For Immediate Release
LOS ANGELES -- July 20, 2021 -- Twelve games developed for use in K-12 games have been cited for excellence in the 2021 International Serious Play Awards Program.
Gold Medal Awards were awarded to:
- Vet Veling (Super Safe), a scenario based-game that aims to teach students aged 11 to 12 how to react and respond in case of a calamity, prevent the situation from getting worse and what actions and measures they can take to prevent the calamity from happening in the first place. Vet Veiling (Super Safe) was developed by a Dutch corporation, &ranj.
- Mission U.S.: Prisoner in my Homeland, an interactive narrative based-game developed to engage middle school students in the study of transformational moments in American history. The game immerses players in rich, historical settings and empowers them to make choices that illuminate how ordinary people experienced the past. Prisoners in my Homeland was developed by Thirteen/WNET New York Public Media, American Social History Project, Electric Funshift and EDC.
Silver Medals went to the following:
- Money Magic, a game designed to teach middle and high schoolers the basic principles of budgeting. Money Magic was developed by McKinney Next Gen Personal Finance.
- Bummer, a game designed to teach middle and high schoolers not only some of the basic insurance components, but why insurance is important. Bummer was developed by McKinney Next Gen Personal Finance.
- HistoryMaker VR, a virtual reality content creation tool for middle-school history students that allows learners to bring their historical knowledge to life by embodying and performing as historical figures in an immersive virtual reality environment. HistoryMaker VR was created by Schell Games.
- Hero Elementary: Operation Investigation, a multiplatform educational game for children in grades K-12 that teaches science and literacy learning. Hero Elementary resources include animated video, live-action video, songs and the digital and analog games. Operation Investigation was created by Twin Cities Public Television, Filament Games, Two Moos and Glitch.
- Cyberchase: Fractions Quest. Third and fourth-grade students swipe, tap and slice their way through the levels, developing their knowledge of fractions and skills as they work to defeat the villain Hacker! Featuring different worlds and engaging characters, the game is designed to motivate students and increases their confidence in the classroom by improving their understanding of fractions and complicated math. Fractions Quest was developed by FableVision, WNET and EDC.
- ABC Stories, a free application designed to teach handwriting to children of all abilities through the use of Augmented Reality. ABC Stories was developed by Dr. Anthony Ellertson, Old Coot, Maggie Foundation and Blocksmith, Inc.
Bronze Medals went to the following:
- Monsters vs. Fractions Episode 2: Food Frenzy, a series of educational web-based games that combine elements of video games, episodic TV shows and animated films with pedagogical structure and methods. The series focuses on fractions, one of the toughest subjects for 3rd-5th graders. The games progress from unit fractions in Monsters vs Fractions Episode 1 to common fractions in Monsters vs Fractions Episode 2. Monsters vs. Fractions was developed by Smart Technologies.
- Cyberchase: Echo Explorers, a game that aims to engage children ages 6-8 in math and environmental learning, inspiring them to care for their planet and approach math with enthusiasm, confidence, and a "can-do" attitude. At the heart of the game is a mission-driven narrative involving farmers, bats, dark caves and the use of echolocation. Echo Explorers was developed by FableVision WNET Education Development Center.
- Branches of Power. Players take charge of all three branches of the U.S. government, exploring the various roles and responsibilities of each. Branches of Power was developed by iCivics.
- Election Lab, a learning game that uses STEM to explore a civic issue of great importance: how we choose the next president. This game is playable by children as young as elementary school and by adults as old as 80. Election Lab was developed by Stuart Criley, Williams Criley and Richard Criley.
A Bronze medal for PreSchool educational games also went to GOGO STAR, an AI based interactive projection system which encourages children 3-8 years to engage in physical activity and benefits their physical wellness and social-emotional health. GOGO Star was created by SINDRAX Technology Co, Ltd, in collaboration with Zhejiang University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, East China Normal University and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
For information on the International Serious Play Awards, go here: https://www.seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs/
Media Contact:
Sue Bohle
310 721 9083