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]
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]
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.[22]Macworld noted that Decisions, Decisions 5.0: The Constitution was not a replacement for a U.S. history textbook.[27] Teacher Librarian praised it as one of the best ethics-based simulations on the market.[28] 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".[29] From Now On deemed it the leading producer of historical simulations.[30] While Kliatt praised the series for addressing current issues, it noted the games were not "culturally balanced".[31] Tech & Learning wrote "These thought-provoking programs enriched learning in countless ways."[32] 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".[33]
Awards
1988 SIIA CODiE Award for Best Middle or Secondary School Program – Decisions, Decisions Series[34]
