Today’s global society is driven by technology. Access to technology plays a significant role in the global economy. Without it, a country cannot develop, which subsequently has an impact on the whole world and results in a digital divide. There are still many developing countries that have no access to even some of the basic desktop computers. However, the distribution of mobile phones all over the world is growing fast due to their low cost. There are now over 3.3 billion subscribers, an estimate of one per every two people on the planet. This is why mobile learning has become a new idea for a possible solution that can bridge the global digital divide. Using mobile phones for learning in and out of schools can help children in developing countries become more innovative and as a result, more successful with their businesses in the future, which subsequently increase their countries’ capital, bringing the world one step closer to bridging the digital divide.

Biz Smart is a multi-platform business simulator game that was designed for higher education students, aged 18-25, who want to go into business management or start their ... Read More

Today’s global society is driven by technology. Access to technology plays a significant role in the global economy. Without it, a country cannot develop, which subsequently has an impact on the whole world and results in a digital divide. There are still many developing countries that have no access to even some of the basic desktop computers. However, the distribution of mobile phones all over the world is growing fast due to their low cost. There are now over 3.3 billion subscribers, an estimate of one per every two people on the planet. This is why mobile learning has become a new idea for a possible solution that can bridge the global digital divide. Using mobile phones for learning in and out of schools can help children in developing countries become more innovative and as a result, more successful with their businesses in the future, which subsequently increase their countries’ capital, bringing the world one step closer to bridging the digital divide.

Biz Smart is a multi-platform business simulator game that was designed for higher education students, aged 18-25, who want to go into business management or start their own companies. Biz Smart allows learners to make decisions in a safe environment, before exposing them to potentially risky or dangerous situations; it helps learners develop ideas and concepts in order to make their real-life company a success, which will contribute to their country’s development.

Biz Smart combines the ideas of a Tamagotchi and a tycoon game in order to create a virtual business that needs to be cared for and managed over time to become a success. Automated calculation processes run on the background to work out the results for each business element based on the player’s activities. These figures allow learners to self-assess their actions and form expectations about the consequences that their future behaviours are likely to bring.

Unlike the typical single player tycoon games, Biz Smart uses social learning theory as its main methodology. Players have to communicate and collaborate with each other to trade and create business deals. This includes learning foreign trade, which is a key element to a successful international business. The players can observe other players’ behaviours and their outcomes, forcing them to learn from each other, which can highly affect the player’s business decisions, such as pricing their products, buying particular assets or creating product offers.

Additionally, Biz Smart’s players can take challenges, designed using Gordon Pask’ adaptive teaching machine model, which can be defined as ‘an architecture that learns from the inhabitant just as the inhabitant learns from the architecture’. This concept brings machine teaching closer to human teaching, making the application more effective. The player will get a challenge best adapted to his recent game activity and results, focusing on the player’s weaknesses. This will generate a challenge best suited for quicker leaning of the concept in question by getting the player to concentrate on this element and improve it within a time limit.

Overall, Biz Smart is a combination of various learning methods, along with realistic business management elements accessorised with up-to-date exchange rates and real-life geographical coordinates, all transformed onto a mobile device with an objective to make its users more business smart to increase their country’s capital in the future. Read Less