In this era of standards-based education, schools are always under pressure to prepare students for examinations, resulting in the prevalence of rote learning as the dominant means of education. DING-DONG YOUR OPINION IS WRONG is an AR-integrated card game which aims to provide a means for which children from age 15 can develop and nurture critical thinking skills absent in present-day pedagogy in a fun and engaging way.
In this era of standards-based education, schools are always under pressure to prepare students for examinations, resulting in the prevalence of rote learning as the dominant means of education. DING-DONG YOUR OPINION IS WRONG is an AR-integrated card game which aims to provide a means for which children from age 15 can develop and nurture critical thinking skills absent in present-day pedagogy in a fun and engaging way.
Rote learning, a learning mode based on memorization of information based on repetition, has been the dominant means of education for more than a century — being increasingly prevalent despite the progressive times we live in today, all to fuel our obsessions with grades and mere numbers as we increasingly lose sight of the fundamental purpose of education. This mode of learning inhibits children’s innate nature to question and hence develop critical thinking skills which are essential in developing generations of competent individuals capable of fueling progressive development across all fields, especially as we move into a new era of innovation.
So how can we encourage an engaging development of critical thinking skills and increase the overall quality of education?
A card game that requires (or forces) you to think critically to win — with a little something more extra (and in trend) to make it cooler than any regular card game.
The card game is to be played by 3 or more players of age 15 and above. It consists of two decks of cards: “Issue” Cards containing debatable real-world topics, and “Answer” Cards containing varying stances to the issues. In each round, the dealer reveals an Issue Card from the deck for the other players to play an Answer Card in which they have to convince the dealer to select. As not all Answer Cards on a players’ hand would necessarily reflect his/her personal stance, the game forces its players to put themselves in the opposition’s perspective to argue for their answer, hence promoting critical thinking skills within the gameplay as it asks if there really ever is a right or wrong to any answer.
Each Issue Card has an AR marker on its upper left corner which could be scanned via a smartphone’s camera to reveal a randomized relevant fact and facilitate the gameplay, presenting a unique, digital and interactive educational aspect to the game. (Beta: Use your mobile device to go on https://dingdongwrong.glitch.me/ and test it on the fake news card above!)
A vibrant and playful visual design is employed to present the gameplay and its serious topics as less of a daunting but fun activity to engage in. The use of a straightforward illustrative style and choice of issues presents potential in the game’s international outreach as it lacks any reliance of cultural specificity, opening the opportunity for the game to promote critical thinking skills on a global scale.
