Decisions, Decisions
Genre(s)Educational, simulation, role-playing
Developer(s)Tom Snyder Productions

Decisions, Decisions is a 15-part educational role-playing video game series by Tom Snyder Productions, released from the 1980s to the early 2000s.[1][2] It has also been described as a "media-assisted simulation game" series.[3]

Development

While Tom Snyder originally created games that would suit the "one-computer classroom" model, this series was part of a new gaming focus of "choice-driven discussion generators".[4] The software was designed specifically to foster academic discussions within the classroom.[5] An online learning extension named Decisions, Decisions Online was also created.[6] David Dockterman, VP and Chief Academic Officer of Tom Snyder Productions, commented "the series grew out of my frustration teaching high school history during the Iranian hostage crisis. I thought it would be valuable for my students to discuss what was happening in the world."[7]

In 1999, a free service Decisions Decisions Online was released, which allowed students to discuss events taken from current headlines, with a new topic featured every month.[8][9] Hedrick Ellis, executive producer of Decisions, Decisions Online, was reluctant to introduce advertising, and instead noted that Tom Snyder Productions would eventually charge for the products.[10]

In 2002, Tom Snyder Productions was bought by Scholastic, and this series fell under Scholastic’s Interactive Educational Software division.[11]

Realwordedtech suggested the series died out because it "was expensive to create and even more difficult for teachers to integrate an increasingly prescribed data-driven curriculum".[12]

Gameplay

Each game puts the players (recommended to be a classroom) into a scenario based on actual facts and encourages them to come up with solutions.

An example is in the title Decisions, Decisions: Prejudice, in which the players take the role of the mayor of a tourist town, in which a newspaper has editorialised against a business trading racial memorabilia.[4] Students discuss the problem in teams, then enter their strategies into the computer, which advances the story, leading to 300 alternate paths.[4] Members of the team receive booklets from the perspective of an adviser to the decision maker, for instance in Decisions,[13] Decisions: The Environment, they could be a campaign manager, and environmentalist, a scientist, and an economist; players then debate this conflicting information to reach a justifiable compromise.[14]

The games encourage a five step critical thinking process:[15]

  1. Analyze the situation[16]
  2. Determine and prioritise goals[17]
  3. Consider their options[18]
  4. Make a decision[19]
  5. Examine the consequences[20]

Follow-up activities include: taking quizzes, drawing political cartoons, writing to state and federal legislators, seeing how others parts of the country voted on the issue, and research Web links.[21]

Titles (incomplete)

  • Decisions, Decisions: Current Issues
  • Decisions, Decisions: AIDS
  • Decisions, Decisions: Colonization
  • Decisions, Decisions: Immigration
  • Decisions, Decisions: On the Campaign Trail[22]
  • Decisions, Decisions: Prejudice
  • Decisions, Decisions: Revolutionary Wars
  • Decisions, Decisions: Substance Abuse (also known as S.M.A.R.T. Choices)
  • Decisions, Decisions: The Budget Process
  • Decisions, Decisions: The Constitution
  • Decisions, Decisions: The Environment
  • Decisions, Decisions: Urbanization
  • Decisions, Decisions: Violence in the Media
  • Decisions, Decisions: Ancient Empires
  • Decisions, Decisions: Drinking and Driving[23]

Critical reception

Education World gave Decisions, Decisions Online an A+, describing it as an effective online resource to stimulate the critical thinking skills of young people.[6]

Laura Cirillo-Boilard of USJ gave Decisions, Decisions – The Constitution 10/10, praising its ability to develop skills in cooperative learning, reading comprehension, oral communication, problem-solving, and decision-making.[15] Teaching TV Production in a Digital World: Integrating Media Literacy recommended the use of Decisions, Decisions: Violence in the Media within the school curriculum.[3] Character Education in America's Blue Ribbon Schools felt the series effectively allowed students to work together in solving real world problems and analysing the results of their decisions.[24] Multimedia Schools said Decisions, Decisions Online is an "interesting, informative, and affordable" product.[25]

The website was The New York Times' featured site on January 5, 2000.[26] The Washington Post reported that the series could be ground-breaking in the move from learning distinct subjects to a synergistic approach, using all these skills to complete practical and realistic projects.[27] Macworld noted that Decisions, Decisions 5.0: The Constitution was not a replacement for a U.S. history textbook.[28] Teacher Librarian praised it as one of the best ethics-based simulations on the market.[29] Shirley Neill, co-editor of Only the Best, noted “Snyder tries to get kids to see the issue from a lot of different points of view".[30] From Now On deemed it the leading producer of historical simulations.[31] While Kliatt praised the series for addressing current issues, it noted the games were not "culturally balanced".[32] Tech & Learning wrote "These thought-provoking programs enriched learning in countless ways."[33] MacWorld suggests the series challenges the student view that historical events are "far-removed from their own lives and have little relevance to the present".[34]

Awards

  • 1988 SIIA CODiE Award for Best Middle or Secondary School Program – Decisions, Decisions Series[35]
  • 1997 Codie Award for excellence in technology[36]
  • 1998 Excellence in Software Award for Best Curriculum Software for Middle School – Decisions, Decisions: Ancient Empires[37]
  • 1998 Excellence in Software Award for Best Education Software Upgrade – Decisions, Decisions: The Environment[37]
  • 1999 Education World - Best of 1999 – Decisions, Decisions Online[38]
  • 2001 Codie Award Finalist: Best School Based Secondary Education Software – Decisions, Decisions Online[39]

References

  1. ↑ "David Dockterman Profile". Harvard Graduate School. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  2. ↑ "Decisions, Decisions Trademark - Registration Number 2021985 - Serial Number 75020891: Justia Trademarks". trademarks.justia.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  3. 1 2 Kenny, Robert (2004). Teaching TV Production in a Digital World: Integrating Media Literacy. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 9781591581994.
  4. 1 2 3 West, Peter (March 24, 1993). "Reaction to Software on Slavery Raises Issues Surrounding New Types of Media". Education Week. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  5. ↑ Harness the Power of Projectors and Interactive Whiteboards Archived July 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 "Best of '99: Decisions, Decisions Online". Education World. 1999. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  7. ↑ "An Interview with David "Dock" Dockterman: The Changing Nature of Educational Software". 2008-08-12. Archived from the original on 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  8. ↑ "F.Y.I. - Tom Snyder Productions -".
  9. ↑ "Welcome To Decisions, Decisions Online". 2001-07-21. Archived from the original on 2001-07-21. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  10. ↑ "Gale - Product Login".
  11. ↑ "Scholastic purchases software maker Tom Snyder Productions". eSchool News. 2002-02-01. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  12. ↑ "Why Ed Tech had it right at the very start but lost its way". Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  13. ↑ Kenebrew, Keith Tyson (March 2005). Decisions, Decisions, Decisions: Seeking God's Will. iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-34223-5.
  14. ↑ Dockterman, David A. (2002). Easy Ways to Make Technology Work for You: From Grade Books to Graphic Organizers. Scholastic Inc. ISBN 9780439437615.
  15. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2018-03-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ↑ "Analyze the Situation". Archived from the original on 2004-05-01. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  17. ↑ "Determine Your Goals". Archived from the original on 2004-05-06. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  18. ↑ "Consider the Options". Archived from the original on 2004-05-09. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  19. ↑ "Make a Decision". Archived from the original on 2004-05-16. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  20. ↑ "Consider the Consequences". Archived from the original on 2004-05-21. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  21. ↑ "Follow-Up Activities". Archived from the original on 2004-05-22. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  22. ↑ Goldberg, Debbie (1992-11-01). "FROM BLACKBOARD TO KEYBOARD". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  23. ↑ "Teach Students to Avoid Drinking & Driving -".
  24. ↑ Murphy, Madonna (2002-07-09). Character Education in America's Blue Ribbon Schools: Best Practices for Meeting the Challenge. R&L Education. ISBN 9781461666912.
  25. ↑ "Gale - Product Login".
  26. ↑ "Site of the Day: Decisions, Decisions Online". events.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  27. ↑ Goldberg, Debbie (1992-11-01). "FROM BLACKBOARD TO KEYBOARD". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  28. ↑ "Education Software". Macworld. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  29. ↑ Troutner, Joanne (April 2005). "BEST NEW SOFTWARE". Teacher Librarian. 32 (4): 40, 67.
  30. ↑ West, Peter (2019-06-19). "The Mouse That Roared". Education Week. ISSN 0277-4232. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  31. ↑ "Focus on History, Literacies and ICT". fno.org. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  32. ↑ Hammer, Brad (2002). "Energy and the Environment".
  33. ↑ Gwen Solomon (2015-04-28). "Software Grows Up: Interactive Multimedia And More". TechLearningMagazine. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  34. ↑ "Education Software". Macworld. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  35. ↑ "1988 Winners". www.siia.net. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  36. ↑ "2004: Tom Snyder". publishers.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  37. 1 2 "TMF: drop in sales due to lack of award winning title / Learning Company, Inc., The". boards.fool.com. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  38. ↑ "Education World® : Best Of Series : 1999 : Review : Decisions, Decisions Online". 2001-06-17. Archived from the original on 2001-06-17. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  39. ↑ "Runaware - Decisions, Decisions Online". 2001-06-17. Archived from the original on 2001-06-17. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
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