June 23, 2010 – Washington, D.C. The Harlan Institute announced a new partnership today with iCivics Inc., the nonprofit civic education program founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The two organizations will integrate Argument Wars, a game developed by iCivics, and FantasySCOTUS, the Supreme Court fantasy league from the Harlan Institute, to teach students about the Constitution and the Supreme Court.
This partnership will build on the great success of Justice O’Connor’s vision to use digital media to teach students about government and civics, and the surging popularity of FantasySCOTUS, which CNN called the “hottest new fantasy-league game.”
Argument Wars presents students with famous Supreme Court cases and challenges them to critically examine arguments and exercise sound reasoning in order to win. FantasySCOTUS is a fun and interactive fantasy league that allows students to make predictions about cases pending before the Supreme Court, compete and collaborate with other classes across the country, and write analytical blog posts about the cases.
iCivics and the Harlan Institute will be linking Argument Wars and FantasySCOTUS to immerse students in cases pending before the Supreme Court. Students will use Argument Wars to understand the facts and competing arguments in cases. Following this introduction, students will utilize FantasySCOTUS to make predictions, blog, and record podcasts about the cases. After the Supreme Court decides the cases, points will be awarded based on the accuracy of their predictions, and students will be able to compete with other classes nationwide.
“Through our partnership with Justice O’Connor and iCivics, we will be able to offer students nationwide a fun and interactive way to learn about the law,” commented Josh Blackman, President and Co-Founder of the Harlan Institute. “Students will learn about cases pending before the Supreme Court with the same passion and excitement they have for video games and fantasy sports. It’s a recipe for educational success.”
These programs will be free for all teachers and students to use and will be available in August of 2010.
About iCivics
iCivics (www.iCivics.org) is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy. iCivics is the vision of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who is concerned that students are not getting the information and tools they need for civic participation, and that civics teachers need better materials and support.
About the Harlan Institute
The Harlan Institute’s (www.HarlanInstitute.org) mission is to bring a stylized law school experience into the high school classroom to ensure that our next generation of leaders has a proper understanding of our most fundamental laws. The Harlan Institute developed FantasySCOTUS.org, a Supreme Court fantasy league that teaches students about Supreme Court cases and allows them to make predictions about the outcome of the case.
###
Contacts:
| Josh Blackman (202) 294-9003 The Harlan Institute [email protected] twitter: @HarlanInstitute http://HarlanInstitute.org |
Jeff Curley (202) 661-6527 iCivics Inc. [email protected] www.icivics.org |