United Nations Promotes Educational Learning In Video Games Ahead Of Their Developing Apps
by Tyler Pence
Steam Link on an iPhone (Valve/Apple)
The United Nations wants to change the ways of gaming to rely more heavily on using mobile games as a learning experience. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, is planning on sponsoring a conference that is being held in India later this year, to promote the use of digital technology and how it video games can help contribute to more peaceful societies.
According to Venture Beat, the UNESCO wants to promote sustainable learning experiences with new technology in mobile games. They have a few descriptions in games they are developing so far for mobile iOS and Android devices.
One game they expect to develop, but has a specific target audience, is called Cantor’s World. According to CNET, this mobile game is made for the master’s level of college students that studied or study economics. It helps form studies and mid-career policy makers. The game is set to teach the users about the Inclusive Wealth Index, which is an evaluation of nation’s performances with sustainable economies and wellbeing of their citizens. Cantor’s World lets users handle policy choices within nations and experience the faults firsthand at the issues both long-term and short-term and how the countries will be affected with reform policies. In a more fun sense, the game has you create a country from the start and help develop it, weighing heavy consequences or rewards that are defined by your choices in the game. You cannot currently download this game on iOS or Android as it’s still in development in a multitude of universities.
The UNESCO website says about their experiments with educational mobile gaming are that “game-based learning provides a promising new pedagogy, which allows learners to proceed at their own pace. UNESCO MGIEP supports research in gaming as it places the learner at the centre of learning by providing an interactive, immersive, multimodal environment.”
Another game in development by the UNESCO is called World Rescue. World Rescue is a research-based mobile game that has you go through a plethora of countries and try to eliminate disease, economic issues, pollution, deforestation and other third-world issues. The game takes you through Kenya, Brazil, then to Brazil, India and even China. World Rescue game is based off the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. This game can be downloaded today on your iOS or Android device.
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