As a college student, you might think that all computer games are meant for procrastinating and letting off steam. But these computer games are especially designed to teach you about social issues, from public health to the environment to human rights to poverty. Here are 50 serious (but still fun) games for social change.
Health and Nutrition
These games promote healthy eating, food safety, HIV awareness and more.
- Killer Flu: Learn how seasonal and pandemic flu viruses mutate, spread and cause chaos.
- Food Import Folly: You'll play an FDA inspector with "extremely limited resources" challenged with monitoring foreign food imports and food safety.
- Positive or Not: This game brings awareness to HIV and AIDS.
- Fatworld: This game explores "the politics of nutrition" and brings awareness to obesity and socioeconomic issues.
- The Arcade Wire: Bacteria Salad: This game highlights corruption in agriculture and food production, as you have to harvest as much cheap produce as possible while monitoring floods, animal waste and E. coli.
- Native Dancer Diabetes Game: The Native American community, an at-risk group for diabetes, has created this cultural version of Dance Dance Revolution.
General Activism
Learn how to start your own grassroots campaign by playing these games.
- Community Organizing: You can play this game in either English or Spanish and practice community leadership skills.
- Take Back Illinois: This game is sponsored by the Illinois GOP and requires players to address reform in the following areas: medical malpractice, education, grassroots activism and economic reform.
- Free Culture: Learn more about "the struggle between free culture and copyright" as you fight for free information and communication.
- Play the News: You'll learn to become more actively engaged in news stories when you play this community game.
Poverty, Debt and Disaster
From poverty in Haiti to recovering from Hurricane Katrina, these games will teach you what life is like in developing countries and ravaged regions.
- Homeless: It's No Game: This game was created by a student at the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University and challenges players to live life on the street for 24 hours as they encounter cops, drug addicts and more.
- Debt Ski: Players learn about savings and debt in this game, which stars Piggy Banks as he tries to avoid financial obstacles.
- Ayiti: The Cost of Life: This kids' game involves the Guinard family and their struggle to make ends meet in poverty-stricken Haiti.
- Race Against Global Poverty: Learn about poverty-stricken, developing regions of the world in this British game.
- Stop Disasters!: This simulation game from the UN/ISDR teaches players about tsunamis, drought, floods and other natural disasters, and how to prevent them.
- Emergency 911: This game is available in Spanish and English and teaches basic first aid and emergency response skills.
- Tempest in the Crescent City: This game uses Hurricane Katrina as its backdrop. You'll play Vivica Waters as she travels across the city of New Orleans to find her mother, stopping along the way to rescue survivors.
- 3rd World Disaster: You're a poor farmer struggling to make harvest in the third world as you play 3rd World Disaster.
Nonviolence
These games preach nonviolence as they take you to Rwanda, Uganda, and beyond.
- A Force More Powerful: This strategy game promotes nonviolence and was developed by The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, York Zimmerman Inc. and BreakAway Ltd.
- Pax Warrior: Pax Warrior is a game for the 14-24 year-old set and focuses on the UN missions to Rwanda.
- Traces of Hope: Joseph is trying to reach the Red Cross in Uganda to find out whether or not his mother is alive or dead.
- Cruel 2 B Kind: Learn how to become a benevolent assassin in this game.
- Duke Anti-Nuke: Turn nuclear power and nuclear weapons plans into weapons-free and environmentally friendly zones.
- Global Conflicts: This game tells the story of child soldiers in Uganda.
- Nukesweeper: In this game, you have to declare nuclear-free zones without detonating any of the 30,000 weapons.
Politics
Get involved with politics and political reform when you take on a leadership role yourself.
- Activism, the Public Policy Game: In this game, you have to manage 10,000 activists and six public policy issues with very limited resources and support.
- Ars Regendi: This politics and economic simulation game challenges you to rule over a happy, healthy and prosperous people.
- Budget Hero: Manage the U.S. budget and learn about social programs, funding and more.
- Presidential Pong: In Presidential Pong, you'll get a chance to debate the 2008 presidential candidates like Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
- PeaceMaker: Try to bring peace to the Middle East as a world leader.
- Balance of Power: This classic game puts you in the role of world leader as you manage armies, cities, and taxes, and try not to let it all go to your head.
Human Rights and Immigration
Here you will find games that promote human rights and social issues in Guantanamo Bay, Beijing, Darfur and more.
- Darfur is Dying: Choose one of eight characters (ages 10-30) to represent your camp as you forage for water and avoid being attacked by militia.
- Real Lives: You get to experience life in any country in the world in this game, which is designed from real-life statistics.
- Points of Entry: This game challenges you to compete for green cards under the real-life Merit-Based Evaluation System.
- Pictures for truth: Amnesty International's game puts you in the role of a photojournalist in Beijing days before the 2008 Olympics. With your friend Jun Shen, you have to catch as many human rights violations as possible.
- Against All Odds: Experience the life of a refugee when you play this game.
- Escape from Woomera: This game is in the final stages of development, and players have to try to escape from the Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre.
- Guardian of Law: Argue Constitutional law cases and get a first-hand look at how societies are impacted by court rulings.
- Homeland Guantanamos: You'll have to investigate human rights violations and the conditions at Guantanamo in this game.
- I Can End Deportation: Play a teenager questioned and followed by immigration officials. If you answer questions incorrectly, you'll be detained no matter what.
Environment and Animal Rights
Learn about endangered animals and discover ways to save the planet here.
- Windfall: This strategy game requires players to build wind farms to create profitable, clean energy solutions.
- CNN Planet in Peril: Animal Rescue: Play this action/memory game to save rare creatures from captivity and learn about animal rights.
- Flower: Try to maintain the balance between urban life and nature in this game.
- Silverback: Try to keep the gorillas alive as you support and protect their natural habitats.
- Hold the Meat: Hold the Meat promotes animal rights and vegetarianism.
- Poacher: You're witness to illegal poachers in this game.
- Planet Green Game: Starbucks' game challenges players to find ways to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce global warming.
Business
Fight corporate corruption in the oil industry and beyond when you play these games.
- The Arcade Wire: Oil God: You get to manipulate entire economies and political infrastructures as you mess with oil prices, demand and trade.
- Horde of Directors: Try to advance your own social agenda with corporate and government support as you fight corruption.
- Oil Strike: Play this game to act as the new Managing Director of Oil Strike. You have to build oil platforms around the world and make a profits in just 8 months.
Scientists are continually on a mission to learn more about the world around them, and thus the information available is continually changing as the knowledge grows. Good science teachers understand the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest happenings in the world of science. A great way to do so is by following blogs. Not only can teachers stay abreast of what is happening, but many of these blogs serve as an excellent resource for students, as well. The following blogs range from blogging science teachers themselves to specialists in specific fields within the science domain.
Blogging Science Teachers
These science teachers provide resources to enhance your teaching as well as great examples of how you might want to create a blog yourself.
- Science Teacher. This science teacher comes with a varied life experience and a down-to-earth insight on teaching.
- Science for All. Get tons of resources for teaching science here.
- What It's Like on the Inside. Teaching, education reform, and science all get equal billing in The Science Goddess' blog.
- Sustainably Digital. Ben includes great suggestions to use in the classroom–often with an eye on technology usage to enhance learning.
- Lovely Scientist Loves Science. Joanne's passion for science comes through loud and clear with these fun posts.
- sciencegeekgirl. Find lots of fun and interesting science information, hands-on learning activities, and much more.
- Wisdom Begins with Wonder. This science teacher shares plenty about how he is using technology in his science classroom.
- Steve Spangler Blog. The guy who made the Mentos and soda experiment famous shares all sorts of hands-on learning activities here.
- Reflections of a Science Teacher. This science teacher shares the beauty of life and teaching with her posts on science, education, students, and so much more.
- Hurricane Maine. This veteran science teacher shares all sorts of information that incorporates teaching and technology.
- Extreme Biology!. Ms. Baker and her biology students do an excellent job of creating a fun and interesting blog relevant to their high school biology subject matter.
- Biology in Action. This blog is intended to stimulate discussion in the high school biology classroom, but it is also open for comments for online discussion.
Computer Science and Technology
Check out these teachers who are all blogging about computer science and technology in schools.
- Philly Teacher. This blogging computer science teacher provides information about using technology in the classroom.
- NJ Tech Teacher Musings. This K-8 teacher shares his experience with the technology he uses with his students.
- Free Technology for Teachers. Learn about the latest resources available for educators in this blog.
- Think Like a Teacher. This technology, teaching, and education are all covered here.
- iLearn Technology. Find out how you can integrate technology in your curriculum.
- On an e-journey with generation Y. This teacher and her students explore Web 2.0 in the classroom and share their experiences on their blog.
- The Power of Educational Technology. Learn real-world applications of technology in the classroom here.
- 2¢ Worth. This veteran educator shares his perspective on technology, education, and learning in this popular blog.
- Dangerously Irrelevant. Read about technology and the future of education in this blog.
- Blog by Carol. Carol Cooper-Taylor blogs about the world of e-learning.
- Cool Cat Teacher Blog. This popular blog features information about education with a concentration on using technology in the classroom.
Biology
These biologists' blogs provide information about the natural world.
- Discovering Biology in a Digital World. Sandra Porter blogs about digital technology for teaching biology in her blog.
- Panda's Thumb. This blog explores the science of evolution and often takes issue with those who promote the anti-evolution viewpoint.
- Snail's Tales. The photos alone are a great reason to visit this blog that discusses snails, among other scientific topics.
- The Tree of Life. This evolutionary biologist posts about microbes, infectious diseases, academia, and more.
- monkey's uncle. Written by a biological anthropologist, this blog provides a blend of academic science discussion and more simplified topics.
- Coyote Crossing. See photos and read about wildlife and more surrounding the Mojave Desert.
- Dharma Bums. As these bloggers practice the "yoga of seeing the world," they share magnificent photos of wildlife and their habitats.
- Leaves of Grass. Enjoy the gorgeous photography of the natural world in this blog that is published in both English and Portuguese.
Geology
Learn about the latest developments in the world of geology when you follow these blogs.
- Ron Schott's Geology Home Companion Blog. Geology scavenger hunts, awesome photos, and more make this blog a must-read.
- All of My Faults Are Stress-Related. This geology professor shares fun ways to engage students along with news and information from the world of geology.
- Lounge of the Lab Lemming. The Lab Lemming makes geology seem much more humorous than you ever thought possible.
- Geology Happens. This teacher posts about geology, life as a teacher, and other interesting bits of science on his blog.
- The Musings of a Life-Long Scholar. Fieldwork, using the right tools, and photos populate this blog.
- Looking for Detachment. Learn about geology with an emphasis on the western US here.
- Clastic Detritus. Sedimentary and marine geology is the focus of this blog that has lots of photos and images to accompany the text.
- Arctic and Alpine. Learn all about land formations in cold regions when you read this blog.
- Geotripper. This geology instructor blogs about his field trips with his students and includes plenty of photos.
- Geologic Frothings. Find out what kind of digital tools are available for geologists along with the posts about geology here.
- The Lost Geologist. Mapping Jurassic carbonate rocks in the Upper Rhine Graben, this blogger posts about his experiences.
Physics
From earthquakes to cocktails, these physics blogs cover quite a range of topics.
- Cocktail Party Physics. Join these women physicists as they serve up tasty adult drinks with their science conversation.
- Physics and Physicists. Keep up with what is happening in academia and the science world at large when it comes to physics when you read this blog.
- Hypo-theses. Dr. Ian G. Stimpson writes extensively about seismology, including details of recent earthquakes, in this geophysics blog.
- The Physics Anti-Crackpot Blog. Working to debunk unscientific claims, this blog ensures you aren't falling for bad science.
- Harmonic Tremors. This student is studying earthquake physics and writes plenty about earthquakes of past and present.
- Andrew's Physics Blog. Learn about physics theories and stay on top of news from the world of physics with this blog from About.com.
- Walter Kessinger's Industry Seismology and Stuff. This exploration geophysicist writes about the business of seismology and the petroleum industry.
- Adventures in the world of Geology. Written by a geophysics grad student, this blog details her work.
Climate Science
Stay on top of the latest developments in the science, policy, and politics of climate science.
- Watt's Up With That?. With an emphasis on climate science and nature, this popular blog provides all sorts of science news and interesting tidbits.
- RealClimate. The climate scientists writing this blog hope to cover the science sometimes missing from mainstream news about climate science.
- SolveClimate. These posts offer news affecting policymaking in regards to climate science.
- ClimateEthics.org. These bloggers explores the ethics involved in climate science and policy.
- Stoat. Climate science is one of the many topics covered by this blog.
- DeSmogBlog. This group debunks the myths perpetuated by those who participate in climate change denial.
- maribo. This professor explores the effects of climate change on the environment.
- It's Getting Hot In Here. The Youth Climate Movement is a Canadian group focused on stopping global warming and building a sustainable future.
- Rabett Run. This professor posts news and opinion on climate science as well as invites the reader into ongoing online climate science discussions.
- Only In It For The Gold. Michael Tobis blogs about climate science and policymaking here.
Meteorology
From storm chasing to hurricane analysis to photos of weather events, these blogs provide plenty of fun meteorological topics.
- Dr. Jeff Master's WunderBlog. This blog covers weather systems, trends, and more with an emphasis on hurricanes.
- Big Sky Convection. This blog features posts about weather systems with maps, radar images, and photographs of weather phenomena.
- perilous planet (blog). This photojournalist posts incredible photos that capture weather phenomena such as lightning, tornadoes, and dense fog.
- Storm Chaser Journal. Warren Faidley posts about storm chasing, tornadoes, and more.
- Stormpulse Blog. Get in-depth hurricane analyses on this blog.
- MADWEATHER. From forecasting to reviewing after the fact, this blog takes a serious look at weather events happening in the southwestern US.
- Carlson Chasers Blog. These three storm chasers from a Denver news station will update their blog in real-time while chasing a storm and post other weather information the rest of the time.
Paleontology
Teachers and students alike can keep up with the latest dino discoveries in these blogs.
- Dave Hone's Archosaur Musings. Read about dinosaurs, academia, and a bit of science and politics in this blog.
- The Ethical Paleontologist. Working on her PhD and blogging about paleontology topics keeps this scientist busy. She advises that this blog will not be about politics or cold-hard science, but about what makes science fun.
- Ediacaran. Chris Nedin writes on Ediacaran and Early Cambrian paleontology.
- Palaeoblog. This popular blog marries paleontology and pop culture with awesome results.
- The Life of Madygen. Information about fieldwork in the Madygen Basin and scientific abstracts are found in this blog.
- Chinleana. The discussion here is mostly on late triassic paleontology.
- Paleo Errata. Jeffrey Martz blogs about vertebrate paleontology, evolution, and a few other scientific topics.
- Dinochick Blogs. Dinochick talks about dinosaurs, dinos in pop culture, and more.
Volcanology
See photos, get details on eruptions, and learn about the mechanics of volcanoes with these blogs.
- Eruptions. Get details on the latest eruptions as well as the science behind volcanoes here.
- VolcanoWorld News. This blog from Oregon State shares news stories on volcanic activity around the world.
- The Volcanism Blog. Find photos and news about volcanoes when you read this blog.
- Magma Cum Laude.This PhD students blogs about her visits to volcanoes as well as other information about her search to "play with very hot rocks."
- Volcanista: a magmalicious blog. Volcanoes and social justice are the topics you'll find on this blog.
Planetary Science
Find out what's happening in the world beyond planet Earth with these fascinating space blogs.
- Bad Astronomy. This popular blog talks astronomy as well as looks at debunking bad science.
- Women in Planetary Science. The women who write this blog share information about planetary science as well as information for women in the scientific community.
- Cosmic Variance. A group of astrophysicists and physicists write this blog that touches on science, academia, pop culture, and more.
- The Planetary Society Blog. Follow the latest on space science and exploration with the news in this blog.
- Star Stryder. This astronomer seeks to connect people to science and technology through new media.
- The Martian Chronicles. Learn about the exploration of Mars as well as a few other space items on this blog.
- Galactic Interactions. Find posts about astronomy, cosmology, and physics on Rob Knop's blog.
- Chandra Blog. Chandra is an X-ray Observatory launched by NASA. This blog provides images captured by Chandra as well as information about the mission.
- Universe Today. Get news about events happening on Earth and beyond that has to do with space.
- Space Disco. Ian O'Neill blogs here about space with a special interest in manned space exploration.
Social Science
Explore the workings of the human brain and how it affects behavior with these blogs that touch on psychology and neurology.
- PsyBlog. This blog is primarily aimed at the general public with informative articles that explain how the mind works.
- Postcards from the Id. Get fun pop psychology topics on this blog written by a forensic psychologist.
- Everyone Needs Therapy. This therapist blogs shares information and advice to help readers cope with the business of living.
- BrainBlog. This blog is written by a neuropsychologist and focuses on the brain and behavior.
- Brain Blogger. Read the latest news from the fields of neurology, psychology, and medicine.
- The Splintered Mind. A professor of philosophy, Eric Schwitzgebel writes essays on the philosophy of psychology.
- Mind Hacks. Stay current on all the fun technology that helps scientists learn about how the human brain works.
- Deric Bownds' MindBlog. Get the latest science on the brain and how it works on this retired professor's blog.
- Brain Windows. Learn all about brain imaging technologies from this blog.
- The Neurocritic. The Neurocritic looks at sensationalistic neuroscience in the news and explores it further to see if it is sound science.
