Decisions, Decisions
A classroom simulation series that turns students into decision-makers.
Decisions, Decisions is a 15-part educational role-playing video game series by Tom Snyder Productions, released from the 1980s to the early 2000s. It has been described as a media-assisted simulation game series. The series is notable for its classroom-focused design that uses computer-driven scenarios to foster discussion and critical thinking.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Educational
- simulation
- role-playing
- Developer
- Tom Snyder Productions
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Each game places players, recommended to be a classroom, into a scenario based on actual facts and encourages them to develop solutions. For example, in Decisions, Decisions: Prejudice, players act as the mayor of a tourist town where a newspaper has editorialised against a business trading racial memorabilia. Students discuss the problem in teams, then enter their strategies into the computer, which advances the story along 300 alternate paths. Team members receive booklets from the perspective of an adviser to the decision maker; in Decisions, Decisions: The Environment, these roles include a campaign manager, an environmentalist, a scientist, and an economist. Players debate conflicting information to reach a justifiable compromise. The games promote a five-step critical thinking process: analyze the situation, determine and prioritise goals, consider options, make a decision, and examine consequences. Follow-up activities include quizzes, drawing political cartoons, writing to legislators, seeing how other parts of the country voted, and research Web links.
Development
Tom Snyder had been making games for classrooms with just one computer, but this series marked a shift toward what he called "choice-driven discussion generators." The programs were built to spark academic conversations among students. An online version, Decisions, Decisions Online, followed. David Dockterman, the company's VP and Chief Academic Officer, explained that the idea came from his own time teaching high school history during the Iranian hostage crisis, when he wished his students could talk through real-world events. In 1999, a free version of Decisions Decisions Online launched, offering a new topic each month drawn from current headlines. Executive producer Hedrick Ellis was hesitant to include ads, saying the company would eventually charge for the service. Scholastic bought Tom Snyder Productions in 2002, and the series became part of its Interactive Educational Software division. According to Realwordedtech, the series faded because it was costly to produce and hard for teachers to fit into a curriculum that was becoming more rigid and data-driven.
Reception
Decisions, Decisions Online earned an A+ from Education World, which called it a strong online tool for sharpening young people's critical thinking. Laura Cirillo-Boilard from USJ gave Decisions, Decisions – The Constitution a perfect 10/10, highlighting how it builds skills in cooperative learning, reading comprehension, oral communication, problem-solving, and decision-making. The book Teaching TV Production in a Digital World: Integrating Media Literacy suggested using Decisions, Decisions: Violence in the Media in school curricula. Character Education in America's Blue Ribbon Schools noted the series helped students collaborate on real-world problems and reflect on their choices. Multimedia Schools found the online version interesting, informative, and affordable. The New York Times made it a featured site on January 5, 2000. The Washington Post reported the series could be groundbreaking, shifting learning from separate subjects to a synergistic approach where students use multiple skills for practical projects. Macworld pointed out that Decisions, Decisions 5.0: The Constitution wasn't meant to replace a U.S. history textbook. Teacher Librarian called it one of the best ethics-based simulations available. Shirley Neill, co-editor of Only the Best, said Snyder encourages kids to consider many viewpoints. From Now On labeled it the top producer of historical simulations. Kliatt praised the series for tackling current issues but noted a lack of cultural balance. Tech & Learning wrote that these thought-provoking programs enriched learning in countless ways. MacWorld suggested the series challenges students who see historical events as distant and irrelevant. The series won the 1988 SIIA CODiE Award for Best Middle or Secondary School Program, a 1997 Codie award for excellence in technology, and 1998 Excellence in Software Awards for Best Curriculum Software for Middle School (Decisions, Decisions: Ancient Empires) and Best Education Software Upgrade (Decisions, Decisions: The Environment). Education World named it Best of 1999, and it was a 2001 Codie Award Finalist for Best School Based Secondary Education Software.
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