Adapt Content & Monitor Progress: iCivics

Name of website: iCivics

Hyperlink to website: http://icivics/org/

Rating:  

Cost: Free

Age Group: Middle & High School

Description: Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor founded iCivics in 2009. The site aims to prepare American kids to become engaged citizens by combining interactive games and innovative educational materials focus on core civics concepts. The games and teaching material cover civics topics, including democracy, constitutional law, the branches of government, elections, and campaigns. Students create user accounts and then select the games/activities they wish to participate in. Their accounts keep track of their progress, the games they have completed, and the "Impact Points" they have earned that can unlock new features. There is also the option of creating/joining a 'class' which is a way to have the students work with their classmates or compete against them. The website also provides free lesson plans aligned with standards and free teaching material as well. Teachers can create accounts also so they can gain access to lesson plans, learning materials, worksheets etc... 

Supporting instructional strategy in Social Studies: The instructional strategies that I designated to the iCivics website are: Adapt Content and Monitor Progress. I feel these two  are appropriate for the website because it is a way for teachers to differentiate learning techniques and also allows you to track the progress made. It offers an interactive and entertaining way for student to learn the information and apply what they have learned as they use their critical thinking skills to win the games. This website is beneficial to both the teacher and the students that use it. For example, a teacher can create a 'class' for the students to join on the website as they register and obtain a username. The teacher can now easily monitor and assign games to play that coincide with the material that was taught or is being taught in the Social Studies classroom. A large part of Social Studies in the secondary education classrooms is learning to be proper citizens and how the U.S government is formed and how it works. This website is a great way to learn all this and more by making the material fun and interactive. 

Potential problems in classroom: Overall, this website is very good and covers a variety of topics centered on civic concepts. However, a potential problem that would appear is the accessibility to computers/tablets and the internet. That is why I feel the use of this website would be a great way to keep students involved outside of the classroom. Games can be assigned as homework or even extra credit, allowing teachers to avoid the issues of computer access. Regarding the website itself, it seems to be delayed and sluggish at times which can become irritating when competing against classmates in a game. 

Homepage: When first arriving to the iCivics website you arrive to the homepage. From here you have the option of going straight to the games or selecting the 'Teach' icon. The 'Teach' tab brings you to a variety of resources and material that are free to use and print. There are things such as teaching materials, lesson plans, creating a class account, etc ... 

Play Tab: This is the starting page when the 'Play' tab is selected.  From here you can navigate through to the rest of the website. You can play games, create an account, scroll through and read the game options. Each game also has a brief description you can read to make sure it is the game you want to play. You can also select one of the other tabs and it will direct you to the corresponding starter page.

Topics: This is an image of some of the topics covered on the website. When deciding what game to play or what games to assign your students, the 'Topics' section helps you navigate through games and activities according to the listed topic/area

Game Screen: This is an image of a game screen. When you select the game you want to play it directs you to a fullscreen image of the game selected with option tabs including 'play', and game 'instructions' 

 Certificate: This image is one of a certificate a gamer receives when you have completed a game. It displays items such as the name of the game played, statistics involved, and also gives the option to print. You can also print whatever documents/forms you may have created in the game (i.e.: "your law" in Law Craft)