In the United States, the development of socio-emotional skills has also attracted interest in the games industry names. The sociologist, historian and American entrepreneur Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts, producer of the series of football games Madden and FIFA, is the one who decided to devote himself to educational software. In March this year, his newest company, If You Can Company, launched the IF … (If …), game for children aged 6 to 12 years exclusively for the Apple iPad tablet, which has already reached 500,000 downloads in the App Store.
“The power of learning with games always attracted me because you make choices and see the consequences,” says Hawkins. Be indoors or in the company, which produces games that stand out for simulation competition, the competitive environment has always been part of your routine. “Over the last 10 years, worried me think about what legacy my generation would leave for our children. And I decided I wanted to do something about it, “he says.
The turning point came when his daughters enrolled in a school that is dedicated to teach social-emotional skills, such as empathy and compassion, The Nueva School in San Mateo, in the state of California. Gradually, one of his daughters began to correct their behavior. There was born the idea for criarção IF …, whose name is inspired by the poem of the writer Rudyard Kipling .
For the development of IF .., Hawkins said to have used the pioneering plan for socio-emotional education developed seven years ago by the state of Illinois and also schools like KIPP and School Anchorage, Alaska. In addition to former developers from Electronic Arts, are part of the If You Can Company representatives Casel.org site, the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and the Institute for Social and Emotional Learning, founded by former responsible for the pedagogic plan of The Nueva School.
Within the game, the children create an avatar dog and adventure by Ziggurat, world led by energy fields. A guru named YouDog help in resolving questions involving social-emotional skills, such as gratitude, cooperation, patience and teamwork.
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