A NEW SERIOUS GAME FOR CHILDREN TO EXPLAIN INNOVATION AND ENHANCE CREATIVITY
Year: 2021
Editor: Grierson, Hilary; Bohemia, Erik; Buck, Lyndon
Author: Boyet, Eloïse; Couture, Lucile; Granier, Louis; Roudes, Thomas; Vidal, Agathe; Maranzana, Nicolas; Jean, Camille
Series: E&PDE
Institution: ENSAM, France
Section: Innovation and Creativity in Design and Engineering Education
DOI number: 10.35199/EPDE.2021.32
ISBN: 978-1-912254-14-9
Abstract
Serious games designed for children are soaring on the market. Nonetheless, very few tackle the subjects of innovation and creativity [1]. The purpose of this article is to present a new serious game to address this point. In fact, a project was carried out two years ago, resulting in a serious game called ‘Lino has an idea!’, which had interesting approaches. The team had registered feedbacks on their game from teachers and student from third and fifth grade. The conclusions of this experiment were that children had difficulties in understanding the different steps in the game, specifically the brainstorming methods. A serious game is an educational game that aims the development of a competence in a ludic way [2]. The purpose of our serious game is to create an immersive universe where children can learn how an idea can be developed and become a project. The different steps of the innovation process will be based on the different stages of innovation: introduction (problem statement), divergence phase (creative techniques, first creative production), convergence phase (evaluation of ideas, second creative production), synthesis (taking a step back from the process used). Our target customers are teachers and children in primary school. The game is meant to be played within the class. One of our goals is also to make the game more immersive for children, so they can really be invested in it and enjoy playing. To do this we will make the board and cards colorful, the board will be easy to interact with and solid. There will also be dice with elements of ideas, so that the children can create their idea of innovation by rolling the dice. Finally, we thought about making the game more physical, with different tables representing the different steps of the day, and children going from a table to another during the game. This idea will keep them active and invested in the game. The serious part of this game includes a time to brainstorm around the methods of creativity used in the innovation field. This part of the game was previously considered difficult for children to understand, so we will simplify it in this new version of the game. The game has four different ‘trick’ cards. A different creativity process is described on each card. The ‘5Q technique’ allows the children to understand the effects of a problem by questioning yourself five times. The ‘mental card’ promotes the graphic display of information to make it more readable. The ‘technical inversion’ card explains how to take the problem posed upside down to solve it more simply. Finally, the ‘432 method’ card explains how four people write down three different ideas each, in two minutes. To interest children and integrate them fully into the game, explanatory videos will be provided for each ‘trick’ cards. These videos will simplify the children's understanding of the concepts of innovation. Videos will also make the interaction funnier. [1] A. Cortes Sobrino et al, EPDE17 [2] C. Libe, A et al, EPDE20
Keywords: Innovation, Creativity, Serious game, Children, Immersive Universe