Civic Mirror Teachers, Students, Parents, and Curriculum Coordinators!

This summer Action-Ed will be working with a video production company to develop super cool Civic Mirror Intro Videos. We hope that these videos will better help teachers and students ‘get’ what the Civic Mirror is and how it works before their first time playing it. The finished products are going to be pretty awesome with scheduled video recordings of teachers and students from several schools across North America. We would like, however, to extend the opportunity to you.

WHAT YOU DO

It’s simple, answer the following 5 questions as best you can. We’re not looking for “best” answers, just open and honest feedback so we have lots of candid footage to help us spread the good word and help new users get started.

5 VIDEO QUESTIONS

1. How has the Civic Mirror helped you?

2. What have you learned since using the Civic Mirror?

3. Why should others use the Civic Mirror?

4. Is there anything else about your experience with the Civic Mirror that you think others should know?

5. What was your favorite Civic Mirror moment?

VIDEO RECORDING INSTRUCTIONS

When you record yourself answering the 5 Civic Mirror questions, please do the following:

• SHOOL SETTING > Ensure that the video recordings occur in either a classroom, library, or computer lab setting. We need this is for production consistency.

• INFO STATEMENT > When you press record, please wait a few seconds and then ask each person to say their name, school, city, course, and grade. Please do say this very clearly. This is important because the video production company is going to display this information and we need to make sure we get it right.

• CLEAR AUDIO > Make sure the sound in your recording is really, really clear. It would be awful if we couldn’t hear what you were saying and couldn’t use an otherwise great video. Having a bit of noise in the background is fine, but it’s crucial that the voices are well heard.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

When done, please submit your video to us in one of two ways.

1. YOUTUBE - upload your video to YouTube and send us the link (via the contact form)

2. MESSAGE - send us a message saying you have a video to submit; we’ll then reply with next steps.

If you are a student under the age of 18 years old, you’ll likely have to send us a parent-completed video permission form (especially if you do the first option), so you might want to get started by downloading it below.

Download Video Permission Form

Savas is the last Gr.12 economics student from the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction we’ll be showcasing this week. In the video reflection below Savas shares some of the lessons he learned about life and the real-world by participating in The Civic Mirror.

QUOTABLES:

“I think that was the one thing that changed me the most: How to be active and how to play a good role in society.”

“Civic Mirror is a test for life in real society”

“Just like in life … every law is going to help somebody and hurt somebody else.”

A special thanks to Mr. Matt Anderson, the 2008/09 Civic Mirror Instructor at UASDC!

Maylin is the next Gr.12 economics student who participated in The Civic Mirror in spring 2009 we’re showcasing … from the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction . Below she discusses her experience as a Civic Mirror citizen and what she learned about life and the real-world from it.

QUOTABLES:

“I learned that I’m very persuasive and I can get myself out of sticky situations.”

“You have to know what you want and go for it as soon as possible.”

“If other people make mistakes, you can get affected by them.”

A special thanks to Mr. Matt Anderson, the 2008/09 Civic Mirror Instructor at UASDC!

Stephen is the first Gr.12 economics student from the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction whose Civic Mirror video reflection we’ll be showcasing this week. Enjoy listening to Stephen talk about the following points:

• The importance of trust in the business world
• Politicians promising the impossible for votes
• How finding the “center-point” will help you win The Civic Mirror

A special thanks to Mr. Matt Anderson, the 2008/09 Civic Mirror Instructor at UASDC!

Reflection & Connection

This is a student video reflection that was done for marks. The young man’s name is Jordan, his track record in school was less than stellar, and his experience in The Civic Mirror was full of adversity.

What’s so fascinating about this case study is that Jordan, who remained relatively behind the scenes throughout all of the Civic Mirror events until the National Court (Episode 17), demonstrates just how much he learned and discovered throughout the entire process.

This video doesn’t show Jordan at home doing social studies reading and note-taking for the first time in preparation for the cash-related reading checks (Episode 5); it doesn’t show him earning 83% on the multiple-choice section of the course’s standardized exam; and it doesn’t show him debating with his classmates and teachers about political and economic policy and human nature (see end of Episode 19).

But this video does show the piercing insights Jordan quietly arrived at after participating in The Civic Mirror … and being challenged to think deeply about the events, their significance, and how they relate to the course content, his world, and the world out there.

I couldn’t think of a better way to conclude this 20-episode classroom video series. I hope you enjoyed it!

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS CIVIC MIRROR VIDEO TUTORIAL?
Please leave them below and join the discussion!

ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE CIVIC MIRROR IS?
Basically it’s a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. Far more than just a game, The Civic Mirror is a fully comprehensive civic education program that turns the old rules of teaching and learning on their head. Students actively assume real-world citizenship roles – both in the classroom and online – and work as individuals to provide for imaginary families and achieve hidden agendas, while working together to build a strong, democratic nation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT CIVICMIRROR.COM.

FOR THE COMPLETE CIVIC MIRROR EVENT SUMMARY, CLICK HERE .

In this video, Cherise Osaki, a Gr. 12 International Relations Student from Shanghai American School, reflects on what she learned about her classmates - and people in general - from her experience as a citizen in her Civic Mirror country “Pangea,” a tumultuous nation that almost slipped into dictatorship.

People or Sheeple?

Written By Cherise Osaki: You wouldn’t think that people who know what is right could be so easily swayed by others. But they are. You wouldn’t think that students in a private international school with set hidden agendas and full awareness of what their set goals are to achieve could be so easily manipulated into what somewhat with a disreputable past says. But we are.

Third year in Pangaea, and it is time to vote. We have a president who has never let us down, has always been true to her word, and has been consistent with her plans for the future running for reelection. Then we had another candidate who had been sued for questionable motives and morals every year since the Civic Mirror began in our class and always seemed to find ways around the law and around contracts. Shouldn’t the old proverb “once burned twice shy” apply? Apparently not.

After a surprising tie result and a tiebreaker vote, we were even more surprised to see that our former president was defeated by one vote. The elections were not rigged, the results were legitimate. A frustrated few remained loyal to the tactics which had made Pangaea prosperous, but a surprising number had been convinced of the new president. As should have been expected, the country fell into turmoil, and in the end the only way out was a crisis vote (a vote that simulates a violent revolution to quickly resolve a political stalemate, resulting in random deaths of Civic Mirror family members). After all was said and done, there were sixteen deaths.

It should have been obvious, why had people been so easily swayed? In the end, it is surprising. Very few will stand by morals in the end, as everyone’s primary concern is living comfortably in the moment. Even people who should know better don’t. We have all learned now, as we should, to question everything and consider the future and past for every present circumstance. Will this lesson be lasting, or will history repeat itself?

Here Jonathan Lau, a Gr.12 international relations student from Shanghai American School, discusses what he learned about citizenship, policy-making, the complexity of governments, and the importance of voting in a democracy by participating in The Civic Mirror government simulation.