June 9, 2010 – The State Bar is partnering with Retired U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the Wisconsin Supreme Court to promote iCivics, Justice O'Connor's innovative Web-based project designed to reinvigorate civics education in America. She highlighted the project at a May 6 event in the Supreme Court Chambers and at the State Bar's Annual Convention.

"iCivics is a perfect addition to our list of Law-Related Education initiatives," notes State Bar LRE Coordinator Marsha Varvil-Weld. "Most LRE activities are relatively structured and typically require teacher or other adult input to succeed. By contrast iCivics is a Web-based education project that can be used either as part of a class curriculum or by individual students."

She explains that the Web site teaches civics by offering students engaging multimedia features, including electronic games. "Young people today are accustomed to using electronic media in a wide variety of ways, so it only makes sense to use the tools they're familiar with to give them the information and insights they will need to be informed citizens and fully participate in our system of government."

In August 2009, Justice O'Connor launched Our Courts, which focused on the role of the judicial branch in the American system of government; iCivics includes content from Our Courts and new material on all three branches of government. The site includes several on-line games, including: Do I have A Right, which focuses on constitutional rights; Supreme Decision, which introduces students to the process of judicial reasoning as they play a clerk to a Supreme Court justice; and Law Craft, where students play a member of Congress attempting to enact a law.

A growing body of research shows that games have extraordinary potential for promoting learning and civic engagement. Games also have the potential to inspire 24/7 learning for young students; in fact, a recent Pew report showed that 97% of teenagers play video games.

Varvil-Weld stresses that while iCivics can be used by individual students at any time, other materials included on the site make it a valuable resource for teachers. These include quality online lesson plans and interactive forums where students across the country can tell each other and Justice O'Connor about their opinions and their civic participation. These resources, which were written and compiled with input from classroom teachers, offer practical solutions to classroom needs.

Justice O'Connor brought her civics education message to Wisconsin on May 6, when she was the keynote speaker at the State Bar's Annual Convention. Earlier in the day, she met with educators, policy-makers and students (from Cherokee Middle School, Edgewood Middle School, Sennett Middle School, Whitehorse Middle School and Sun Prairie High School) in the Supreme Court Chamber to inaugurate the iCivics initiative in Wisconsin.

One of those teachers, Scott Quincy, who teaches 7th and 8th grade social studies at Madison's Edgewood Campus School, welcomed her message: "Civic education is essential for youth today to be knowledgeable citizens and future leaders of the world. Justice O'Connor and her team have done a big service not only to students and teachers, but to the future of our country by making it more fun to learn about how our government and courts work."

That view was reinforced by an 8th grader from Cherokee Middle School, who reports that "The games are very fun and provide players with loads of information while keeping them interested, and letting them have fun at the same time. I play 'Do I Have A Right?', 'Argument Wars' and 'Supreme Decision' at home and at school, and I highly recommend playing these games to have fun learning about civics education."

Justice O'Connor also participated in a live interview on Wisconsin Public Radio during her Madison visit to help promote statewide awareness of iCivics and the importance of civic education.

During her SBW Convention remarks, O'Connor warned that students are not getting the information and skills they need to be responsible citizens. She pointed to national survey data confirming the results of this trend (data collected by the National Constitution Center, for example, demonstrated that more American teenagers could name the Three Stooges than can name the three branches of government (59% to 41%).

Wisconsin is among the first states to launch a project to promote the use of iCivics. The activities here are chaired by state Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, a former high school teacher and are coordinated by Marsha Varvil-Weld.

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