Context:
The recent economic downturn has brought nationwide attention to the dangers of an economically and financially illiterate society. Now more than ever, children need to graduate from school with an understanding of basic economic and financial concepts.
There is a large segment of the American K-12 student population that is not being exposed to economic and financial education, potentially setting these students up for financial difficulties in the future.
But how can we teach these life skills in the classroom, when so much depends on context and "real-world" experience?
The Pew Internet & American Life survey (9/08) found that 97% of kids play videogames. Often, these games are social, using both collaborative play and competition to "learn" the game and win as a team. The Council for Economic Education and Digitec Interactive produced the "Gen I Revolution" game to teach concepts of personal finance and investing to high school aged kids. This multimedia online game is blended into the formal classroom curriculum to create a highly engaging learning experience, where players solve missions in simulated environments to apply the concepts while working in teams.
This innovative game-based learning design uses strategy, problem-based learning, level-based instructional scaffolding, and interactive direct instruction, as part of the learning experience.
The Council for Economic Education and Digitec Interactive will also demonstrate the teacher's portal, where teachers can administer the game, which includes releasing new missions, setting up class teams and generating reports to monitor student progress.
Specifically, the session will describe the unique process involved in creating a fun and engaging "serious game," including:
- Creating game design documents,
- Conducting focus group testing,
- Prototyping,
- Developing the game, and
- Evaluation and assessment methods.
The session will discuss lessons learned and provide the evaluation results on how the game is doing in the classroom.
