Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor recently spoke a word of charity for video games, telling ABC News in an interview that the medium’s a “fabulous” way to get children to learn. More »
Alarmingly, American teenagers are far more educated about entertainment media and pop culture than they are about their own government. For example, 59 percent of teens can name the Three Stooges, but only 41 percent can name the three branches of the U.S. government. 94 percent of teens know that Will Smith is the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – but only 2.2 percent can name the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
At the closing keynote yesterday for the Games For Change event in New York, Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, along with interactive media scholar Dr. James Paul Gee, announced a promising new initiative – if teens are motivated to learn about media, then why not reach them through a computer game?
The project, called Our Courts, will be a game designed to teach civics and encourage teens to become involved in the democratic process. It’s being developed with input from teachers and curriculum specialists, and will be designed primarily for classroom use. Initially, the project will emphasise the court system, but will later expand to other areas of government.
“What we hope to do is pioneer a new teaching method designed to respond to the learning styles of this digital generation”, said Justice O’Connor in an address on the Our Courts website. “Students today seem to thrive on 3-dimensional, discovery-based learning. They’re much less wedded to linear presentations of information, and they prefer to explore around an issue. They seem to learn best by becoming fully engaged in an interesting issue, and they do particularly well when learning in a case study environment”.
“Digital students crave a media feedback, and they want convenience. Now, we hope to respond to each of these needs in the Our Courts online environment”.
Hit the jump for full details from Our Courts‘ mission statement:
