Cool School

Cool School is an interactive computer game that teaches 5-7 year old kiddos about conflict and how to resolve it. Cool School was developed by the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, the University of Maryland, the University of Southern California, and the University of North Texas.

It's a neat game and the best part is that it is free. Excerpts from the press release are below, and after that is the link to download the game.

A lot of adults could learn valuable lessons from this game, as well.


A computer game designed to teach non-violence and conflict resolution skills to young children has found a home with Curriki, a nonprofit open-source educational web site that will make it freely available for downloading by classrooms and families across the United States and around the world.

The computer game, called Cool School: Where Peace Rules, features animated school characters in situations that ask youngsters, ages 5 to 7, to select an action for resolving a potential conflict, such as others crowding in line, refusing to share or treating playmates disrespectfully. The premise of Cool School is in sharp contrast to violent and often popular commercial games that can inspire youngsters to emulate physically aggressive behavior.

Developed by the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in cooperation with child development programs at the University of Maryland, the University of Southern California and the University of North Texas, Cool School was tested at school locations in Illinois. It is being made available for free downloading to teachers and families via the Curriki web site. Curriki is a nonprofit community of nearly 40,000 educators that offers free, open-source curriculum materials to teachers and schools worldwide.

http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/download/Coll_FJLennon/CoolCurriki/CoolCurriki.zip/CoolCurriki.html