Our Nation

Based on the game 'Age of Empires', Our Nation is an online environment where students are thrown into a past world. Divided into separate tribes of varying talents, they discuss and complete tasks to build and strengthen their nation. Starting with the very basics, they must tell the story of how they came to this new land and record on their scroll (wiki) any developments they have made. The Herald of Nations (teacher) unfolds new instructions, activities or scenarios each day. This is an integrated inquiry unit with the intention of investigating the elections with a twist. Students work towards developing their own values, slogans and policies. Other themes include trade and exchange, conflict and Tiriti O Waitangi as the Imperial Nation is introduced to assert their influence on all others. The wiki platform used in collaboration with other web 2.0 technologies provides the opportunity for classrooms around the world to join in and start developing their own tribes. In reflection this unit was excellent in delivering what I like to call a play area for students to explore and roleplay complex issues like leadership and conflict. We explored how to run meetings and have a debate. If I were to do this unit again it would be in the second term due to the fact that the fourth term had too many distractions and I would be sure to invite other classrooms with plenty of warning in advance. To find out more about the project, visit the Our Nation wiki and be sure to read through the teacher notes for a full explanation.