The Case for iCivics
12
The case for Jeff Curley, Co-Founder & Deputy Director of iCivic Norton, Co-Founder & Creative Director of Filament
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Transcript of The Case for iCivics
The case for
Jeff Curley, Co-Founder & Deputy Director of iCivics
Dan Norton, Co-Founder & Creative Director of Filament Games
www.icivics.org 2
iCivics Origin
Justice O’Connor “retired” in 2006
Found a basic lack of knowledge about how our government works
Students didn’t know how to engage in their communities and with government – responsibly
www.icivics.org 3
Games & Civics
Games, like civics, are about navigating a system to get things done.
Games are goal-oriented, provide immediate feedback, and inspire inquiry.
Require little preparation from busy teachers.
Civics is largely about process and motivation. It’s not about abstract facts and figures – devoid of applicability and action.
www.icivics.org 4
Filament Origin
www.icivics.org 5
iCivics and Filament Partnership
iCivics connected with Filament Games through Jim Gee, and our organizations have grown together
organically since early 2009.
www.icivics.org 6
iCivics.org
In May 2010, we expanded the site to meet a growing demand from
educators.
www.icivics.org 7
Adoption Numbers
Since 2009, iCivics games have been played more than two million times by students in every state!
Traffic has climbed an average of 72% per month since launch.
More than 25,000 students have registered accounts this year alone!
www.icivics.org 8
Develop clear learning objectives - they keep designers out of the clouds and protect development from scope creep.
Have a thorough (but flexible!) production plan. Build in plenty of playtesting and iteration!
Collaboration Lessons
Impact games should be designed in tandem with a distribution strategy. Know your audience(s) and how to reach them!
www.icivics.org 9
Collaboration Lessons
Agile development increases the burden of communication, but minimizes surprises with a clear set of standards that control production and provide structure for feedback.
Time is more valuable than money.
Filament advocates for design; iCivics
advocates for content.
www.icivics.org 10
Evolution
Avatars & achievements
Facebook integration
Expanded outreach through partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs, Ashoka’s Youth Venture
iCivics offers full units of curriculum centered around games. Now we’re expanding the site’s community features:
www.icivics.org 11
Impact Projects
Real-life, student-run service projects that address community issues.
Launched April 2011 thanks to support from the MacArthur Foundation.
Students have donated 51 million points. Average time on site has increased 30%.
www.icivics.org 12
Questions
Jeff Curley [email protected], (202) 729-8144
Dan Norton [email protected], (608) 251-0477
