Module 8

My 10,000 Solutions post:
 Arizona ranks number two in the country for drowning deaths. Drowning is the number one accidental killer of Arizona children aged one to four. By offering free swim lessons and CPR classes to locals that aims to involve the entire family in an educational program there can be a reduction in the number of deaths from accidental drowning. The lessons can be structured to educate attendees on survival techniques and how to react to dangerous situations. By controlling the content delivered it can be ensured that proper water safety skills are being taught. Involving the entire family is encouraging education as a community. These two characteristics allow the maximum benefits to be reached in reducing the number of accidental drownings in Arizona.

I liked:
1. Ignite Change - Interesting idea to show support for each participant on 10,000 Solutions.
2. The New Teacher - This is a concept I studied in Jim Collins "Good to Great" about getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats.  This is a springboard for something that really does need to happen and can be very effective as outlined by Collins specifically in regards to education if the team of academics are dedicated to seeking the best teachers for each specific role.
3. Angels & Amigos - This is just adorable and really fun.  Older people need companions and animals need foster homes.  With strict math criteria this has great potential :).

Suggestion:  There is such a wide range of development of the ideas.  I like that you can offer to build on ideas, but there should also maybe be a delegation of the level of critical depth to the ideas posted.  Some are "just a thought," and others are working solutions that can be immediately implemented.  With so many solutions potentially being posted some sort of filter (regarding depth of solution) may be useful to make the site easier to navigate.

SPENT:
SPENT was a really cool interactive game.  It mostly reminded me of a modern day Oregon Trail!  You have to make important decisions that have real consequences and see how those affect daily life.  I have definitely been in a situation where my earnings were barely making ends meet so I understand that sometimes a budget is a day to day or week to week challenge.  Even the part where I picked out groceries and decided if I had enough money to go out with my friends was pretty much dead on to my situation a couple years ago.  It can be a challenge when the jobs available are not paying enough to make basic needs a reality.  I would find in challenging to live at the poverty level and not be stressed out all of the time wondering if I would have enough money the next day to afford food or provide for my family.  I think the game was slightly biased to how quickly very costly events came up.  I do not usually have unexpected expenses that large so close together.... but it was accurate for monthly expenses.  The ratio of living farther and travel expenses was not really accurate to the data presented.  The transportation costs should have been much higher because the overall costs were reduced by the same increments as I would have moved farther.  I think that this type of model could be used for many other groups of people, especially to show consequences of small decisions over a long period of time.  This simulation was much like the Decision Theater experience we simulated with water.  It can show how the small changes lead to different results.