I:Corps: Interactive web-based gaming system for teaching financial literacy

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of an educational software platform for high school students designed to teach financial literacy. The proposed technology transforms any classroom into an interactive gamified environment with elements of chance, risk, strategy, competition, teamwork, advancement and rewards.

In addition, the technology provides opportunities and incentives for teachers, schools and districts to partner with businesses for funding, provisions and services. These partnerships may update the classroom and provide relevance to students’ learning experience. Specifically, teachers aiming to increase student engagement and enhance their classroom experience will benefit and parents may use the platform to communicate with teachers and stay up to date with their child’s class progress.

Schools and school districts will gain from the reports and analytics to evaluate teacher, student and school performance.

This I-Corps project is based on the development of an interactive educational software platform to engage high school students and promote financial literacy. The proposed technology is a web-based game that simulates real-world decision making as it provides students with opportunities to earn, spend, and lose virtual dollars based on their engagement, initiative, and understanding.

In addition, the platform is able to track student performance, understanding, retention, behavior and engagement and is designed to generate state-of-the-art reports and analytics for teachers and students. Students may learn valuable soft skills including responsibility, critical thinking and work ethic while they are introduced to financial literacy skills including online banking, investing, credit, budgeting and even cryptocurrency.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.