Funded Projects Query Form
5 matches

Production of an online game using the history of the Apalachee as a case study to interrogate Indigenous experiences in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Florida. 

Mission US: Spirit of a Nation is an online learning game about the Apalachees, an Indigenous people from northwestern Florida, spanning the 1500s to the mid-1600s. The eighth installment of Mission US, WNET’s award-winning series of free classroom games on American history, it will enrich the teaching and learning of Early American history in middle schools. As players progress through the game narrative, they will take on the roles of Apalachee youths of different periods and interact with contemporary experts studying Apalachee history. The story of the Apalachees offers a compelling perspective on Indigenous, as well as Spanish, experiences in North America. Spirit of a Nation will develop young people’s knowledge of how American Indigenous communities persisted and adapted during early encounters with Europeans, and of how this past is researched, interpreted, and remembered.

Implementation of an online, interactive game to provide an experiential understanding of life under Jim Crow and the vital role of ordinary citizens in the civil rights movement.

Mission US: No Turning Back is the sixth edition of an award-winning series of free online educational games designed to increase young people's knowledge of American history. In each game, the player assumes the role of a teen in one period of our nation's past, and navigates an interactive environment to explore key events and diverse perspectives. Seen through the eyes of a teenage African-American girl, No Turning Back will offer a nuanced exploration of life under Jim Crow and the evolving 1960s civil rights movement. The game narrative uses a local struggle in and around Jackson, Mississippi to explore the critical role of "ordinary" African Americans, including young people, in changing America. The game is slated to launch in 2018, when Mission US is projected to have one over million registered users.

Production of three of a series of five free, online immersive animated games for children ages nine to thirteen that cover crucial historical moments in the shaping of American ideals and institutions.

Mission America is a multi-media initiative on American history for young people aged 9-13. It centers on five online games set in different eras of U.S. history. In each "mission," the player assumes the role of a young person of the time, navigates historical settings, interacts with key figures, investigates primary documents, and experiences multiple perspectives on events. The games combine sophisticated social history content with popular conventions of role-playing games to put students inside crucial moments of U.S. history, building their historical knowledge and thinking skills. Mission America games will be available free on a Web site that also offers rich additional resources for middle school students and teachers. Outreach with PBS stations and national organizations, and a potential partnership with a leading textbook publisher, will ensure significant reach. Requested funds will support production and launch of Missions 2-4.