Home Ownership Simulation

Today, three quarters of white Americans own their homes, while less than half of African American and Hispanic Americans are homeowners. According to a radio address by President Bush , the largest obstacles to minority homeownerships are high down payment requirements, lack of affordable housing and complexity and difficulty of the purchasing procedure (including rights and responsibilities of homeowners). He says that "Education is the best protection for families against abusive and unscrupulous lenders." A credit record, bank account, and understanding of household finances are needed.

The purpose of the game is to increase ability of low income, minority Americans to purchase their first home. The target age group will be wide-ranging: hoping to influence teens to form perceptions about home ownership, reaching 20-30 year olds with a message home ownerships is a possibility, and possibly reaching older ages who may have yet to purchase a home.

Your task: You have been asked to consult as a learning specialist. You know how people learn, and can brainstorm some ways on how those approaches can be used in game play. Though the structure of the game play has not been established for sure, intial learning objectives include familiarization with:

Long-term financial impact of renting v. home ownership
Strategies for saving down payment on limited income
Process of obtaining a mortgage
How a mortgage works
Home insurance, escrow, amortization, principal
Rights and responsibilities of home sellers and real estate agents
Discrimination policy and what to do if you feel you are a victim of housing discrimination
Recommendations for selecting a home for purchase
Establishing and maintaining good credit
Assistance programs

Your task is not to design game specifics or alter the educational objectives, rather, you are encouraged to give general recommendations on how learning can occur in a game. You may want to review the guidelines offered in either of this week's readings.

Draft 6 guidelines for development. Keep them broad and focused on how learning occurs.

Wrong: Create a Sim House owner where players create their own homes, selecting the color and managing their own Quicken files.
Right: Knowledge conveyed in a variety of contexts is more likely to be transferred. Instead of only giving the player the opportunity to apply for a loan and then pay it off... also give them the ability to grant loans to other players, understanding amortization from both perspectives. In this way, they have two contexts for learning (how loans work for lenders and borrowers).


Scope and Objectives	Projects and Assignments	Required Readings and Games	Schedule	Instructor & Students
Home Ownership Simulation Today, three quarters of white Americans own their homes, while less than half of African American and Hispanic Americans are homeowners. According to a radio address by President Bush , the largest obstacles to minority homeownerships are high down payment requirements, lack of affordable housing and complexity and difficulty of the purchasing procedure (including rights and responsibilities of homeowners). He says that "Education is the best protection for families against abusive and unscrupulous lenders." A credit record, bank account, and understanding of household finances are needed. The purpose of the game is to increase ability of low income, minority Americans to purchase their first home. The target age group will be wide-ranging: hoping to influence teens to form perceptions about home ownership, reaching 20-30 year olds with a message home ownerships is a possibility, and possibly reaching older ages who may have yet to purchase a home. Your task: You have been asked to consult as a learning specialist. You know how people learn, and can brainstorm some ways on how those approaches can be used in game play. Though the structure of the game play has not been established for sure, intial learning objectives include familiarization with: Long-term financial impact of renting v. home ownership Strategies for saving down payment on limited income Process of obtaining a mortgage How a mortgage works Home insurance, escrow, amortization, principal Rights and responsibilities of home sellers and real estate agents Discrimination policy and what to do if you feel you are a victim of housing discrimination Recommendations for selecting a home for purchase Establishing and maintaining good credit Assistance programs Your task is not to design game specifics or alter the educational objectives, rather, you are encouraged to give general recommendations on how learning can occur in a game. You may want to review the guidelines offered in either of this week's readings. Draft 6 guidelines for development. Keep them broad and focused on how learning occurs. Wrong: Create a Sim House owner where players create their own homes, selecting the color and managing their own Quicken files. Right: Knowledge conveyed in a variety of contexts is more likely to be transferred. Instead of only giving the player the opportunity to apply for a loan and then pay it off... also give them the ability to grant loans to other players, understanding amortization from both perspectives. In this way, they have two contexts for learning (how loans work for lenders and borrowers).