UNESCO: 1st computer game for young people on HIV and AIDS

Fast Car: Travelling Safely around the World - Introduction

Screenshot of the game© UNESCO

http://portal.unesco.org

UNESCO launched the first interactive multimedia tool on HIV and AIDS prevention for youth,  December 23th, 2010. 

The computer game "Fast Car:Travelling Safely around the World" aims to provide young people with accurate and reliable information about HIV prevention, while educating, entertaining and promoting healthy behaviour.

Peru - Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

http://www.unesco-ci.org

Target group: 

The target audience for the game is young people from 16 to 24 years or older. 

Teenagers often want to talk to their parents about HIV-related issues, but may find it difficult to do so. Children may worry about parents’ disapproval and have fears about the risk of becoming infected with HIV. 

Parents are often shy, lack accurate information about HIV and AIDS, or do not have sufficient skills to speak about prevention with their children, and teachers frequently assume that parents will talk with children at home. 

Fast Car: Travelling Safely around the World is the game that provides information on existing preventive practices, treatment and care for HIV and AIDS. 

The player can race on circuits on five different continents and virtually visit some of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. It also presents images of sites and interesting facts about them as players race by. Read more

Greece - Acropolis

http://www.unesco-ci.org

Context of use: Cross-curricula Sciences, History, Civics, Languages (secondary school and higher sochool)

Content:

The game aims to provide young people with accurate and reliable information about HIV prevention, intending to educate and entertain as well as promoting healthy behaviour. In this game, the player can race on circuits on five continents, and virtually visit some of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. It also presents images of sites and interesting facts about them as players race by.

Australia - Sydney Opera House

http://www.unesco-ci.org

There are two tracks for each continent - a Preliminary track and a Championship track. Every track has a set of check points. At the check point, one can take part in a Mini-Quiz, and possibly earn a time bonus. In the mini-quiz, the player will be asked a multiple-choice question related to HIV and AIDS prevention.

France - Château de Versailles

http://www.unesco-ci.org

Languages:

The game is available online for downloading free of charge in English, French and Russian here

Learning objectives:

The importance of the game consists in providing young people with information materials on HIV and AIDS that can be widely distributed through communication channels in order to help them to gain an accurate understanding of these issues and preventive practices. UNESCO expects that this may change their behaviour.

Developers:

The following local researchers and experts contributed content for the game, working together to ensure its scientific accuracy: Path Ukraine (Ukraine), the Institution of Social Development (Viet Nam) and Heidelberg University, Department of Virology (Germany). Lakshya Digital Pvt. Ltd. (India) helped UNESCO to develop the game concept and realize it technically. 

Video clip of "Fast Car: Travelling Safely around the World"

G-Souto

13.01.2011

Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com® 

References:

UNESCO News Education

http://portal.unesco.org

UNESCO Communication and Information

http://www.unesco.org

ENGAGE GBL Awards at Online Educa Berlin 2010

http://www.icwe.net

"Our jury has made their selection for the 2010 Awards! Submissions from 11 countries were rated according to the ENGAGE Best Practice and Inclusion criteria as well as the SIG-GLUE criteria for learning games. Rating was tight and we are grateful for all high-quality submissions!"

http://www.engagelearning.eu

The ENGAGE quality awards are divided into three categories: Best Practice (for specific documented cases), Learning Games Quality (for outstanding methodological, didactical and technical standards) and Game Inclusion (digital games and GBL practices which successfully raise self-confidence or increase motivation to learn as well as encourage participation in a community or in society).

The jury comprised game-based learning experts from industry and research as well as teachers with a professional background in using games for teaching and education.

The Nominees

http://www.engagelearning.eu

I'm honored to be a judge of the ENGAGE Awards 2010. I have been invited by Mr. Rolf Reinhardt and later by Ms. Anne-Christin Tannhäuser the Coordinator of the Jury.

As a teacher assessor specialized in Media Educational assessment by the University of Evora  (UÉ) and the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP/Biotechnology), I engaged myself through a careful work of analysis in all the areas of the projects' evaluation. 

Hours to verify the objectives,  testing the goals, checking the several aspects of the evaluation  process. It's a peculiar and rigorous process I'm used to from another awards. 

It is an expertise work that we engage themselves, unambiguous, with consistency, independence and extreme signifiance. 

http://www.icwe.net

Outstanding contributions by teachers, educational practioners, game developers and producers to the quality of game-based learning has been recognised under the ENGAGE project at ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2010 this afternoon.

During an official, live-streamed ceremony, December 3rd, 2010, the European Network for Growing Activity in Game-based learning in Education (ENGAGE) has revealed the nominees for its quality awards. An inspiring panel discussion with leading experts on game-based learning will preceed.

I could follow the cerimony on-line live stream at 4:30PM (CET time).

Winners have been invited to the award ceremony at Online EDUCA Berlin, 3rd December 2010. 


Educators received the 3D engine and authoring tool “Thinking Worlds™” which enables them to create serious, casual, social and advergames


Game producers their games free EFQUEL membership and the SIG-GLUE stamp

During the official and life-streamed award ceremony has beeen held to acknowledge the contribution of the winners to high qual­ity in game-based learning and presented for each award category.

http://www.engagelearning.eu

The ENGAGE project aims to further promote the use of GBL in education. It has been funded with support from the European Union.

You can read all about the nominees here

Me Tycoon, was a nominee project at "Best Learning Game" category! It's a Social Serious Game-based approach to encouraging students to explore and develop their own life, where their decisions directly affect their prosperity, achievements and happiness.

Young people do not often have the resources, help or opportunities to think about careers, find out about different types of jobs that they may not have previously considered, get to grips with transferable skills, or discover the changing nature of the jobs market and the potential areas of future growth."


In my opinion, it's a good tool for the target group, students between 13-15 years, the age they must choose an area to do further studies. It helps them to think about a future career.  

screenshot MeTycoon

http://3.bp.blogspot.com

The different choices of the game, advances and retraits, the 'real' testimonials (careers) inserted in the game, all that is very important to help young people's choices! They are encouraged to make their own choices in a 'virtual world' that enable them to learn how to avoid future mistakes in 'real life', several years later.

At the same time, the game prepares them to change the professional area, so common in modern societies due to the unemployment crisis. It helps kids to become better citizens, to feel prosper, happier and achiever.

Computer games are beginning to break out from their console and entertainment world, and finding more constructive applications in the world of education. 


Games based learning are attracting new developers and producers to create good practice games.

Using video games and games based learning (GBL) to supplement and inspire in-classroom education is more and more used for pilot teachers who try out new school models. 

Pilot teachers are finding ways to use video games and GBL to enrich and inspire interest by students in core curriculum topics.

And producers are really investing more and more on games based learning creation because the future is now.

"Will we realize the potential that DGBL has to revolutionize how students learn? This has much less to do with attitude and learner preferences than it does with a technology that supports some of the most effective learning principles identified during the last hundred years. If we learn from  our past, and if we focus on the strengths of the medium and provide the support and infrastructure needed to implement DGBL, we may well be present for a true revolution."



Richard Van Eck, 
EDUCAUSE Review, 2006

The ENGAGE Awards organisation didn't invite the members of the Jury to participate in this cermony, as other organisations do.

Last week, I was in Brussels to participate, as a member of the jury, at another awards cerimony. And it has been very attractive to know the winners, debate with them their work during their presentation, feel their expectations and joy. And of course, a pleasure to applaud the winners.

I know most of the members of the ENGAGE Awards jury could not accept the invitation for several reasons (work, distance). 


For me, it would be impossible to be present! 

But... it would be a nice and kind thought from the organisation of ENGAGE Awards! For sure!

Congratulations to all the winners! Students, teachers and producers proove that creativity has no barriers!

G-Souto (member of the jury)

03.12.10

Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

References:

ONLINE EDUCA Presents ENGAGE Game-based Learning Awards

http://www.icwe.net

The ENGAGE Quality Awards

http://www.engagelearning.eu

ENGAGE Quality Awards - Nominations

http://www.engagelearning.eu

Me Tycoon

http://metycoon.org/

Richard Van Eck, EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 41, no. 2 (March/April 2006)

http://www.educause.edu