Driver's Ed

About two weeks ago I used a computer type video "game" called Driver-Zed 3.0.............It is a driving simulator program that you do right on your computer screen.  This program is very real, enjoyable and as close to the real thing as I have seen with out being in a car or those expensive simulators. 

I only had a few copies of the program so my school's IT guy put the program on the schools shared drive.  From there I could have my classes access the program.  I had my students partner up and we went to work.  This program has 4 different driving courses: 1) Highway 2) Construction zones 3) City and 4) Rural............  After you choose the course you are going to drive it shows the driving scene from the driver's seat view.  It drives the car along stopping every so often with a question the students must answer to navigate the situation properly and safely.  The students advance through the course by answering the questions or reacting properly to the situation that arise.  They also earn points so not only will they advance and hopefully finish the course but the will have a score for it as well.

The students really did seem to enjoy the program.  They seemed amused by some of the different situations they were put in but also very intent on getting those same situations handled correctly.  There was also a sense of compitition between the groups for who was going to score the best. 

My only wish is that we had more copies of the program.  Enough for each group to put the disk in their computer and go. Having the program on the network can get slow while 14 to 18 groups access it.  It would be much faster and less painfull if you had enough disks.  But the program itself is very good and I highly recommend it. 

We got our copies from the VA DOE....  The program was either developed by AAA or is sponsered by them and their phone # is 202-638-5944 or www.aaafoundation.org