Well, watch the above video. But the basic gist (as far as I can gather) is that EVOKE is "a crash course in changing the world." In my own words though, it is an online game created for persons 13 years and older that is challenge-based. It is a learning project that nearly 19,000 currently take part in. Each week a new challenge (a global issue) is posed and participants must understand and research the problem, find a solution, resolve the problem, and post to their EVOKE blogs about it. Ah... there's no use in me explaining it, here's a bit of info from the site:
EVOKE is a ten-week crash course in changing the world.
It is free to play and open to anyone, anywhere.
The goal of the social network game is to help empower young people all over the world, and especially young people in Africa, to come up with creative solutions to our most urgent social problems.
The game begins on March 3, 2010. Players can join the game at any time.
On May 12th, 2010 the first season of the game will end, and successful participants will form the first graduating class of the EVOKE network.
Players who successfully complete 10 game challenges will be able to claim their honors: Certified EVOKE Social Innovator – Class of 2010.
Top players will also earn online mentorships with experienced social innovators and business leaders from around the world,seed funding for new ventures, and travel scholarships to share their vision for the future at the EVOKE Summit in Washington DC. (Learn more about these rewards.)
EVOKE was developed by the World Bank Institute, the learning and knowledge arm of the World Bank Group, and directed by alternate reality game master Jane McGonigal.
EVOKE is for all ages; recommended age 13 and up.
So What?:
So this online game is amazing. It's fantastic. It helps raise awareness, create unity, and expand minds. Imagine having your entire class participate and each week the students give a presentation on what they learned and the resolution they came up with. Imagine the possibilities. I think a game like this has the opportunity to not only expand and enrich minds, but stir up goals and inspire dreams. Obviously, it would be difficult to get all students into the game. So I'm not really sure how it would work. Sometimes it's hard to get students excited about this kind of stuff - but with the game format and possible classroom time to work on it, I think the game could be a real hit. Also, if you read the above blurb from the site, you might have noticed that there are online mentorships, seed funding, and travel scholarships for players who receive the most points. Imagine one of your students attaining that level. How fabulous.
Now What?:
I think we should take this innovative idea and run with it. Even if you try it once and it falls flat on its face (which is entirely possible), at least you gave it a try and you set a high bar. I think it's important to present this kind of information and opportunity to students - even if you do it as extra credit and not a whole-class project. Getting students involved in the bigger picture helps them grow more than any amount of time in the classroom.
This is a screen image capture that I took of the page "Agents" on the site. It was amazing to me to see how many students/people were from so many different places. This is a great way to connect with other students around the world as well.
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