PlayCraft

PlayCraft is a web-based education game securing the well-being and success of kids in life. We are doing it by helping them from early age (4-6 years old) to develop cognitive, emotional and social skills through play. Creating an educational game for tablets and phablets with a constantly developing narrative, where games and social challenges are embedded. The greatest challenge we are facing is that traditional education does not provide sufficient training on key skills (e.g. effective communication, problem solving, concentration, emotional regulation, tolerance, critical thinking, team-work, creativity and more). We are working on an innovative solution outside and beyond the educational system: To design, program, implement and develop a Play & Learn Online Platform (PLOP) to train children and youngsters between 4-15 years old on key skills. The platform will provide consistent and logically constructed training with incorporated specific methodologies and simulation exclusively designed for learning through play. Starting with kids between 4-6 years old and then scaling. To make training easily available, accessible and cheap to as many children as possible, we use their natural learning environment - Internet. As a first part on the road of creating a Play & Learn Online Platform (PLOP) we are developing and educational game for tablets and phablets. In it learning occurs in the context of a fairy-tale narrative, exploration of authentic learning situations and fun of playing different embedded games. It is supported by friendly Computer Characters taking on different roles (protagonist, antagonist, observer, and facilitator) in assisting interactively the learner's free choice and reaction modelling. The game has built-in permission to fail, which makes it a safe place for exploration of different behaviour strategies and receiving instant feed-back. Most importantly it aims of increasing self-reflection, self-understanding and confidence.