Welcome to the URF Academy, a free resource for educators who seek to encourage and inspire the next generation of game designers.

Our Game Design Curriculum is our way to share our love for and knowledge of games to students everywhere. We designed it with accessibility top of mind—any teacher with access to the internet and a printer should be able to teach students how to design a fun game.

In our six-module curriculum, we outline the principles of game design using a simple framework and explore concepts through engaging workshops and activities. Students will learn about the language and theory necessary to engage deeply with games and ultimately collaborate in groups to design a paper prototype of a multiplayer game.

History: In 2016, a group of Rioters launched URF Academy, an interactive game design workshop for high school students at our headquarters in Los Angeles. URF Academy’s goals were to teach local students about fundamental concepts in game design and showcase the breadth of careers in the gaming industry.

After hosting more than 500 students over the course of two years, we expanded URF to several regional offices, including St. Louis, Dublin, Sydney, São Paulo, and Mexico City. Simultaneously, we began co-developing a free, online curriculum with two veteran computer science and game design educators to empower teachers to provide high quality game design instruction to high school students around the world.

How did we go from thirteen British colonies to the United States of America? Explore the major hardships of life under British rule, why some colonists decided to break away, and how they set a path for a new and independent government.

Scaffolding Professional Development for TeachersMaureen Schiefelbein, District Literacy Coordinator Beecher Dunbar Pembine School District, Pembine WIFOCUS:  How can we apply scaffolding theory to professional development in a school or system?APPLICATION: The Design ProcessProfessional Resources Referenced:Lyons, C. A., & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Systems for change in literacy education: A guide to professional development. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Meichenbaum, D. (1998). Nurturing independent learners: Helping students take charge of their learning. Cambridge Mass.: Brookline Books.

 Over the course of the semester students will create, maintain, and compare a nature journal and digital science notebook.  The intent of this activity is for them to become familiar with how journals/notebooks can be used by learners to facilitate scientific inquiry endeavors from both nature-based and technology-based perspectives.

Business Applications and Digital Literacy course FREE teacher resources and trial access to online course solution as well as a correlation to WI state BIT standards for business applications. Resources mapped to MOS certification.

Over the past 4 years, Hartford Union High School has been working on a curriculum review process to improve secondary mathematics instruction and achievement.  Illustrative Mathematics was selected and adopted for the 2021-2022 school year. Teachers participated in summer IM Teach and Learn training as well as Unit Overviews provided by the Math Institute of Wisconsin.  Teacher's also participated in an IM PLC session, Unit Planning, and a book study.The following modules contain samples and templates of documents that were used to facilitate the adoption including teacher and student surveys, the IM Implementation Rubric, Unit Planning, and book study guides.Hartford Union High School Curriclum Adoption TeamDustin Burg, Hartford Union High School Math Teacher (Algebra 2 Lead Teacher)Kaite Burns, Hartford Union High School Math Teacher (Geometry Lead Teacher)Kelly Lam, Hartford Union High School PrincipalMike McIntyre, Director of Curriculum and InstructionMallory Smith, Instructional CoachBob Sliwinski, Hartford Union High School Math Teacher (Algebra 1 Lead Teacher)

The partnership with Accenture provides ACTE member institutions and their faculty free access to the rich resources from the Skills to Succeed (S2S) Academy. Available free of charge to CTE educators, the S2S Academy, an online experience for students, features an engaging multimedia interface that delivers high-quality career planning, job exploration and a unique ‘flight simulator for job seekers’.

"I'd like to suggest the educational technology resource: SpinnerWheel.com

Spinner Wheel is a free online tool that allows for a flexible and engaging approach to learning. It has many use-cases for any subject.

All entries on wheels are fully editable and one of the main things that makes it so useful is the ability to create multiple wheels for use at one time.

An example use of Spinner Wheel for mathematics: https://spinnerwheel.com/mental-mathematics-quiz
and for creative writing: https://spinnerwheel.com/short-burst-writing-ideas-generator

From creating multiple random number generators to equitably selecting students from a group, the possibilities for using this resource in a learning environment are practically endless."

 This module provides an interactive training focused on inquiry into student data as a part of a comprehensive needs assessment. 

The Center for Global Education at Asia Society has created online modules to support CTE students in learning about the skills of global competence. These short, 15–20 minute modules, are self-paced and available through ACTE's Career Prepped platform. Descriptions of each module are below together with related activity guides and resources featured in each module. All materials are free of charge due to generous support from ECMC Foundation. A Faculty Guide helps faculty utilize the modules in their classes and provides student assignment ideas. Please see the Student Assignment section for accompanying assignments.

Stukent's Social Media Marketing Online Simulation:

Write Targeted Social Media Ads
Students learn and test different promotional strategies to create compelling social media ads across various social media network platforms. Students will gain experience in writing ad copy that increases engagement and conversions.

Perform Demographic Targeting
Students get to analyze which types of content on which platforms resonate better amongst different demographics.

Social Media Content Promotion Strategies
Students learn the difference between earned, owned, and paid social media marketing promotion strategies. They will analyze various forms of media and different targeting strategies to achieve the greatest reach.

Measure Key Performance Indicators
Knowing which indicators to measure and improve can make or break your social media marketing efforts. The Mimic Social Simulation will help students learn not only what these key performance indicators are, but also how to improve such indicators.

Ad Budgeting
Students will learn how to manage a social media marketing budget that allows them to place competitive bids to drive clicks, shares, likes, comments, etc.

Proper Content Scheduling
Students learn the art of content scheduling. They will analyze data points and schedule out their posts to go live at optimal times.

Teacher´s version of the Learn.Genetics website. Includes teaching modules and curriculum modules on various topics related to genetics and cell biology. Modules contain lesson plans, student objectives and handouts/instructions to assist the teacher with presenting the materials to students.

An excellent series of continuously developing resources (links, documents, readings, webinars, presentations, and more) about 'video games in libraries' -- hosted, curated, and maintained by the American Library Association Games & Gaming Round Table. These resources are the perfect way to jump start a librarians journey into integrating video games in library programs and collections.

The original Constitution did not specifically protect the right to vote—leaving the issue largely to the states. For much of American history, this right has often been granted to some, but denied to others; however, through a series of amendments to the Constitution, the right to vote has expanded over time. These amendments have protected the voting rights of new groups, including by banning discrimination at the ballot box based on race (15th Amendment) and sex (19th Amendment). They also granted Congress new power to enforce these constitutional guarantees, which Congress has used to pass landmark statutes like the Voting Rights Act of 1965. While state governments continue to play a central role in elections today, these new amendments carved out a new—and important—role for the national government in this important area.

Using three-dimensional scaffolds, these materials address the following topics:  - Cells and cell function- Animal growth and development- Digestion & cellular respiration - Biosynthesis Each packet is broken into five parts - data dive, core ideas, investigations, asssessments, and life connections. Formative assessments and checkpoints are embedded throughout each packet. The final packet prepares students for a summative assessment, with a provided practice assessment.Implementation instructions are embedded for each component of each packet. PDFs are included as attachments (in case the file formats are altered by this system). 

Using three-dimensional scaffolds, these materials address the following topics:  - Structure & Function of DNA. - DNA Replication via Polymerase. - Transcription & Translation.  - Codons & Amino Acids Sequences. Each packet is broken into five parts - data dive, core ideas, investigations, asssessments, and life connections. Formative assessments and checkpoints are embedded throughout each packet. The final packet prepares students for a summative assessment, with a provided practice assessment. Implementation instructions are embedded for each component of each packet. PDFs are included as attachments (in case the file formats are altered by this system). 

Using three-dimensional scaffolds, these materials address the following topics:  - Interactions among living species.- 10% rule and carrying capacity.- Ecosystem disruptions, including climate change.  - Sustainability.  Each packet is broken into five parts - data dive, core ideas, investigations, asssessments, and life connections. Formative assessments and checkpoints are embedded throughout each packet. The final packet prepares students for a summative assessment, with a provided practice assessment.Implementation instructions are embedded for each component of each packet. PDFs are included as attachments (in case the file formats are altered by this system). 

Using three-dimensional scaffolds, these materials address the following topics:  - Atoms, elements, and molecules.- Properties of matter and energy. - Reasoning across systems and scale- Conservation of matter- Combustion as a rearrangement reaction- Chemical bondsEach packet is broken into five parts - data dive, core ideas, investigations, asssessments, and life connections. Formative assessments and checkpoints are embedded throughout each packet. The final packet prepares students for a summative assessment, with a provided practice assessment.Implementation instructions are embedded for each component of each packet. PDFs are included as attachments (in case the file formats are altered by this system). 

Using three-dimensional scaffolds, these materials address the following topics:  - Plant Cells and cell function in comparison to animal cells. - Photosynthesis- Biosynthesis - Planning and conducting investigations & experiments. Each packet is broken into five parts - data dive, core ideas, investigations, asssessments, and life connections. Formative assessments and checkpoints are embedded throughout each packet. The final packet prepares students for a summative assessment, with a provided practice assessment.Implementation instructions are embedded for each component of each packet. PDFs are included as attachments (in case the file formats are altered by this system). 

Using three-dimensional scaffolds, these materials address the following topics:  - Relationships between DNA, proteins, and traits.- How mitosis enables each cell to receive a copy of DNA.- How gametes like sperm and eggs are formed and transmit parents' genes to offspring.  - Predicting traits based on parents' genotypes and phenotypes using Punnett squares.  Each packet is broken into five parts - data dive, core ideas, investigations, asssessments, and life connections. Formative assessments and checkpoints are embedded throughout each packet. The final packet prepares students for a summative assessment, with a provided practice assessment.Implementation instructions are embedded for each component of each packet. PDFs are included as attachments (in case the file formats are altered by this system).