Our first Education Gamication program is up and running at: EconJourney.com
EconJourney is about more than just a new way of learning economics. It is also about teaching students how to write, solve simple math problems and become analytical thinkers. It is about promoting creativity and (hopefully) that learning can be fun. It is also designed to place individual action within a social context, thereby helping students understand that a single individual can truly make a difference.
We believe that learning best takes place when it is part of a co-created process. Students are no different from anyone else: they do not like to be told what to do. Rather, they are looking for assistance in reaching goals that they establish along a journey that takes them where they would like to go. They need the freedom to explore, a variety of pathways to choose from, and the tools needed to help them succeed.
Learning becomes part of establishing an identity within the context of a student co-created experience. In that sense, learning economic principles through the development of a narrative mimics the way learning is done as part of everyday life. Learning is not an activity distinct from one’s life, but instead becomes an integral part of what naturally occurs on a daily basis.
By asking students to undertake their own journey, they encounter challenges that must be overcome with the economic concepts that they learn along the way. They student can establish an identity within the context of a story that can take on epic proportions, thereby contributing to a sense of self-esteem. It is not just about learning economic concepts. It is also about empowering a student so that they can make progress along their own personal journey.