Spy-Fi Mods: Homework Help to Fix the Ho-Hums
Carmen Sandiego is a world-traveling, time-hopping criminal genius who has a web of henchman known as V.I.L.E. that narrowly escapes capture as important people and events of our history come in to their thievish grasp.
A series of video games was created in the late 90s–some of you may remember, as they were popular well into the 2000s–where the player becomes a super-spy with unlimited resources sent to track down and seize these baddies before they can succeed in their evil missions.
The games made learning feel like an action-adventure around the world and backward in time.
You can too, or you can help your siblings, if we approach projects or homework with a similar style. Use these three homework help tips to help you on your way!
1) Tick Tock Tick Tock: Find an egg timer in the kitchen, or set your cell phone alarm to, say, forty-eight minutes. Challenge yourself to complete your task—be it homework or housework, or even a personal project—before time’s up! For added intrigue, have a sibling or parent set it for you, without telling you how long before it goes off! Add side-mission time extensions if you need to, so you don’t stress out and it stays fun.
2) Crack the Code: Got a long list of equations in your math homework to work through? Pretend it’s a sequence of numbers as part of a combination needed to open a locked door, or to defuse a ticking time bomb. Can be used with Tip 1!
3) Spy Tech Net: When working on a group project, compare each team member’s task to a different spy-movie character: the Hacker, the Gadget Man, the Master of Disguises, the Document Expert, etc. It can spice up the average group meeting, and come on—we’re never too old to role-play!
Whether you’re chasing Carmen Sandiego for Internet points, or you’re working hard on homework for all-important grades, the process is made easier if you can de-stress the hard parts with a little fun of your own.
About the Author
Mike Mike travels to schools with his program, DON'T WAIT® to UnMake A Bully, and helps students write and produce their own anti-bullying or character education movies. He is a regular in NY, WA, CA and recently Melbourne Australia schools. Previously, he produced the youth Sci-Fi web series 'eScape' which is now on several web TV platforms, has done cinematic work on games like 'Guitar Hero', and produces television and theatrical works.
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