Life and work experience... in the classroom!

A new release of Be Real Digital went "live" April 2, 2010. It includes enhancements based on suggestions from students and teachers during the October-December 2009 national pilot. Highlights include:

• Students now select the Role Paths that they will role play in Unit 1 of the program. They can browse as many roles as they wish prior to embarking on their character's career path.

• All Role Path Matrix elements have been reformatted in a more appealing design and pictures and video links have been added to all role histories and job role profiles.

• An interactive Role Path Matrix has been added so facilitators can easily view any of the six elements of each of the 60 role paths available to their students to experience.

• New print functionality has been added making it easy for facilitators and students to print any components of the program they wish.

• Instructions for facilitators have been updated to reflect these program enhancements.

Students playing The Be Real Game have been leaving home to go to what most think of as work (school) daily for at least a decade. They are now approaching major crossroads where they and their friends will choose different learning and career paths, and set out independently in their own directions to follow their hearts and pursue their dreams. They must make critical choices of career paths and further education and training. These choices will have profound and enduring consequences on their future. They also need to take personal responsibility for their character and interpersonal skills, essential workplace skills, healthy living skills, financial management and planning skills, civic engagement skills, and the career management skills - all of which they will need every day for the rest of their lives.

This program offers students a safe journey, through role-playing, to possible futures to help them imagine the future they want to create for themselves. There are hundreds of new and emerging opportunities in our rapidly changing global economy about which most students, their teachers, and even their parents, know little! Work experience (co-op placements, job shadowing, volunteering, mentoring) options allow students to experience work roles they are considering. However, even the most fortunate students, in the most progressive schools, are only likely to experience one or two short-term work placements. How can they pick they the right ones?

The more experience and knowledge we gain about life and work, the better our choices. The Be Real Game provides a rich array of future life and work choices and experiences for students, in the classroom. It's engaging, stimulating and fun, for both students and teachers. Students learn the pros and cons of a broad cross-section of contemporary work roles. They learn to balance life, family and work responsibilities. They experience the benefits of being good team players. They learn that the only constant is change, and that chance and serendipity affect people’s lives. They discover the relevance of their school subjects and study habits to future life and work roles. They understand that by identifying their unique talents and skills, by developing their skills and character, by continually clarifying and adjusting their goals based on new experiences, knowledge and insights, by daring to dream, and by believing in themself and following their heart, they can create and live the authentic, fulfilling life of their dreams.

The Be Real Game is an excellent prelude to a work experience program or co-op education. When students have completed this program they will have the knowledge, tools and confidence to seek a co-op placement, a job shadowing experience, a volunteer placement, an internship, or a part-time or summer job on their chosen career path, or move on to a full-time job.

The Be Real Game 2.1 - Digital Edition is the first in a new generation of this proven, popular program. The many researchers, teachers, counsellors, and career practitioners who have contributed to its evolution, and all of us at ArcEd and Naional Life Work Center, wish you and your students success, and fun, with this program.