Games for Change, in partnership with the NYC Department of Education are hosting a challenge for middle-school and high school students to create a real-world changing game.
As stated on the official Games for Change Students Challenge webpage:
Both game playing and game making are proven to build STEM skills and 21st-century learning essential for success (and careers) in today’s connected world. Games motivate students by making content relevant, immersive and compelling. Games require kids to think strategically and solve complex problems, “fail fast” and collaborate across disciplines. And perhaps most importantly, games help teachers make learning irresistible!
Teachers use games in the classroom much more often than before. But now, Games for Change has now created a place where students can, by themselves, become designers of educational tools.
The Games for Change Students Challenge is a contest targeted at the middle school and high school students from New York City public schools.
To take a part in the challenge students must meet the eligibility requirements and submit, till 30th of April 2016th, a web browser game that has a real-life impact in one of the listed categories that coincides with Sustainable Development Goals.
This year Student Challenge Themes are:
- Literacy Challenge
- Smart Cities Challenge
- Civic Journalism Challenge
- Animal Welfare Challenge
- Youth Justice Challenge
The participants’ games score will depend on their creativity, gameplay experience, functionality and on incorporating theme content into the game.
Additionally, the Games for Change Students Challenge motivates the challengers to think about what positive impacts they want to achieve. There is also question of how they want to do it. Participants answer it by submitting the documents that show the designing process and the idea behind it, in details.
This edition is a pilot for the program and a follow-up to the other challenges for full-fledged game designers, too.
Young participants now have a chance to create something that could make a real difference and change the world for the better.
