Every project here exists to help more people show up.
The Civic Action Project (CAP)
My signature framework — and the subject of my doctoral research. CAP replaces traditional government exams with a menu of 39 hands-on civic engagement activities, from attending city council meetings to building public service directories. Includes complete instructor resources, rubrics, tracking tools, and student outcome data.
For Instructors Drop CAP into your LMS — about 30 minutes, start to finish
CAP runs entirely in the browser, so there's nothing to install and nothing for your IT department to approve. You're creating ordinary LMS assignments that point students at the activity menu. Here's the whole process:
- Skim the menu first. Open the CAP site and browse the 39 activities and the instructor resources — rubrics, tracking tools, and student outcome data are all included. Ten minutes of skimming will tell you which activity categories fit your course and your students.
- Pick your scope. CAP works as a full exam replacement, a single-unit project, or extra credit. If you're testing the waters, start with one category — Government Meeting Attendance is the most popular first pick, and the student stories on my home page show why.
- Create the assignment in your LMS. In Canvas, Blackboard, or Brightspace: new Assignment → paste the link to your chosen CAP activity in the description → set the submission type to text entry plus file upload, so students can attach photos, agendas, or documents alongside their written reflection. Set the point value to whatever the exam or assignment it replaces was worth. The stakes should feel real.
- Attach the rubric. Use the included CAP rubric as-is, or rebuild it in your LMS's rubric tool so it grades inside SpeedGrader (or your platform's equivalent).
- Make it yours. Everything is licensed for adaptation — swap my Fort Worth examples for your own city council, county commissioners, and school board. Local is the whole point.
Texas In Action (TIA)
The Lone Star counterpart to CAP — civic engagement built specifically for Texas Government (GOVT 2306). Students connect directly with the state and local institutions that shape daily life in Texas, from the Capitol in Austin to their own county courthouse.
For Instructors Drop TIA into your LMS — same setup, built for GOVT 2306
TIA is the Texas Government counterpart to CAP, and it adopts exactly the same way: browser-based, nothing to install, no IT approval needed. If you already run CAP, this will feel familiar. If you're starting here, the whole process takes about half an hour:
- Skim the menu first. Open the TIA site and browse the activities. They're built specifically around Texas institutions — the Legislature, the plural executive, county and municipal government — so students connect with the bodies that actually govern their daily lives in Texas. Ten minutes of skimming will tell you which activities map onto your GOVT 2306 units.
- Pick your scope. TIA works as a full exam replacement, a single-unit project, or extra credit. Contacting a state representative and attending a county commissioners court meeting are the two activities students find most eye-opening — both pair naturally with the Texas legislative and local-government units.
- Create the assignment in your LMS. In Canvas, Blackboard, or Brightspace: new Assignment → paste the link to your chosen TIA activity in the description → set the submission type to text entry plus file upload, so students can attach photos, agendas, or correspondence alongside their written reflection. Set the point value to whatever the exam or assignment it replaces was worth. The stakes should feel real.
- Attach the rubric. Use the included rubric as-is, or rebuild it in your LMS's rubric tool so it grades inside SpeedGrader (or your platform's equivalent).
- Make it local. Everything is licensed for adaptation — swap my Tarrant County and Fort Worth examples for your own county courthouse, city hall, and state legislative district. The closer to home, the better it lands.
Federal Government Trailblazer Trek
Sixteen gamified, interactive learning modules covering all of American federal government. Students earn points, unlock reveal cards, pass knowledge checks, and generate integrity-coded completion reports — entirely in the browser, with zero tracking.
Texas Government Trailblazer Trek
Fifteen interactive modules on the same engine, rebuilt for Texas government — the Texas Constitution, the Legislature, the plural executive, and local government. Adds written reflection checkpoints so students connect each chapter to their own communities.
Keep Your Seat — Texas State Senate Simulation
Students serve as Texas State Senators, navigating committee assignments, floor votes, party pressure, and constituent demands — and discover firsthand why governing means making trade-offs. Built for the classroom: project it, play it, debrief it.
Course Schedule Builder
A flexible, browser-based tool for building and distributing course schedules — designed for department chairs and lead instructors who need clean, consistent schedules without wrestling with spreadsheets.
The Full Games & Simulations Library
The complete collection: congressional and presidential primary simulations, crossword generators, Texas Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune review games, and more. Ten-plus activities for American and Texas government courses, all free and browser-based.
Take it with you
Print-ready QR cards for syllabi, conference tables, and handout materials. Scan one now — or download, print, and share. That's the whole point of open resources.
