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A Revolutionary Education Game

That’s not to say money doesn’t matter or that there aren’t clear benefits to having more money if spent wisely (whatever that means according to whoever says it). I doubt many people if given the choice between a well-off school district and a poor one, would opt to send their child to the one with the low budget. But this messiness in funding indicates a larger truth: Throwing money at the problem in its current condition is not going to fix it.

To go back to the Zuckerberg example — because most people would likely think $100 million for a single district, with another $100 million from matched contributions, would be a godsend — we need to examine its faults so we can avoid them in the future.

We must also confront the uncomfortable fact that society is shifting. There is a Skill-based Technical Change (SBTC) conundrum: automation tends to replace less-educated workers performing routine tasks while it creates new demand for more-educated workers performing more complex analysis or engaging in social interactions and communication. Our current education system was not designed to address problems like this. Fortunately, there is at least one solution.

The game I propose would be an ever-updating, free-range, cloud-native, massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) in the same vein as the enormously successful World of Warcraft (WoW) series. MMORPGs are role-playing games that allow thousands of players to interact (plan, collaborate, communicate, etc.) in a virtual world. This education game would consist of much more than the typical games with a start and finish. It’d be an epic, never-ending game, where content adapts to players’ performances and becomes more challenging over time, introducing more complex topics and content when players are ready, so the virtual world is never irrelevant. It’s a game both children and adults would love playing because after each session they’d walk away not only feeling accomplished but having actually accomplished something meaningful: they will have learned, made new friends, discovered something new, overcame a challenge, laid down another stepping stone on their career path, etc.

Perhaps the most important part is that the game wouldn’t feel like homework or the type of dreaded mandatory computer course required by companies. Instead, the gameplay proposed for this game is based on “authentic learning” and “authentic experience” (i.e. the learning would be contextualized and develop naturally from the given scenarios). This contrasts with typical learning games and websites where situations feel forced and unrealistic.

This immersive game focus provides a platform for “hands-on” experience that lectures and theoretical discussions can’t convey. Eventually, advances in virtual reality and augmented reality will strengthen this approach to learning. Players would improve in the game the same way they may improve when playing an instrument: they are learning by doing. Players would have the repetition of actually doing the action in a context that feels worthwhile and plausible, and the enjoyment of the game won’t feel like work. Top-selling games already understand these concepts.

One could argue the lack of sales and competitive education games in the market may simply mean there isn’t a big market for educational games. But it’s impossible to declare this when nobody has made a reasonable investment in creating a world-class education-based video game. Minecraft isn’t special in its success, for example. The game I suggest would encompass several elements of Minecraft, where players have great leeway on how they explore the game and what they do with items within the virtual world. The time has come to make a serious investment in what is perhaps the most realistic cost-efficient way to educate hundreds of millions of people.

Lastly, and importantly, not all of the funding is necessary up-front. For the first phase of the game’s development, which would focus on young children, the funding need only be at least equal to the top-selling game for that age group — not equal to the funding of the top-selling game on the entire market. The requirements of funds will increase over time as the game becomes more complex.

Next, we’ll take a look at how we can finally utilize technology to revolutionize education on a massive scale.

A guiding principle for how I view education is based on the idea that talent is equally distributed but opportunity is not. It’s not only possible but likely thousands of Einsteins have lived and died in under-developed nations like Botswana, Myanmar, and Afghanistan, as well as in the ghettos and rural isolation of American cities and remote areas. Without the opportunity to develop and apply their intelligence and talent, they are severely limited in their potential impact.

To put it more concretely, there could have already been a cure for cancer, but the brilliant would-be scientist who could have solved it lived and died in a village most of us will never hear of. If humanity is ever to reach its potential, we’ll need a solution that can satisfy each of the criteria mentioned in the previous post to make our collective knowledge equal to the challenges we face.

Below, I’ll address each of the items enumerated above in turn as I advocate for either philanthropists or a public-private consortium to contribute at least $75 million toward an entirely new type of educational video game (more on the cost justification later).

What makes this approach revolutionary? It doesn’t limit what a person can learn. Unlike the typical classroom, where the students can essentially only learn as much as what the teacher can cover, the game I propose removes all learning boundaries. Furthermore, because it doesn’t tell players which order they must learn something, or what they must learn. The players can act in ways that make them most fulfilled, satisfied, and happy. Their curiosity is their guide, and with this being so, it means they retain the intrinsic motivation necessary for learning. It’s the pursuit of happiness in the context of learning that makes the game so powerful. Additionally, the game acts as a tutor (by providing individualized assistance) and is a way to boost attendance (by playing regularly, the player gets extra hours of learning, as well as learning on weekends they otherwise wouldn’t get) — two concepts that research has proven increases student performance.

Also important, the game doesn’t displace teachers or schools. It is intended to be played after school, on weekends, and over summer and winter breaks— i.e., times when the student might otherwise be learning very little.

Many will jump to state that education video games have been around for decades, and therefore are not a proven solution, and certainly not a novel one. But that’s because all previous games have been narrowly constructed, linear, and largely uninteresting. A kid will only add numbers in a game painfully obviously about teaching math so many times before they ache to play something else.

So far we’ve identified a pervasive problem and now we know what makes the game suggestion likely to be uniquely effective. Before we finally jump into the gritty detail, we must first understand what the game isn’t.

There are countless organizations addressing education, including various software programs, apps, and games. But it’s inefficient to have a different app for each problem or limited suite of problems. The siloed nature of current games means users must necessarily download several games/apps and then use each one individually in order to hope to gain a comprehensive education.

The game I propose can do what none of the multitudes of other programs are capable of within their particular niches: evaluate, teach, analyze, cover all subjects, cover all grade levels, incorporate soft skills, encourage productive use of free time, and, most importantly, provide tremendous real-life value to the user. Other programs focus on incremental improvement, rather than disruptive innovation. The game I propose is anything but incremental in nature.

So what is this game, exactly? It’s easier to begin by clearly stating what it isn’t. Consider typical game design:

The game I propose is unique with regard to each of the above criteria.

A word on MOOCs: It’s worth contrasting my proposals with MOOCs. MOOCs are Massive Open Online Courses (though now many are less open by requiring money). The idea is that experts or accomplished professors can share education more efficiently by posting their courses online for thousands of people to view than they can by only teaching in classrooms with a hundred students. The idea, in a nutshell, is to increase access to education. Companies that offer MOOCs include Coursera, edX, and Udemy. The courses are usually free, though some providers charge a small fee (much smaller than what you’d pay as a student at a university).

Other shortcomings include nearly everything associated with typical classrooms, including the lack of personalization (the courses are pre-recorded, meaning the professor can’t offer individualized help in the moment), the students have no say on what is covered or when, and so on. (Please look at my posts on competency-based education for more info.) In short, the detached nature of MOOCs makes their approach to revolutionizing education underwhelming.

Next, I’ll address each of the components I enumerated in the beginning that I suggest are requisites to have a truly profound and potentially massively disruptive effect on the education system. To grasp how a video game contrasts with other policy approaches, think about how many of the 20 components here apply to, for example, charter schools, vouchers, increasing teacher salaries, giving computers or tablets to students, and other alternative policies. You’ll find that none satisfy all 20 like the game solution.

1. Can be scaled in a rapid manner:

· Once developed, this game can be released across the nation and sold in every retail store from coast-to-coast, as well as on the internet. There’s almost nothing more scalable. Additionally, the different cultures of different regions have no effect on the scalability any more than it affects the way Mario is sold in every major store across the country.

2. It reacts swiftly to data and evidence, as well as economic conditions and the job market:

· Updates would be baked into the system. As new peer-reviewed, compelling research comes out, the game’s programmers can tweak the game to include the latest evidence-based best practices. Perhaps more importantly, the game would react to each individual’s abilities, adjusting to provide maximal personalization for every single player. More on that later.

· The game would also help people grow and adapt to a rapidly changing world where automation and machine learning will increasingly make certain jobs obsolete. Right now, the job landscape shifts faster than our current education system can keep up, meaning that by the time people finish a 4-year degree, for example, the career they entered school expecting to work at upon graduation may no longer exist or be substantially the same. This game allows players to keep up with the pace of job change and does so at an affordable price (as opposed to many higher education institutions).

3. It is financially sustainable:

· First, it’s important to note that this game will make money. It will likely bring in billions of dollars in revenue each year within its first five years of existence. More on these calculations later.

· It’s worth noting that if this project is to be pursued at all, it is absolutely necessary to make an appropriate and sufficient financial investment in it. This game should clearly be high quality and on par with other top-selling games — not merely a cheap wannabe knock-off that would fool no one. Quality matters as much in presentation as in content. More to the point, this game needs to be of such high quality that players aren’t consistently aware they’re learning. It should only feel like they are playing and having fun. This game wouldn’t be made to compete with other educational games. It would be made to effectively compete with all games.

4. It doesn’t require all interested parties to be in lock-step concerning educational philosophy at all or even most times:

· Because the game is essentially Choose Your Own Adventure, is mostly played by individuals, and doesn’t require the time or resources of anyone outside the player, it avoids most controversies. There need not be any talk of teacher accountability, teacher merit pay, the length of school days, need to wear uniforms, police in schools, and so on. And because this game is not meant to be a substitution for school but rather a complement to school, and it would not be mandatory for anyone to purchase or play the game, it is not competition to be feared by teacher unions. As long as most people can agree that children enjoying learning is a good thing, there would be minimal backlash.

· Also noteworthy, the purpose of the game wouldn’t be to teach players what to think. It would teach them how to think — critically, creatively, collaboratively, etc.

5. It is not burdensome on the children, family, or educators:

· This game requires only internet access and either a computer, phone, game console, or tablet. There are no forms to fill out, credentials to acquire, boards to pass, skills to learn, extra work hours by educators, and so on.

6. It is not controversial:

· This game need not tackle hot-button issues such as sex education. There also shouldn’t be profanity, nudity, or graphic violence. Parents and schools can handle the controversial topics.

7. It is not forced on anyone:

· Owning and playing the game is entirely voluntary. Educators may advocate it if they believe in its ability, but the developers should not force anyone to purchase or play it.

8. It fits in with the current culture:

· The concern about too much screen time is legitimate, but here are a few ways to think about it: 1) As noted above, the AAP signaled that as long as the screen time is meaningful it’s okay, 2) I, too, would prefer all education be in-person, but that’s not practical, safe, or sufficient for everyone, 3) The game would encourage and require interaction and physical activity (discussed later), so it wouldn’t encourage the sedentary lifestyle like phones, games, and TVs today, 4) Whether we like it or not, society is moving online and unlike most other electronic activities, this game prepares them for a fulfilling life, and 5) The game could realistically free up time in schools to focus more on socio-emotional learning, emotional intelligence, and related essential in-person skills and attributes.

9. It has a proven track record:

10. It is adaptable to student needs:

· Using the latest artificial intelligence capabilities, the game would change and adapt based on the player’s actions. This means if the player does exceptionally well at some tasks, the game would gradually make them more challenging until they are appropriately and enjoyably difficult. Conversely, if a player is struggling with some concept, the game would modify how it attempts to teach the player, folding in more examples, visuals, audio, and so on.

11. It helps teachers determine the best approaches to teaching for each student:

· Parents can opt to share their child’s data with the child’s teacher(s). The teachers would then know what the student excels at, where he or she struggles, what he or she has already learned, what he or she enjoys most, and how he or she best learns. All of this information would be compiled in a crisp, easily decipherable report by the game in real time based on data.

12. It provides instant and easily accessible feedback to students:

· Players can, at any time, look at their dashboard and see which badges, trophies, competencies, levels, lands, quests, and so on they have completed. This would provide both a sense of pride of accomplishment and motivation to continue playing the game to earn more.

13. It works for all age groups:

· The game would initially target elementary students (K through 3rd grade, though realistically we can expect children ages 4–10 to play it), but over the years, as programmers have time to expand the content for both younger and older audiences, the game would be appropriate for K-8th graders as well, and then K-12, and eventually pre-K to all ages. Because there is no limit to the knowledge available in the world and what a person can know, there should be no limit on what content the game provides and to whom it is provided.

· It’s worth explaining why the focus should begin with younger kids, rather than adolescents or adults.

14. It works for all subjects and topics:

· The game can seamlessly fold in content as varied as the alphabet and theoretical physics. This is not merely a math game or a reading game. It’s an every-topic game.

15. It requires minimal equipment and training:

· As mentioned, all that’s needed is a computer, phone, game console, or tablet, and the internet. The game would adapt to the player, and the player would learn by doing. This means there is no need for a manual, a workshop, or any other external aid to play.

16. It leads to real-world measurable benefits:

· By the time the game is available through at least high school and players are at least 16 or older, they can make their badges seen by recruiters/companies. That is, players can collect credentials in the game that they can put on their real-life resume, showcasing their varied content knowledge. In essence, the game would be a constantly and automatically updated portfolio/resume of accomplishments. It’d be even more efficient than LinkedIn, which still requires manual input. Also, the game would expand the players’ networks on a grand scale because they would meet people from around the world through the game and have the option of sharing their accomplishments with one another. This could translate into future internships or employment opportunities, as well as friendships.

The reason badges would lead to employment is because the producers of this game would pair with regionally and nationally accredited credentialing associations. For instance, if the player has achieved appropriate levels in entrepreneurship, finance, accounting, marketing, sales, organizational behavior, and so on, he or she can receive a credential from partnered associations and businesses vouching for the fact that the student is highly competent in each of those fields, and is therefore employable. Being good at Call of Duty won’t make you good as a soldier, but doing well at certain skills in the game I propose would translate to real life.

· The game can teach 21st-century skills, like technical literacy, critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, grit, patience, having an entrepreneurial mindset, and social/communication skills. While the means may be obvious for the individual skills, it’s worth noting that because the game would require interaction and collaboration with other players in order to earn certain badges, it would also develop interpersonal skills.

· Importantly, there are immediate daily benefits to the users, as well as benefits that accrue weekly, annually, decennially, and so on. There is a real benefit for the players every time they use the game, and that benefit compounds over time.

· Bonus: These credentials would not cost extra. The price of the game is all it takes. The students won’t need to enroll in expensive technical schools or universities for continuing education or higher education. This approach improves access to the workforce for those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford the training.

17. It is equitable between wealthy and poor students:

· The cost of the game is essentially the only thing that separates the groups. Most homes already have a computer and internet access, and by the time this game comes to fruition, the number of households with those attributes will only increase. If the price of the game is still too much, perhaps a philanthropy, school fundraisers, and/or the government could provide rebates or vouchers to low-income families to purchase the game.

18. It is enjoyable for students:

· Because the game would be of indisputably high quality and would rely on all the artifacts of successful, enthralling games, there is no reason to suspect it would not be enjoyable.

19. External forces such as government or unions can’t shut it down:

· Because the game is developed by a third entity, and its success is driven not by government but by the market, it’s independent of forces that are traditionally blamed for squashing reform movements.

20. It does not have a definite ending/leads to life-long learning:

· As mentioned, this game should one day cover all topics, and therefore be appropriate for all ages and knowledge levels. This is not a linear game where a player begins at point A, gets to point B, and that’s the end, as is common in most games. This game won’t have a finite number of levels, but rather the content would continually expand.

The lesson ideas below demonstrate the versatility of the game. None of them are necessary for the game’s success. Rather, these examples offer a glimpse at the wide-ranging possibilities of the game and show how authentic learning can occur in a fun, immersive way.

I’ve broken the ideas into general subject areas, but the game would strive to link subjects to one another, providing a holistic approach to learning. A holistic environment makes the material more immersive than isolated events so the storyline remains seamless, and it provides the scaffolding necessary for players to draw conclusions, expand their insights, give them opportunities to refresh their memories, and provide chances to practice skills.

Medicine, Healthcare, Anatomy, Physiology:

o Players could learn basic first aid through the game by first being taught it, and then having to use their knowledge to help injured characters. This eventually leads to more detailed lessons on anatomy and physiology.

o Have a scenario where players must help at a health clinic and treat x-number of patients correctly. The patients would present with various symptoms for the most common maladies (fever, flu, cold, insect bite, sore throat, etc.) and the players must correctly diagnose them and select the best treatment plan.

o Occasionally have pandemics in the game (like an outbreak of measles or other communicative diseases) and the only solution is for the character to go to a clinic and meet with a character who explains the importance of immunizations. The student must then pass an associated quiz, at which point the character would administer an antidote. If the student does not go to the clinic immediately, their avatar gradually becomes slower and slower. The pandemic/tutorial/quizzes become more complex as the student levels up. Eventually, the game discusses topics like cancer, diabetes, and other common maladies in detail.

o Teach how to read nutrition labels so players can properly feed their avatars.

Finance, Business, and Economics:

o A merchant character comes and asks for money and the player can agree to give it or not. Players are given the merchant’s plan for the money and the probability it will succeed. The first several times, the probability is high and the merchant does succeed, returning the loan with interest. But eventually the probability drops, and if the player loans, he sometimes doesn’t get his money back. This teaches a mechanism of our modern banks, as well as concepts of probability.

o Players can loan virtual money to one another. The computer automatically repays the loaner with the agreed upon interest if the recipient makes money on their quest.

o Eventually introduce the idea of stock markets, where several people contribute money, thereby limiting risk with a lesser limit on the potential reward. Initially, the market would resemble crowd funding sites. As the player community grows, the virtual stock market grows.

o Players can choose to run their own businesses within the game. They learn supply and demand; how to determine profit margins; the difference between income, revenue, and profit; how to determine the point when the business becomes viable and out of red ink, etc.

o Purchases could become more complex with time, allowing the introduction of multiplication and division when figuring costs. Eventually, they get to a point where they have to figure out taxes, take out a loan and have to figure out interest rates, etc.

o Other lessons could teach various elements of financial literacy: savings accounts, credit cards, determining which of multiple options is cheapest (e.g. buying or renting for a set amount of time), etc.

Geography and Physical Science:

o Players are introduced to terms like north, south, mountains, isthmus, archipelago, etc.

o They go through a cave and other landscapes, and various scenarios require them to demonstrate some physical science knowledge, like basic geology, tectonic plates, etc.

Agriculture and Botany:

o Players take care of a virtual garden or farm as a side mission. Maybe in order to get better fertilizer/have more crops/bigger harvests/etc. the student must demonstrate knowledge of why the fertilizer is better/how one would tend to that particular crop/what leads to more bountiful harvests/etc., rather than simply spending virtual coins on items the computer tells you would be better. Additionally, the crops players choose matters: some grow faster than others; all need to be harvested in a reasonable amount of time, otherwise they whither, so players may hire artificial characters to help them.

o Other activities may include helping a person in their garden. It starts simple (must water plants) and grows more complex (must consider the type of plant, sunlight, the distance between plants, the amount of water, amount of sunlight, etc.). And the player could pick fruit (learning about the properties of different fruits that grow on trees in the process). Or they can buy produce from a local vendor (which lets the players apply basic math to complete the financial transaction). In each case, the player learns a bit about nutrition as well, so they can keep their avatar healthy.

Physics and Engineering:

o Players must create a device to go down a hill as quickly as possible. They are given several pieces to work with and must create the most efficient one, or one that meets minimum efficiency standards.

o Players must construct a bridge in order to help people cross a body of water.

o Players could learn basic physics through an Angry Birds-type of scenario.

o Players must build a tower, but before they can use certain materials, they must demonstrate they understand why those materials are more useful or better than what they currently have. As players advance, they must take into consideration materials, placement of doors and windows, electrical outlets, plumbing, etc.

Music:

o Players could help characters write music by identifying rhythms, instruments, notes, etc.

o Players could visit an in-game recording studio to compose their own songs. With hardware developments, they could use microphones and instruments in real-life. The songs would be put into the public music library for players around the globe to access and share. Bonus: This has the potential to one day become a way for artists to get noticed for real-life compensation.

Wildlife, Zoology:

o Players can fish for fun, but in order to keep the fish and exchange it for virtual coins, players have to be able to identify what type it is.

o Players can choose if they want a pet. They would then have to ensure it’s fed, exercises, and so on. The funds for food and hygiene products come from the players’ virtual bank accounts. This helps teach financial responsibility. Pets can bring in money via pet shows, improve the player avatar’s healthy through emotional support, and/or act as a guard against roving bandits.

o There would be unused fishing rods next to bodies of water, as well as men and women fishing. Players choose whether or not to fish (depending on whether that’s an activity of interest to them). The man or woman then teaches the player how to fish (what’s used as bait, the differences of the fish they catch, where to catch certain fish, etc.) Players can choose to keep the fish for food, which helps fulfill the protein requirement their avatar needs.

Astronomy, Astrophysics:

o Players could help characters identify constellations and planets. More advanced players can discuss light-years, the scale of the galaxy and universe, discuss orbits, etc. Eventually, once they are able to explain the physics, players could partake in interplanetary travel.

Governance, Civics:

o Once players are advanced enough, the game starts to tax them at regular intervals. The gamers can vote on tax rates, what should be taxed, what they should spend the revenue on, etc.

o Players learn how to register to vote, compare proposals and candidates, etc.

o Players of a certain level elect leaders amongst themselves. They can discuss problems going on in their world, candidates can make proposals to fix them, and players can discuss the merits of the ideas.

Technology, Coding, Computer Science:

o Players learn basics of coding through short games where they build products, like website pages, to help meet a character’s criteria.

o Have some tasks that require the students to type for speed. First, have them do tutorials with a character, then they do increasingly complex typing races.

Morality:

o The players have free will in how good of an avatar they wish to be. For example, some players could choose to steal from other characters (increasing their money), and others could help the policeman catch bad guys (consisting of artificial characters and other players who have broken a law within the game). The game would naturally direct players to be good. Bad players, for instance, would find the artificial characters less cooperative, thereby making it more difficult to go on and complete quests, and therefore level up, earn badges, and so on. It teaches that negative actions have unfavorable consequences.

Chemistry:

History:

Military, Diplomacy:

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