Description of the Playing Fair interactive

Buskergirl introduces this interactive by inviting the user to play elastic snooker and with a reminder to look out for the citizen!

The interactive begins with the title 'Playing Fair' and the statement: 'The Australian Constitution states the powers of Australia's three arms of government.' Then three balls roll in from the side of the screen and stop in a line. Each ball bares an image that represents one of the three powers. A short sentence appears under each ball confirming the image. The first ball is labelled: 'This is the High Court of Australia'. The second ball is labelled: 'This is the Commonwealth Parliament'. The third ball is labelled: 'This is the Cabinet Room of Executive Government'.

The three balls then rearrange to form an equilateral triangle connected by lines. Also onscreen is the question: 'What happens if you upset the balance between the powers?' The balls move slightly to show that there's some activity and that they will respond to selection. This also gives an impression of elasticity in the connection between the balls. As the balls 'flex' a face at the centre of the triangle alternates between a 'smiley face' and a 'sad face'. At the same time the text at the bottom of the interactive alternates between the following statements: 'A fair go for citizens' and 'An unfair go for citizens'.

The user is then left to investigate the interactive and will discover that dragging one ball away from the others and letting go results in:

• The 'smiley face' changing to a 'sad face' and the statements at the bottom of the interactive changing from 'A fair go for citizens' to 'An unfair go for citizens.'
  
• A statement appearing which describes the powers represented by each arm of government. The statements are:
• JUDICIARY: The High Court of Australia has the power to make judgements about Australian laws.
• LEGISLATURE: The Commonwealth Parliament has the power to create and change Commonwealth laws.
• EXECUTIVE: The Cabinet has the power to suggest new laws and to put them into action.
  
• The ball shooting off towards the other balls, potentially hitting them and causing them to move from side to side or in different directions for a few seconds. The balls then return to their default triangular arrangement and the 'smiley face' reappears.

Go to: Playing Fair Teachers' Notes

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