For many parents, mornings are now starting with a hot cup of coffee and a trip to the bus stop. Back to school is here and in classrooms across the country, students are clamoring for the award-winning educational software program that creates “virtual” builders among middle and high school students.

Building Homes of Our Own, the innovative home building simulation program developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), is free to educators, and there is still time to request the program for the new school year. Encourage your students’ teachers to order their free copies today at www.homesofourown.org.

Praise for Building Homes of Our Own is coming from educators as well as players. It was recently selected as one of five finalists for the Computers for Youth (CFY) Family Learning Software Program of the Year Award, and was the only non-retail program nominated.

A panel of education technology executives from eight of the nation’s top school districts selected the finalists in a unique process: students demonstrated the software and discussed its educational value.

The nomination is the latest in a series of awards that the program has garnered since its release, including a 2005 Parents’ Choice Silver Award, a 2003 Association of Multimedia Communicators’ First Place Education & Training Award and Best in Show Award, a 2003 Bronze Anvil from the Public Relations Society of America and an EMMA — Electronic Multimedia Award — for excellence in digital content in 2002.

Since its release four years ago, 42,000 copies of the interactive classroom teaching tool have been requested, reaching an estimated audience of more than 3 million students, teachers and parents. Building Homes of Our Own allows middle and high school students to experience each step of the home building process, from selecting a location and obtaining permits, through construction and material selection, to reviewing credit histories of potential buyers. The program’s interactive gaming technology applies real-world context to core lessons in math, science, civics, language arts, technology and personal financial responsibility.

The CD-ROM, which includes a comprehensive lesson plan guide, is compatible with the Microsoft Windows operating system. Building Homes of Our Own is part of an ongoing educational outreach initiative, in partnership with the National Housing Endowment, Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and Freddie Mac. It is free to classroom educators through the Web site www.homesofourown.org. [ return to top ]