As of August 2010, CM Instructors will be able to access multiple CM Country Accounts with one login, meaning educators who run Civic Mirror with more than one class of students can switch between them without having to log in and out every time. I know - awesome!

Step 1: Select “Instructor Login” up above.

The first thing you will notice is the choice between “Student Login” and “Instructor Login.” Students will continue logging in with their CM username, country name, and password, but the procedure for instructors is different.

Step 2: Logging In

In order for us to allow instructors to jump between CM Country Accounts we needed to create a universal access point, so we chose to use the Action-Ed Account. Instructors will now log into civicmirror.com with the same logins they use for www.action-ed.com (i.e. email address and password … NO country names).

What’s great about this is educators can now retain a consistent identity throughout the Civic Mirror Community. Instead of being “Teacher of Country A” and then “Teacher of Country B,” educators will be themselves, making it easier to develop relationships with other CM Educators.

This is what the CM Login page for Instructors looks like.

Don’t worry, if you forgot your Action-Ed login information, you can always click the “Lost your password?” link at the bottom; it will take you to the webpage that allows you to reset it.

Step 3: Switching Countries

Once inside civicmirror.com instructors can toggle between countries using their “Settings” page. Instructors can also ‘retire’ countries they no longer use. This may help speed up the switching process.

Step4: Switching Countries Upon Logout

Another way you can switch countries is by simply clicking the “Logout” button. The logout pop-up box now has an option that will allow you to “Switch Countries,” taking you to your settings page.

This feature has been a long time coming. We hope it excites some of you as much as it excites us. If you have any questions about the new system or need help getting started, please contact us.

Here are seven tips that will help you get the Civic Mirror off to a fun and fast-paced start.

COMMIT EARLY AND DIVE IN

The goal here is to pique your students’ interest right away. Also, if you plan on linking attitude and effort-based metrics to the game-start money and Hidden Agendas you will assign them with in the Citizen Profiles stage (e.g. punctuality, task completion, participation), then telling them on the first class usually gets students jazzed up right away … and often the ones you would least suspect.

Specifically, I would …

1. Introduce CM on the first day of classes, after you introduce the course content. Then, assign the first set of readings (that correspond to “Reading Check #1″ at the back of the Instructor’s Manual) for homework the next day. Tell your students they “can take as many hand-written/printed notes as they like to use for tomorrow’s open book reading check … you just want to ‘check’ that they’ve read it.”

2. Book your computer lab for the Practice Run on your 3rd class. Basically, in the first class you’ll introduce the curriculum and the Civic Mirror. In the second class you’ll conduct the reading check, mark it as a class, and move on to other course-beginning items of business. Then, at the end of the Class 2, assign the second set of readings (corresponding to “Reading Check #2″) for Class 3. In Class 3 you will start with Reading Check #2 and then, instead of marking it as a class, move straight into the Practice Run sequence of events (which are outlined in the Instructor’s Manual). Leave the group-marking of “Reading Check #2″ for Class 4.

Remember, because you’ve made the reading checks open book, anyone can succeed … making them “effort” tasks that you could link to the $$ assignments a few weeks down the road.

PLAN TO COMPLETE PRE-GAME EVENTS WITHIN 3 WEEKS

The pre-game events, where students build their nation, are lots of fun and could very easily be extended for quite some time. A few recommendations to keep the Civic Mirror enthusiasm alive and kicking:

3. Set a date for the Hex Auction early on and tell your students about this date. This will keep you focused and keep things moving.

4. Pre-select readings to run along side of the pre-game events and schedule reading checks. The whole point of doing this is to plan what chapters you want to link the Citizen Profile Hidden Agendas and money to so you can pick a “distribution date” in advance. Then, be sure to communicate the readings and the ‘distribution date’ to your students so they can gear up for it.

* Remember to tell your students that the open book reading checks (and any other attitude/effort metrics you decide to use) will be linked to these assignments.

Ultimately, this will force you to plan well, start the course at a good pace, and it will motivate your students to do well. I think you’ll be surprise by how much more your students will read when they know that their open book performance will be linked to their Citizen Profile assignments. I always love warning students (in an endearing manner of course) who don’t do their readings or continually arrive late, “You know, I don’t know how happy your Civic Mirror family is going to be when they see your game-starting bank account statement.” It’s amazing how motivating this is.

5. Have students “Create their National Identity” by the end of the 2nd week. This process takes two, 30-minute chunks of time that can be reserved at the end of two classes that week.

6. Consider skipping the “National Constitution” jigsaw activity if time is a real issue. This activity is GREAT in a civics or government class … but if time is an issue, then this would be event you could skip over then return to once the game is up and running.

7. Plan an “Elections Week” where you commit to completing i) the political party formation, ii) the campaign debates, and iii) the ballot-casting. One week is plenty of time to do this and, in order to reserve class time to cover content and connect how it relates to their developing CM Country, I often assign students to do their campaigning online in the discussion forums.

Hopefully these tips help you get the Civic Mirror off to a fun and quick start!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!

Download SS10 Civic Mirror Unit

BACKGROUND FACTS

* Social Studies 11 is Massive
In British Columbia, students are not required to take a social studies course in Gr. 12. As a result, the Social Studies 11 is massive in its scope so as to ensure students graduate with a solid understanding of what it means to be Canadian.

* As a Result, It’s Challenging to Teach
Given the size of SS11, and the fact that it is provincially examinable, teaching all of the content and concepts in a way that is meaningful is a challenge to say the least.

* Plus There are Added Difficulties
There is no remedial version of SS11, unlike the English, Math, and Science curricular strands (and no, Civics 11 is just as difficult as SS11); consequently, teaching this high-level course to a diverse range of learners – all of who have to write its provincial exam – is even more challenging, if not downright stressful.

* Also, the SS11 Content is Complex and Abstract
The content and concepts taught in SS11 are abstract and very complex. A case could easily be made that students require a fundamental understanding of Canadian politics, basic economics, and “citizenship” in order to fully grasp many of the SS11 learning outcomes (e.g. the rise of fascism in the 1920s due to economic hardship, the importance and significance of the human rights movement, or the global decision making process in light of resource shortages and overpopulation).

* Prior Courses Don’t Help Develop Requisite Knowledge for SS11
The current social studies curriculum in British Columbia focuses on history from Gr. 7 -10 and, consequently, do not provide students with enough opportunities to develop the requisite knowledge to fully grasp SS11’s high-level concepts given the teaching and learning circumstances outlined above.

PURPOSE OF THE CIVIC MIRROR IN SOCIAL STUDIES 10

* What is the Civic Mirror?
The Civic Mirror is a simulation-based program that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens, providing students with opportunities to experientially learn about law, government, economics, and responsible citizenship. This curricular proposal suggests that SS10 teachers condense their existing scope and sequences by 5 weeks in order to work through the Civic Mirror program so that their students may better understand the concepts taught in SS11.

* Experiential Understanding = Better Learning Afterward
By the end of the unit students will have an experiential understanding of the purpose and functionality of law, government, and the economy, which will help them better grasp the learning outcomes in SS10 (making up for the lost calendar time) and SS11. In fact, if this became a department-wide social studies initiative, the SS11 Government unit could be covered in an opening review in a week or so, freeing up huge portions of calendar time to cover the monster history unit and the human geography unit.

Worth the Investment in Time
In sum, using the Civic Mirror in SS10 will help students better understand and appreciate everything else they are required to learn about nations, governments, laws, economies, and citizenship in SS10 and SS11. Yes, it may take up a lot of time in Gr. 10, but if you view SS10 and SS11 as one continuous course instead of two separate ones, it’s well worth the investment.

< <   DOWNLOAD BC’S SOCIAL STUDIES 10 + CIVIC MIRROR UNIT OVERVIEW > >

Several teachers have asked whether the Civic Mirror would fit well with U.S. History classes … and the answer is an enthusiastic Yes!

It’s funny, actually, because U.S. history is really the story of nation-building and social, political, and economic experimentation … and that’s exactly what the Civic Mirror gives students a chance to do (albeit at classroom level, but what other level can schools provide).

Nevertheless, because the Civic Mirror is a government simulation, rich with economic features, the fit with U.S. History courses is a natural one.

What follows are teacher-generated ideas on how the Civic Mirror fits with U.S. History courses, and some of them are absolutely brilliant. If you’re not familiar with the Civic Mirror, have the Scope and Sequence handy as you read through them.

Some teachers have paralleled the Formation of the Union with the Create National Identity event. This is cool because it helps students relate to this historical development in a way they just wouldn’t be able to otherwise.

Roughly at this time your students will be given their Citizen Profiles (i.e. $$ and Hidden Agendas). What some teachers have done is challenged their students to find what U.S. historical figures shared similar views and beliefs as those outline in their hidden agendas. For example, Hamilton aligns with the capitalists, Jefferson with the environmentalists (i.e. for his belief in agrarian economies), FDR and his Keynesian economic policies with the socialists, and pro-slavery figures would align with the ‘cultural supremacists.’

The next CM Event is the National Constitution event (and recall that U.S. Civic Mirror uses the U.S. Constitution, with a few modifications). This event lends itself well with the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and the Bill of Rights (1791). What’s cool is because your students now have their own $$ and hidden agendas, they should be - with your coaching - be studying the constitution strategically and with a purpose … trying to find ways to use certain constitutional clauses to their advantage.

The Civic Mirror elections event can be paired with many U.S. historical events, but it’s worth stating that just allowing students to have their own elections will help them make sense and appreciate all the watershed elections they’ll study.

The natural fit for the Hex Auction is Western Expansion and the procurement of land and assets in the frontier states. If you don’t pair it that way, at the very least, you could break out into a mini-lesson on how almost all the power brokers in U.S. history were property owners and financiers … which is cool because (and you can build your lesson around this fact) it will likely be the same in their Civic Mirror countries too!

The nation-building process ends after the Hex Auction and thereafter your students will progress through and repeat the 4 Civic Mirro Game Events: the Government Event, Open Market, Town Hall, and National Court. These events will provide your students with an experiential frame of reference from which they’ll be able to better understand the complex history of U.S. politics, economics, and society.

Be sure to check out the “Reflection & Connection Essay” at the very back of the Instructor’s Manual. This would be a great assignment to use after your students completed their first or second simulated year. Basically the assignment asks them compare an event or development that occurred in their own simulated nation to one that actually occurred in history (in this case U.S. history). Then they need to determine what important “lessons learned” the people learned and how they would be able to help their classmates (or fellow citizens).

Lastly, one teacher had his students record their Civic Mirror country’s history and share their historical notes after the simulation ended. The goal was to show students how the recording of history is largely dependent upon the authors, and how authors are subject to bias.

I hope this helps give you some ideas and confidence to use the program with U.S. Histor

Shorewood High School in Shoreline, WA

The Civic Mirror is a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. It can be used to ignite student interest in a variety of courses and, to date, the learning dividends have been amazing!

Join Regan Ross, creator of the Civic Mirror education program, for a half-day training in-service on May 15th at Shorewood High School and learn the following:

1. How to use the Civic Mirror by playing it with other teachers,
   
2. How it transforms teaching and learning, both reducing teacher work-load and increasing student engagement, and
3. How to plan a unit of study around the program that could prepare students for one of several CBAs.

ESD Clock Hours Available! 
Send Us a Message to Reserve Your Seat (click here)

click to view workshop location

DETAILS

When? Saturday, May 15th, 9:00AM to 1:00PM

Where? Shorewood High School, 17300 Fremont Ave N Shoreline 98133

Cost? Workshop free! Civic Mirror Teacher Manuals will be offered at a workshop special price. Helpful, hands-on instructional materials will be provided.

*      *      *

>> DOWNLOAD “ALBERTA’S GR. 9 SOCIAL STUDIES COURSE and THE CIVIC MIRROR” <<

It can often be difficult for teachers to to find quality learning resources for new courses. This may not be the case for Gr. 9 social studies teachers in Alberta, thanks to The Civic Mirror. The fit is outstanding!

The overarching themes and learning opportunities that the Civic Mirror provides students and teachers with are virtually identical to the broad learning objectives of the new SS 9 course:

1. To teach students how citizenship, identity, and quality of life are affected by Canadian political processes, and
2. To teach students how different economic systems and policies positively and negatively affect a citizenry’s quality of life.

If you have any questions or would like to get started, please feel free to contact us!  If this is your first time to the Civic Mirror website, you may want to view the 90 second video overview in the sidebar before learning more.