a raging dictator.
Just yesterday, I founded The Rogue Nation of Secmac. We are a beautiful and
free land founded by “plucky, but malnourished pioneers” dedicated to social
welfare. Our national animal, the Dolphelian, “frolics freely in the nation's
many lush forests.”
I imagine
Nation States being used in the classroom to teach students about different
types of governments, issues government handles, and the full spectrum of responsibilities
government has. Every day, your nation is faced with one or two issues to which
the player must decide how to respond. How do you spend extra tax revenue?
Secmac used it for education.
Teachers
could also form their own region and have students join and engage in regional
politics through electing a delegate to the World Assembly. This is a feature I
have not had the opportunity to explore, but could add valuable structure and
new dimensions to the lesson. I think Nation States is another interactive platform that could be a lot of fun while also building a deeper understanding of the material.
P.S. Our economy is in the tank.
Was "plucky but malnourished pioneers" your phrasing or theirs? Either way, I kind of love it. :) The game you picked sounds interesting and I love the idea of being able to reenact important events in US history. It sounds like the opportunities for technology-based experiential learning are pretty vast. I don't care for video games but the idea of being a dictator once in my life intrigues me. I bet you would have as many teachers wanting to play as you would have students
ReplyDelete"Plucky but malnourished pioneers" was totally their wording! I feel that if you understand malnourished to mean sleep-deprived, it was basically the perfect description of us.
ReplyDeleteI think that in a subject like political science or even general social studies, memorizing names and whatnot is not that vital, especially in the age of Wikipedia. What is important is building conceptual understanding and experiential learning through these games and through role playing could be very engaging methods of getting that message across. I certainly hope to try some of these ideas out.
So, I can identify most of the song lyrics you reference in your post titles...but I'm having a hard time with this one. I do like it and it sounds familiar...but I honestly have no clue...sad...
ReplyDeleteHow intense is this NationStates? I'd be interested to see what level of detail they manage to go into. Also, I'm interested in the adventures of the nation of Secmac. What is happening now? Does the game continue (real time) or does it require you to be logged in?
Mumford and Sons - Babel
ReplyDelete(I admit, I had to think about it for a bit because I went through so many songs before picking.)
Nation States is not a very demanding game. I have SecMac set to 2 issues per day, the maximum, but a teacher could choose to require students to set the game to one issue per weekday. Issue come whether you log in or not, but there's no penalty if you don't deal with them right away. You can also dismiss an issue and ignore it (just like a real government!). Making a decision, however, makes the game more interesting. What you do has consequences for your nation. As the game FAQ says, "Everything is exaggerated a little. Well, okay, a lot. Your decisions affect your nation very strongly, so your country might seem like a more extreme version of what you were aiming for."
As for our little Rogue Nation, the economy is on an upswing! We've been upgraded from fragile to reasonable, though the labor unions were a bit upset when their request for 20% raises across the board was denied. We've recently banned surveillance cameras and cloning for research purposes has been legalized. I'll try to give periodic updates on important events.
Another cool feature I just discovered is that when your population reached 500 million you get to submit your own ideas for issues. We have 9 million, so this might take awhile.
This is amazing!
DeleteI am not a politics person at all, but I think that this would be a stimulating enough game to get me excited about it! Kind of along the lines of what I was mentioning in Shari's discussion, I think the idea of role play in the classroom can be very powerful. It's low risk, it's fun, and frustratingly delightful at times-- it's like we're tricking them into learning! I thought you creation of our Rogue Nation was really creative and inspiring (maybe it's not only the game that is making this post so enjoyable). This would be a great way to get students involved with something they might otherwise see as overwhelming, good find.
Claire
What are the main exports of Secmac? Did you get to choose the colors of the flag? Do dolphelians live symbiotically with tree octupi? Can I join your rogue nation?
ReplyDelete