The SMU and Literacy Instruction for Texas (LIFT) team was named today one of eight semifinalists advancing in the $7 million Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE presented by Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The XPRIZE is a global competition that challenges teams to develop mobile applications designed to increase literacy skills in adult learners.
SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development and Guildhall graduate video game development program are working with LIFT to design an engaging, puzzle-solving smartphone game app to help adults develop literacy skills. The SMU and LIFT team, PeopleForWords, is one of 109 teams who entered the competition in 2016.
Drawing upon the education experts at SMU’s Simmons School, game developers at Guildhall and adult literacy experts at LIFT, the team developed “Codex: Lost Words of Atlantis. ” In the game, players become archeologists hunting for relics from the imagined once-great civilization of Atlantis. By deciphering the forgotten language of Atlantis, players develop and strengthen their own reading skills. The game targets English- and Spanish-speaking adults.
Read more at SMU News.
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Team named XPRIZE semifinalist
SMU education experts, Guildhall game developers and Literacy Instruction for Texas (LIFT) collaborated as PeopleForWords to create a mobile puzzle-solving app for adult learners. The team has been named one of eight national semifinalists advancing in the $7 million Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE.