Game Show America and a $250,000 grant from Pepsi

Greetings and Salutations everyone!

Some very exciting news for this post.

Game Show America is in the running for a $250,000 grant from Pepsi to produce an educational game show for schools across America.  From this grant, we are awarding $50,000 in scholarships for the best performing students.  To cast your vote, visit the Pepsi Refresh website.

Being able to do an educational game show tour has been a dream of mine for many years.  Winning this grant from Pepsi will make this dream a reality – and more importantly, help so many students achieve their dreams.

The idea for Game Show America actually started in a classroom in Edgerton, Wisconsin at Oaklawn Academy.  I taught middle school English and Speech.  I wanted to do something interactive with my students to review for quizzes and tests.  One day, I was digging through the A/V room and came across a dusty box that had QUIZZER written on it.  I brought the box down to my room and found an electronic box that had a number of buzzers wired to it.  It was a simple lockout device  - the first student to buzz in locked everyone else out.  Knowing my students were very competitive, I set up a quiz show in my classroom.  I drew a Jeopardy board on the chalkboard and had five different categories with five questions in each category.  The categories were all topics for the upcoming test.

The students LOVED the game – and the competition was fierce.  The room was divided into four teams.  So not only were the students playing for their own individual score, they were also contributing to their team score.  In addition, I awarded extra credit points for their scores – which really helped many students’ grades!  The funny part was – it was more about the competition than it was about the extra credit points.  All of my students really wanted to play and win – which meant they had to know the content – which meant that they actually studied the material to win the game – which meant that their test scores were out of this world!

It’s now 14 years later – and it’s time to bring that excitement back to schools.  This time though – an entire audience of students can compete utilizing our wireless audience response keypads.  The top scoring students will then come to the stage to participate in a Grand Finale – with scholarships being awarded to those that perform the best.  On the Pepsi Refresh page, you will see photos of our Quest for the Best game show.  This is the production we will be bringing to the schools.  We’ve come a long way since the days of QUIZZER – but the overall message and goal has remained exactly the same.  In my heart, I’m a teacher – and this is one of the most effective ways to help students want to learn and retain information.  We take the content from their curriculum and turn it into an all-inclusive game show – where the reward is a scholarship to help them further their education.  For me, being able to provide that reward to students is the most rewarding jobs in the world.

Thank you so much for your vote.  Together, we can make this dream come alive…