Welcome to Sunday Software’s Ten Commandments software, –an interactive multimedia “hike” up Mt Sinai and into the story.
To create this one-of-a-kind interactive software, we sent an Israeli photographer up Mt. Sinai to capture the first ever 360° navigable ‘photobubbles’ of Mt Sinai, -the Holy Mountain of Moses. Then we made these 360° photobubbles into an interactive journey up the mountain, -embedding hotspots in the 360 degree photos that launch your students into a variety of presentations and activities about God’s Law and the Ten Commandments. The scenery is real and spectacular, and the lessons are kid-friendly and timeless.
Students find the embedded activities by searching for hidden spots in each photobubble which open to activities when clicked. Navigating the photobubbles and finding the ‘hidden’ content is half the fun.
View a Video Clip Montage of Ten Commandments software:
After Moses’ introduction, you’ll see the mouse cursor in the video capture begin to move the screen. That’s what you can do in this program! Look around and discover the interactive activities.
The software opens with a fun animation of Moses in his Mt. Sinai office (seen at right). Moses’s shows you a presentation that describes how the Hebrews came to Mt. Sinai. Then the software launches you into 3 “photobubbles” where the content is waiting to be discovered.
There are many things to do, learn and see on each of the 3 levels.
Click a tab to see what’s found as you climb Mt Sinai…
At the Base of Mt Sinai…
Outside Moses’ office, students come face to face with a camel in the first photobubble. Hold & drag your mouse button over the picture and the photobubble start to turn! To the left you’ll see the base of Mt. Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery.
ENTER the monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai by clicking the door, then open the Ark of the Covenant to hear God read the commandments and see interesting notes and questions about them which appear on the front of the ark.
Your students are first introduced to the Ten Commandments inside the monastery when they open the Ark. Each commandment is narrated and has a pop up note. This is the first of three times all ten commandments are shown together in an activity. Other activities deal with them individually.
Clicking on the stained glass window behind the Ark reveals video clips of young people discussing the following topics:
- Why do people BREAK commandments?
- What does it mean to HONOR your parents?
- Why should a young person FOLLOW the commandments?
- What 11th Commandment do they think would make a good addition?
After exiting the monastery and before climbing Mt. Sinai, if you look up at the sun in the photobubble and click on it, you’ll see a discussion starter about “Keeping the Sabbath Holy.”
To advance up the mountain, all students must first cross over The Bridge Over Chaos Canyon, ~a multi-“planked” presentation about “The Law”. As students step on each plank, they learn the meaning and purpose of God’s Law. Careful on that last plank! –for as you will learn, the Law can only take you so far –and then you must take the “Leap of Faith” because “all fall short”.
Before students cross the bridge, they can click on the signs to hear Moses’ definition of “Promised Land”. Older kids/youth can click on the shipwreck beneath the bridge for an interesting side-trip and discussion starter titled: “The S.S. My Way”.
Once across the Chaos Canyon Bridge, the trail passes by a cross which has a Bible verse on it for discussion (if you want to stop there). Clicking the path by the cross leads you to the second photobubble halfway up Mt Sinai.
Halfway up Mt. Sinai…
In the second photobubble you can click a hotspot on the edge of the trail to play the “Ten Scramblements” Tablets Game. “Rocky” the Sinai Hyrax is holding a sign that says, “Don’t Touch the Tablets” …because when you do, half the words fall off. Better get them back in order before Moses returns!
Click the sun to reveal a presentation and discussion starter about the 8th Commandment (stealing). Older children and youth will especially want to find the two “interactive Billboards” on the trail. Each billboard features rock music and a presentation about “idols”.
Don’t miss the hidden hotspot up at the end of the trail…it features a quick presentation about Jesus’ Great Commandment.
Click on the side of the summit cliff and your knowledge of the Commandments will be tested at the Cliff Climb Quiz Game for one or two players. You must answer questions about the Commandments to get access to the top.
On Top of Mt. Sinai…
…and the 360° view from the Top of Mt. Sinai is spectacular.
View a short video of “the view from the top” –demonstrating the view and activities found in the top photobubble in the program:
After looking around the top of Mt Sinai, students can enter the Summit Chapel for a life application exercise rephrasing the Commandments for some different situations. Print them out for discussion (see graphic of this activity below). How would you write the Commandments for a school setting?
Once again outside at the top, students can click on the cleft in the rock and Yahweh will sweep you off the summit into a music video and dramatic animated flyover of Mt. Sinai. Listen to his words and reflect…
See I Am Yahweh -the reflection music video:
This musical reflection launches when you click the cleft in the rock on top of Mt Sinai.
This was the first 3d “fractal” landscape animation ever produced in Christian software.
Before you leave the summit, leave your thoughts in the guestbook for others to read. You can find it by clicking the person sitting down behind the Chapel. You can also view previous visitors’ comments (comments are recorded on the computer’s hard drive for others to read later). If you have time… Click the sun in the program will give you “more things to do and learn.”
Notes for Teachers
The structure of the content in this program follows an Open-Dig-Reflect lesson design. For example, at the base of the mountain the students get an overview of the commandments. Near the top, the activities turn towards reflection. You can skip activities and content as you choose. Look at the DOC BOX on this page for the Teacher’s Outline and some suggested “Lesson Hikes”.
There’s more content in this program than can possibly get through in one lesson. Using a quick pace and skipping many of the presentations subjects, you CAN get to the top of Sinai in just a few minutes, but some content, such as the Chaos Canyon Bridge, cannot be easily skipped. We recommend you pick & choose your way to the top, or stretch the use of the software over several weeks to get to it all. Some content will be especially fruitful for older students. Our guide will help you create your hike.
Many of the presentations in Ten C’s are like multimedia discussion starters. Students encounter presentations on content, then a question to discuss. Thus, you either need to be right there WITH THEM to discuss what they are seeing, or give them a worksheet with question about the content to hold them accountable.
Because this program is unique and expansive, I’ve created several different teaching resources to help you through it. Our free online teaching guides and materials for this software give you a lot of options.
See the DOC BOX below for links to all the materials.
Age Range: K* through adult.
Younger kids will enjoy trying to navigate and will respond to all the images, but they will need an older person helping them turn the photobubbles, find the hotspots, and pick their way through the content. The content and many of the questions are sophisticated enough for teens and adults.
Minimum: 1.0 ghz, 1.5 mb ram
Windows 8/10 users, see our Windows tweaks.
Be sure you have the latest version of Quicktime for Windows installed.
Additional Helps:
How to make the program appear larger on your screen (adjusting Window’s display scaling)
Guide-to-Ten-Commandments-Software
Suggested-HIKES-and-More-Helps
Download the free Top of Mt Sinai photobubble
Did you know there are two ways churches number the commandments?
Customer Reviews of Sunday Software’s TEN COMMANDMENTS…
You bowled me over again. This is a really great program. I hope that you are very proud – this is a great piece of work. ~Blake Peterson, Northpark Presbyterian, Dallas.
Dear Neil, I just received our order of “Ten Commandments.” I’m so excited about it! This is the quality of computer material I’ve been hungering for! Thank you. ~Marcia Burns
Neil, BIG KUDOS on the Ten Commandments. I am using it to teach in the Computer workshop this rotation. It is wonderful stuff! The kids love it too. ~Amy Parker, FPC Fort Worth, Texas
Just wanted you to know it arrived and I love it! My lab teacher even took a copy home to explore it more. And our sixth graders had a great time with it. ~Denise Ludtke, Christ Community, Arvada CO.
We are very much enjoying the program. We used it over 3 sessions for our combined age group class of kindergarten through 6th grade. We did the introductory lesson first as your website suggested. Then half of the short hike the next Sunday. Then the other half the next Sunday. At the end of the classtime the kids got to color and make shirt buttons that said either “I climbed Mt. Sinai” or “I made it to the TOP. Ten Commandments – Mt. Sinai.” It went great. My husband and I want to use the 10 Commandments for the Youth this fall. It’s a great program. You and your team did a great job in putting it together. ~Camie Pugsley for Parkrose Community Church, Tigard, OR
Thanks for sending the 10 Commandments program! It’s a great learning tool. It is the only thing that will engage some students, especially some of the boys. I have been teaching confirmation for about 10 years, and it just gets harder and harder to make it relevant and interesting to them. ~Christine Gantz, Director of Youth, St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Monona
Ten Cs is really neat! Thanks for your great work!! ~Tom Culp, Mansfield Ohio
How can you make such a great software, create these wonderful photobubbles of Mt. Sinai and put so much else in it …and sell it for just $27? I would have paid twice as much. ~Noreen Shields, Ascension Church, San Francisco
The original music was terrific and really set the mood for contemplation and exploration. ~Mary Bonoit, St. John’s Church, Indianapolis.
Thank you for giving us interesting open-ended questions to discuss, and not just things to look at and hear. ~John Wakefield, Apostle’s Church of God, Denver.
I’ll let you know what I think of the program when I get it back from my teacher who hasn’t returned it yet because his college student daughter didn’t want to give it back quite so soon. -Lynn Haus, Minneapolis