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The simualtion is supposed to last the entire semester. Before the seminar starts, the students are supposed to decide whether they are (1) running for president; (2) covering the election as a media outlet; or (3) regular voters. If the class is big enough, there could be additional roles, such as campaign staff.
The students are supposed to curate their online profiles every week (in the grading sheet marked as "digital input"), where they apply weekly theoretical knowledge to the simulation environment. Digital input can be scaled up or down depending on the overall workload. I opted for a Tweet/Facebook status/Instagram post/TikTok -sized contribution per week.
The final two sessions are reserved for the active phase. During the penultimate session the presidential candidates participate in a press conference and answer questions from the public in character. In the final session, media personalities present their final coverage and everybody votes. Then follows the debrief.
Background on the simulation environment
The elections take place in the presidential republic of Genovia, a small (5 million inhabitants and 500 thousand foreign nationals) English-speaking European country stuck between France and Germany. National fruit - pear, national flag - green, white and blue. Genovian economy heavily depends on agriculture (primarily pear export) and tourism, its industry is underdeveloped. Genovia used to be a monarchy, but Queen Anne Hathaway abdicated the throne and became its first president 20 years ago. Genovia was a member of the European Union but after the Conservative party called for a referendum, its citizens voted for "Gexit" sending the country into political crisis as the conservative president failed to negotiate a deal with the EU. The elections on [DATE] are supposed to determine where the country goes next.
Depending on your teaching style, you can participate in the simulation as an instructor under a nom de plume (mine was Prudence Pearson), but you can also remain a neutral observer.
What you need
What you need
One of the main tools of the simulation is a discussion board (or a similar on-line tool), where the students create their simulation alter egos and curate their online presence.
If the seminar takes place in person, make sure to use group-work (or breakout groups online), where presidential candidates can have ad-hoc consultations on their campaigns.
If the voting takes place in person, you will need ballots and a ballot box, if it's online, you can use a polling function on virtual teaching platforms or any online survey site.
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