Photo Source: The Civic Mirror

The Venture:

The Civic Mirror is a web-based education program where middle school and high school students actively engage in a simulation based on government, law and economics. In the program, students create their own country and essentially become the citizens of the country. Through the simulation, students learn about the rights and responsibilities of citizens, electoral processes, the political spectrum, the economy and justice system. The game is available in both Canadian and American versions and each version is supplemented with a plethora of quality resources and lesson plans. The program allows educators to participate in a free 6 week trial of the program.

As the former teacher of an inner city school, Regan Ross felt it was necessary to devise a way to engage his students in the social studies curriculum. He wanted students to be excited to come to class. Before creating The Civic Mirror, Ross created a non-digital form of the game. The program was a complete success. Attendance, engagement and interest in the social studies curriculum increased drastically. However, the preparation time for the game became an arduous task. He decided to develop the game so other educators could have access to the tools and resources he had employed in the classroom.

Bio:

Regan Ross’ experience as a high school educator contributed to his success in creating The Civic Mirror. Due to his background knowledge with the social studies curriculum and desire to engage his students, Ross had the skills and motivation necessary to build a successful program. In order to be successful, a educational learning program should be supported and created by educators. The Civic Mirror was developed under Action-Ed Learning Resources Ltd which is a company created by teachers that focuses on education. Additionally, Regan Ross’ achievement has been celebrated by being awarded a variety of awards after creating and founding  The Civic Mirror. In 2008, Ross was recognised by the Prime Minister of Canada for excellence in teaching. The following year, The British Columbia Social Studies Teacher’s Association awarded Ross with the “Innovator of the Year Award”.