Low-literacy adult readers hunt treasure to improve reading skills
达拉斯(SMU)——一款由SMU和德克萨斯扫盲指导(电梯)共同开发的寻宝智能手机应用程序在周四的比赛中并列获得大奖 Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE. The SMU-电梯 team, 人forWords我赢得了1美元.500万美元作为大奖得主，另外还有100万美元的成就奖，用于帮助成人英语学习者学习阅读的最有效的应用程序.
Using the video game app for Codex: The Lost Words of Atlantis, 玩家将扮演一名有进取心的考古学家，寻找被遗忘的亚特兰蒂斯语言的线索. Keys to finding the lost language are hidden in letter-sound instruction, word lists and consonant and vowel decoding skill-building exercises.
The award for the app, presented Feb. 7 at the Florida Celebration of Reading in Miami, 一项为期四年的全球智能手机应用开发竞赛结束，该竞赛在12个月内为成人学习者的文学技能创造了最大的增长. Reading specialists from SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development, game developers from SMU市政厅 graduate video game development program and adult literacy experts from 电梯, a 达拉斯 nonprofit literacy service provider, 联手开发了一款屡获殊荣的电子游戏，收获的不仅仅是国际荣誉.
“我们很高兴能成为大奖得主，”西蒙斯商学院院长斯蒂芬妮·奈特(Stephanie Knight)说. “但这场竞赛的重要部分是学习帮助识字程度低的成年人成为读者的最有效方法. The development of the app, 通过这个过程收集到的数据，以及我们与电梯的合作关系，只是将阅读改变生活的好处带给低文化水平成年人的开始.”
One of 109 teams who began the competition in 2015, 2017年6月，SMU-电梯团队因《威尼斯人娱乐城》被提名为8名半决赛选手之一. SMU-电梯应用程序在经过12人的测试后，于2018年6月被选为最终奖项的四个决赛选手之一,000 low-literate adults in 达拉斯, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
According to 2018 U.S. 人口普查数据, 25 percent of 达拉斯 County adults do not have a high school diploma, 琳达·约翰逊说, president and CEO of 电梯. “A large percentage don’t have their high school diplomas because they can’t read. And we know low-literacy is a root cause of poverty.”
电梯 and other 达拉斯 literacy providers serve about 14,000 adult learners a year, 约翰逊说, a fraction of the 600,000 low-literate adults in 达拉斯 County. 缺少时间, 运输, child care and energy keep many adults from seeking help, 约翰逊说, but most don’t seek help because they are ashamed they can’t read.
“智能手机识字应用程序对成年人来说是一座金矿，因为他们可以在隐形的外衣下提高识字技能,她说。.
设计ed for adults, the game is a safe learning environment, 科里·克拉克说, deputy director of research at SMU市政厅, assistant professor of computer science and leader of the team of faculty, students and volunteers who developed the game.
“Failure is expected in video games,” he says. “但坚持不懈会得到奖励，让玩家在小的可实现步骤中感到兴奋和成就感.”
阅读研究支持这一点，当个人从事系统和明确的读写实践, most everyone can learn to read, says Diane Gifford, reading specialist, and clinical assistant professor at Simmons. “But low-literate adults have specific needs. They may have learned to recognize the word ‘Stop’ through years of experience. 但是他们还没有学会研究告诉我们的成为一个熟练读者的关键技能——将单词中的字母发音分开并重新组合起来的能力.”
The process of learning to read is a continuum, she says. When a skill is missing, 学生们必须回去填补空白，然后才能有效地继续学习.
吉福德说:“对于成年人来说，我们必须弄清楚是什么技能坏了，然后回去修复它。. 《威尼斯人娱乐城》的美妙之处在于，它以一种通俗易懂且引人入胜的方式强化了阅读技能. It motivates adults and gives them the confidence to keep learning.”
7,000名下载了游戏并提高了阅读技能的玩家留下了一系列信息，这些信息将加强应用程序，并为研究人员提供重要的数据. Data collection is built into the game’s design, Clark says. Each time a player touches the screen, data is collected that records engagement, difficulty and transfer of knowledge.
“SMU-电梯团队现在拥有所有大学中最大的成人读写能力数据集之一,克拉克说。. “我们有机会成为以游戏为基础的成人识字学习的世界领导者.”
克拉克和他的同事们已经向一家学术期刊提交了他们的第一篇研究论文, with more to follow. 更多的数据将在为社区设计的比赛的最后阶段收集. Participating communities with the most literacy downloads will win $500,000. 达拉斯联合劝募会是达拉斯地区的领头羊，计划于2019年3月开始.
“The great value of Codex: Lost Words of Atlantis, 那些认为自己没有能力学习阅读的成年人会被游戏所吸引吗,约翰逊说. “Their success will build their confidence and give them hope.”
Download the Codex app
了解更多:
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人 ForWords named XPRIZE semifinalist
Guildhall partners to develop app that will teach adult literacy
关于团队
SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of 达拉斯. SMU的校友, faculty and nearly 12,在7所授予学位的学校中，000名学生在引领行业变革的过程中展现了企业家精神, communities and the world.
SMU市政厅 is the #1 Graduate Program for Game 设计 in the world. 该学院的许多创始人都是行业偶像，授课的都是行业资深人士. 自2003年以来, the program has graduated over 700 students, who now work at more than 250 video game studios around the world. 新大市政厅提供数字游戏开发互动技术硕士学位和数字游戏开发互动技术专业证书, with specializations in 艺术, 设计, 生产, 和编程.
SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development helps current and future teachers, 辅导员, 中介机构和社区通过提供学位来利用教育的力量, human development programs, continuing studies courses and faculty research on education-related topics. The mission of the school is to integrate theory, research and practice of education and human development; promote academic rigor and interdisciplinary collaboration; educate students for initial certification and professional practice; and nurture collaboration across the academic community.
电梯 (德克萨斯州扫盲指导)是一家总部位于达拉斯的非营利性扫盲服务提供商. 50年来, 电梯一直在通过提高达拉斯/沃斯堡大都会区的成人识字率来改善生活和加强社区. In a calendar year, 电梯 will provide adult literacy, 霍利尔准备, ESL and Family Literacy programs to thousands of adult learners. These classes are taught by 350 active and specially trained volunteers.
关于XPRIZE
XPRIZE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, 在设计和实施创新的竞争模式以解决世界上最大的挑战方面是否处于全球领先地位. XPRIZE utilizes a unique combination of gamification, 众包, incentive 奖 theory, and exponential technologies as a formula to make 10x (vs. 10%) impact in the grand challenge domains facing our world. XPRIZE的理念是，在适当的情况下，从各种不同的角度激发快速实验是推动指数级影响和解决重大挑战的最有效和最有效的方法. Active competitions include the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, 1美元5M Global Learning XPRIZE, 1美元0M Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, the $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE, 1美元.7M Water Abundance XPRIZE, and 1美元M Anu Naveen Jain Women's Safety XPRIZE. For more information, visit www.奖.org.