CREATING MONEY-EVOKATION

LEARN BY PLAYING-EVOKATION

"Aprende Jugando" was a project some friends and I started at the university, with the goal to teach children and young people financial education and knowledge by playing
a computer simulation game.

The methodology is based in the principle of multiple intelligences, all people have different ways of learning things but all have in common that enjoyment
and fun while doing an activity can be encouraged learning even further.

At the beginning we start with a series of table games developed by us to teach the basic lessons of financial education; after the success we have with some
elementary and Junior High School children we start to tackle other educational
issues from mathematics to history and all kind of subjects and tried to go forward
with the design of a computer simulation game, but the project ended because of
a lack of support from our university and the local authorities.

Now having being involve in the Evoke network where the same idea of solving problems using a game as a tool has show so much support from people around the globe I can
say with confidence that this project is good enough to be my Evokation.

THE CHALLENGE:

In Mexico education has been always a trouble, even if the government spending is high it has always be inefficient and have difficulties to reach the students, many
people cant afford to go to school and become isolated from the economic
activity of society; at the same time the people lucky enough to have the
opportunity to go to school many of them don’t finish more that elementary or
perhaps a little higher, only 10% of the population goes to a university and
can complete a degree.

This situation has left some very significant problems around, one of them the lack of financial knowledge, people have very little information about how the
banking and financial institution work or how they can manage their money so
they can improve their way of life.

The main challenge is improve the knowledge of economic-financial issues of young people so they can apply it to their everyday life, making each one an agent of change
in their family and community.

PLACE

First Stage:

At the beginning the project will be running in low resources schools and community centers around the city of Saltillo, follow by a strict impact evaluation of the
results.

Second Stage:

In the second stage the project will go to the entire Coahuila State and Northeast region of Mexico.

Third Stage:

All the Country and with the support of international organization other development countries around the world.

THE IDEA:

Develop a Financial Simulation Game that can teach by playing the basic principles of money management, financial institution and other skills that help improve the
everyday life of people without access to education or with the lack of
knowledge.

The simulation game can encourage people to stay in school showing them that knowledge can be fun Also it will have a great area of effect because each
people that can participate can share what he learn to other people in his
family or community; this can change the dynamics of communities making them
more aware of their resources and how to employ them to further their
development.

Son in order:

1. - Develop a Financial-Simulation Game

2. Agree with low resources schools to install a weekend session of gaming for the students / the same for community centers where people can have access to
computers so it can play.

3. - Instructors with help with the gaming process helping with the concepts and encouraging people to share what they learn.

4. - Give people tutoring about the projects or ideas they want to put in practice helping them turn what they learned to reality.

THE MONEY:

With the first $1000 USD I will employ a couple of programmers to help with the development of the simulator, and part of it to raise more money to help with
the implementation, the main idea is to take advantage of the technology so the
money will be used to that goal, the project to be successful need to make
technology available to people in a friendly way.

The project will be sustainable because it will generate gains with small fees that can be charged to private schools or people with resources that wish to increase their
knowledge, so the one with resources can keep the project running for those
with no resources.

Money is not that important for the project because it can be run as a volunteer basis, with people from universities giving some times in the weekends and with the
development of the software being made by students and because it takes advantage
of the local infrastructure of schools and community centers.

EVIDENCE:

The First beta version of the simulator game is allready done and the impact evaluation so far shows that around 60% of the people that play in the simulator improves its knowledge in a significat way here I attach the first evaluation results, the doc**ent is in spanish but I can translate one in english if some one request it EXPLICACION GRAFICA.docx