Making Laws: The Legislative Process in Ohio

CD-ROM

Sponsored by:
The American New
Media Educational
Foundation and The Gund Foundation

PI: Wayne Carlson

The curricular areas for the project are Civics, Government and Social Studies. It is intended for use in grades 4 - 8. The content of the project is in keeping with the Ohio Citizenship Proficiency Outcomes guidelines, the Ohio Social Studies Model Curriculum, and the National Standards for Civics and Government for grades 4 - 8.The initial unit theme addressed in the project is the process of legislation in the State of Ohio. A simulation was done to trace the process of a bill as it travels through the legislative process on its way to becoming law. Emphasis was on the roles of the legislature, public interest groups, special interest groups, voters, political parties and the media – all of whom can affect the progress of the bill.

The final product was a CD-ROM which will provide an opportunity for the student to interact with this process. It has two distinct navigational directions: the first takes the viewer through an overview of the stages of the bill-to-law process, using an example teen driving bill as the case study. The second is a game, in which the player accumulates points, depending on the senator or representative whose identity the player assumes, and depending on the success of the bill as it travels through the process. The CD will serve as both an educational and entertaining teaching tool. Follow-on activities were to assess the value of this kind of technological teaching tool. Student/teacher acceptance, the educational process, related disciplinary impact, and moral/ethical ramifications of the approach will be measured or otherwise evaluated.