LegSim Virtual Legislature for Teaching Politics

LegSim is a Virtual Legislature populated by students that emphasizes non-scripted, personalized politics in a 24/7 learning environment. LegSim is designed for use in Classroom based Legislative Politics and American Politics Courses and Distance Learning Legislative Politics and American Politics Courses. It works fo classes from 20 students to 400 students. LegSim can be used in courses in one of two ways. First, for a per course fee based on the number of students, a course can use the LegSim.org server infrastructure. Alternatively, the LegSim software can be downloaded at no cost and setup on different hardware.

LegSim makes simulations easy by including all of the features of a customizable one-chamber Legislature closely approximating the U.S. House of Representatives, plus a President with veto power. Participation is via any web browser, anywhere. On-line grading tools, sample curricula, and participation tracking are included.

How is LegSim different from other simulations?
Personal Politics - students write and seek to advance bills that reflect their own priorities
Non-scripted - Congress does not legislate by cookbook and neither should students.
Trial and Error Learning - the legislature is accessible 24 hours per day over a session of several weeks or months.
Students teach each other important lessons that can be difficult to convey in the classroom:
The value of rules
The importance of agenda setting and thinking ahead
The power of information
The need for coalition building
The problem of scarce resources
The inevitability of compromise
Students say that they are engaged, challenged, and learning