Description of the Pass the Bill interactive

Buskergirl introduces this interactive by asking players if they want to find out how the parliament makes laws. She then invites the player to proceed to the Cabinet where they will choose a bill for the parliament to consider.

BASIC ELEMENTS ON EVERY SCREEN

The Pass the Bill logo

A Pass the Bill logo sits in the top right hand corner of each screen. The logo consists of an icon representing the Parliament of Australia. Within the logo sits the House of Representatives as a green area and the Senate as a red area. The current location of the bill is indicated by a highlight in one of these areas.

Beneath the logo is the name of the interactive, Pass the Bill .

Screen title and explanation

Each screen has a title in the top left corner. There is a text box under each screen title. The text box provides a simple explanation of the current stage of the legislative process. For example, the first screen is titled 'Cabinet' and the explanation reads:

The cabinet is made up of the prime minister and the most important ministers. The cabinet makes decisions about government policy and which bills the parliament will consider.

The player may click on bolded words in the explanation to open a glossary of parliamentary terms. For example, the glossary definition of cabinet is:

The group of senior ministers in the government.

Activity area and interactivity

A graphic area occupies the largest part of each screen. Located below the explanation, the graphic area illustrates the legislative process under discussion and is the main vehicle for user interactivity. For example, the graphic area of the screen titled 'Cabinet' illustrates the following:

Six ministers are seated around a table. Three ministers are holding bill proposals. On rollover of each proposal a text box appears containing a graphic and some text. An instruction box, centred at the bottom of the screen prompts the user to: 'Choose the bill that you think Australia most needs'. Clicking on a proposal and then clicking the 'Go On' arrow confirms the selection and moves the user to the next screen.

Instruction box

Numbered orange instruction boxes guides the player through the game. The instruction box is centred on the bottom horizontal border of the screen.

Progress Bar

A progress bar appears in a column to the right of the activity area. The 'Progress Bar' contains the following stages of play:

House of Representatives:

• Cabinet; 1st reading; Minister's speech; Adjournment; Committee; 2nd reading debate; 2nd reading; Consideration in detail; 3rd reading; and Transfer to Senate.

Senate:

• 1 st reading; Committee; 2nd reading debate; 2 nd reading; Committee of the Whole; 3rd reading; and transfer to Governor-General.

Info button

A question mark sits next to the explanation box. Clicking on the question mark reveals additional information related to the screen content. This information is written in question and answer form. For example, some of the additional information about the cabinet is presented as follows:

Q: How many ministers make up the cabinet?

A: The cabinet is made up of about 30 of the government's most senior ministers and the prime minister. Ministers may reside in either the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Read Speech button

All speeches have an audio and text component. Players are instructed to click on the relevant character in the chamber to hear them speak. To read along, players may click on the 'Read Speech' button, which is located just above the explanation box at the top of the screen.

Go On and Go Back button

Players move forward or backward through the game by clicking either the 'Go On' or 'Go Back' arrows. The 'Go On' arrow takes the player to the next step of the game. The 'Go On' arrow appears only when the player has taken all the necessary steps to progress the game. Clicking on the 'Go Back' arrow takes the player to the beginning of the stage they are currently in (displayed in the 'Progress Bar'). This clears the player's progress at the current stage of play.

Bill icon

There are three bill icons. Each icon relates to a specific bill: the drugs in sport bill, the flag bill or the wildlife bill. When the player selects a bill, the relevant icon appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and animates in response to events that occur throughout the game.

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Go to: Playing Fair Teachers' Notes

NOTE:
To view this interactive: download the latest Flash Plug-in