Using games to learn economics and resource management

This was an Individuals and Societies (I&S) task and there were two parts to the task.

In the first part, we had to give a visual representation of a country we created. The whole premise was that we were the owners or presidents or prime ministers of the countries we created and how we were managing the country by making it efficient, using resources wisely, controlling pollution, and satisfying the needs and wants of the citizens of the country.

We used two apps: 2020mycountry and SIM City. The choice was left to the students – on how comfortable they were with apps and technology. The students chose either of these two apps to make their countries, described the countries in words, and explained the workings of the country to the teacher and to other students using screenshots. Most students chose 2020mycountry.

The second part was actually where we had to explain in detail what happens in our countries. For example, how would we use the laws in our power to save our country’s resources and control the country’s waste management practices. It was like what a prime minister would do. These descriptions and details were written in an essay format in a Word document.

Through this task, we were learning economics, resource management, business – we were learning to be economical, learning to save. It was exciting – possibly the best project we’ve done until now. We were giving suggestions and using our creativity to make our own country. It reflected what was on our minds. Everyone was very happy, especially during the visual part of using the game to create the country. Everyone was working on the task in whatever free time they could find.

We should have more tasks like this one, where we can use apps and technology to visually present our work and creativity.

Akshat Shahjade