For those of you who don’t know, the Digital Media Learning Competition is an annual competition started in 2007 funded by the government and other non-profit organizations (HASTAC and the MacArthur Foundation) to award grants to help individuals and organizations come up with “the most novel uses of new media in support of learning.”

This year’s theme is “Reimagining Learning” and has two categories for entrants: 21st Century Learning Lab Designers and Game Changers.  You might be thinking we’d be entering our game, Q Racer, for the Game Changers category, but that isn’t the case.  Game Changers is partly sponsored by Sony and involves coming up with new ways to use their game, Little Big Planet, to encourage learning and sharing.  While it is an interesting category we are more interested on creating a new platform that combines fun learning and fun gaming.  That’s why we chose to enter the Learning Labs portion of the competition.  This is the official description for Learning Lab Designers:

Winners will receive awards for learning environments and digital media-based experiences that allow young people to grapple with social challenges through activities based on the social nature, contexts, and ideas of science, technology, engineering and math. Digital media of any type (social networks, games, virtual worlds, mobile devices or others) may be used. Proposals are also encouraged for curricula or other experiences that link or connect to any game. Learning labs may be designed around new games or expand the potential of open source or commercial games.

Those selected as finalists in this category will be awarded with a grant ranging from 30,000 to 200,000 (depending on how much you specify you need).  To be considered for the competition entrants had to submit a project 300 word description.  With all this in mind we took our concept of Q Racer and expanded it and entered the competition with what we call “QRWB: Q Racer World Battle.”  You can read our official entry which has been publicly posted on the competition website or read it below:

Educational video games have enormous potential to reach students outside the classroom. The problem is students seldom play these games. However, imagine an educational game so fun and addictive that students actually want to play it. Quiz Racer World Battle (QRWB) is such a game. A game where students have fun learning by competing, creating, and sharing with others around the world.

QRWB is a racing game playable on Facebook or iPhone. Students race against friends, teachers, parents, and other players. As a player races, different questions are presented. By selecting correct answers, avoiding wrong answers, and using in-game items and powers they progress towards the finish line. Players select from question lists like World Country Capitals, Spanish Food Vocabulary, or 20th Century Inventors. Lists are multimedia: allowing text, audio, or images. Players could match audio clips of Spanish words to their English translations or match pictures of inventions to their inventors. The game’s learning engine monitors a player’s performance and optimizes the order, frequency, and timing of questions to best ensure learning. The result is a customized learning experience that adapts and continually challenges a player’s knowledge level.

Racing is not the only part of QRWB. Players can create, share, and collaborate on question lists. List topics can be diverse; students can build lists around their personal interests, teachers can build around their lesson plans, and organizations can build around their causes. Players are incentivized to engage with QRWB through the earning of virtual goods, challenges from friends, real-time multiplayer competition, and periodic tournaments.

QRWB mission is two fold: create a fun experience and teach something valuable. By accomplishing this Quiz Racer World Battle is a game that could be played in the classroom, but more importantly, would be played outside the classroom.”

We basically took our concept of Quiz Racer and expanded it by allowing people to play it on Facebook and other social networking platforms.  We’ll be judged on the following criteria:

• Encourage opportunities for critical feedback, collaboration and sharing of work and learning with an audience of peers?
• Enable the sharing of data, information, or knowledge?
• Invite social engagement and interaction in support of learning?
• Provide low barriers to production and distribution, supporting, making, doing and/or tinkering?
• Create or use existing platforms for ongoing and immediate feedback?
• Establish or use channels for distribution?
• Improve skills or knowledge in an area of a defining challenge?
• Trigger continued engagement across different media forms and/or contexts (i.e., schools, libraries, museums, after-school learning environments, home, mobile or virtual etc)?
• Engage young people in creating the learning experiences for others?
• Define the role of mentors, guides, and other practitioners?
• Challenge traditional notions of authority and expertise?
• Advance dispositions and habits of mind that are nurtured by an understanding of science, technology, engineering and math?

What do you guys think?  From our description do you think we address these points?

What are our chances of winning?  Last year 19 projects were selected as finalists and awarded grants out of a field of over 700 entries.  This year in the Learning Lab’s category alone there are 728 entrants. Combined with the Game Changer’s category the total number of entries is at 795.  Right off the bat the probability of use being selected as a finalist is 2.4%.  Not the greatest odds, but still in the realm of possibility.

What’s next for us?  We have to re-submit our application again and then it will be judged by their expert panel.  From there if we score high enough we’ll be invited to upload a 3 minute machinima-style video demo and a budget narrative.  After that then they’ll decide who the finalists are.  So when you think about it the whole competition boils down to our 300 word description, 3 minute video, and budget narrative.  Pretty crazy stuff.  We’re excited though.  If you guys have any feedback feel free to post comments here are on the entry itself.  Wish us luck!