With election day one day away, and local television stations filled with political ads, accurate and not-so-accurate, I’m lead to wonder how students K- college are learning about elections and politics. It’s not surprising that many are turning to simulations and games.<\/p>\n
An article in the latest Chronicle of Higher Education<\/span> entitled “College students develop video game to spark interest in voting”<\/a>, describes a game created by students in the program at Becker College in Massachusetts. Players of the game, Race for the Ballot<\/span>, act as one of Massachusett’s four candidates for governor, racing to win the election amid pitfalls such as government red tap, attack ads and the like.<\/p>\n Don Jansiewicz, a former professor at Carroll Community College created the Game of Politics<\/span><\/a> in the late 1990s with revisions each election cycle to simulate the political process. Schools across the country are using it in the classroom to inform and educate their students.<\/p>\n Several other organizations, including the National Student\/Parent Mock Election (The Road to the Capital<\/a>) and Cable in the classroom, CNN Student News, C-SPAN, History Channel (eLECTIONS<\/span> <\/a>) have created simulations for younger students to better understand the political process.<\/p>\n And, of course, UB’s own Simulation and Digital Entertainment<\/a> program recently joined the political fray with its own Maryland Budget Game<\/a>, designed to sort out the issues surrounding Maryland’s state budget and alternatives fro balancing it.<\/p>\n With the inundation of political information coming from the candidates and political pundits, perhaps these simulations and games can help students make informed decisions when they enter the voting booth.<\/p>\n Happy Election Day tomorrow!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With election day one day away, and local television stations filled with political ads, accurate and not-so-accurate, I’m lead to wonder how students K- college are learning about elections and politics. It’s not surprising that many are turning to simulations Continue reading Election politics: Fun and games<\/span>