In an unexpected move, the University of Idaho will be offering a college course in pop culture games that is inspired by the Pokemon Go phenomenon. The physical activity class encourages students to explore their communities through smartphone game apps like Pokemon Go and Humans vs Zombies (a live action game). The course also teaches about the importance of living an active lifestyle and building teamwork.
The course instructor of this very unusual gym class, Steven Bird, sees pop culture games like Pokemon Go as an opportunity to build teams and learn leadership skills. Although Bird has been developing the curriculum since before the viral app exploded, he plans on leveraging its popularity in his class. The course will be available as part of the Fall 2016 course schedule at UI.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Pop Culture Games in Education
- Integrating popular smartphone games into education settings to engage students and teach valuable skills.
- Active Learning Through Gaming
- Using gamification to encourage physical activity and foster teamwork in educational settings.
- Leveraging Viral Apps for Education
- Taking advantage of the popularity of viral mobile applications to enhance learning experiences.
Sectors Adopting This
- Education
- Exploring innovative approaches to engage students and enhance learning outcomes.
- Gaming
- Creating opportunities to apply gaming principles and mechanics for educational purposes.
- Technology
- Developing and adapting technology platforms to support gamified education experiences.
