It's not hard to capture the attention of middle or high school-aged kids when you break out the PlayStation 2 and queue up "Grand Theft Auto" or "Madden NFL 2005," but try to get them to engage in something educational and you may have a challenge on your hands.

Not so with the education simulation "Building Homes of Our Own," which uses the familiar concept of home building to teach math, science, civics, technology and personal financial responsibility, and uses SIM City-like technology to create an interactive learning experience.

Launched in September 2002, Building Homes of Our Own already has reached more than 2.2 million students, teachers and parents nationwide. Free to educators and members of home builders associations, word-of-mouth among teachers has catapulted the Windows-based program into classrooms devoted to both traditional subjects and career and life skills disciplines.

Whether educators are using the comprehensive classroom planning guide, which illustrates how the program meets national standards of learning and is chock full of lesson plans and discussion guides, or students are using the simulation on their own time for extra credit assignments, "Building Homes of Our Own" delivers a unique and fun learning experience.

Students enjoy their class time using the program so much that the National Association of Home Builders, which produced Building Homes of Our Own as part of an ongoing educational outreach effort, has had numerous requests for extra copies that students can use at home.

The program challenges students to work within a budget and schedule to design and build a home, starting with the site selection and ending with the sale of the home to a qualified buyer. In the process, they will rely on lessons and skills they've learned in school as they work to solve problems and make decisions, exercising their critical thinking skills. When their home is completed, players review credit applications and sell their "virtual dream house," hoping not to go bust.

"Building Homes of Our Own" features three levels of play within each of the four building sites found in urban, suburban, rivers and lakes, and coastline settings. Throughout the game, players encounter a variety of real-life obstacles and issues that test their skill, patience and resourcefulness. Students can elect to perform lab testing, conduct research, or call upon special consultants to help them arrive at sound decisions that satisfy environmental concerns or nervous neighbors. Attending a virtual town meeting or working within community planning and zoning laws are just a few of the many challenges students will encounter.

The program, including the Teacher's Guide, is available on CD-ROM and is compatible with the Microsoft Windows operating system. It is free to classroom educators and members of home builder associations affiliated with NAHB (www.NAHB.org) through www.HomesofOurOwn.org.

(Mike Kruse, who is owner and president of Mike Kruse Contractors Inc., is president of the Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia, which serves a membership of approximately 615 builders and associate members in Fayette, Coweta, Spalding, Meriwether, Heard, Pike, Upson, Lamar, Butts and Jasper counties.)

Home | News | Sports | Opinion | Weekend | Special Sections | Classifieds | Archives Copyright 2004-Fayette Publishing, Inc.