Rubikon is a unique teaching aid for pupils at the lower secondary stage of elementary school. It is designed to help teachers make their pupils more aware of how society works, improve their financial literacy, and encourage and motivate them to behave better in the real world. Teachers can also use it to show youngsters how to avoid the potential threats in cyberspace that the current generation of children encounters on a day-to-day basis.
Rubikon takes the form of a computer game linked to the real world and school. Although it draws on children’s natural interest in the latest technology, it is not about gaming for its own sake, and the focus is not on the virtual world. Just the opposite, as it centres around how pupils act in the real world, its main purpose being to shape their character and give them the skills they need in life.
See below for a brief description of the basic elements of Rubikon, which are designed to create an appealing play setting for the children while also putting a framework in place that enables them to gain formative experience. The page numbers in brackets refer to more detailed information contained in the Rubikon guidebook.
1) Pupils gain various benefits in Rubicon based on how they behave and perform in the real world, which is an interesting form of motivation and, according to teachers, one that has a visible impact on their actions (p. 28-31).
2) The teacher launches a scenario in Rubikon (e.g. Municipal Laws, Flood… p. 12 and 36-48), to which the pupils can respond in a variety of ways, giving them the chance to try out a mock-up of various real-life situations. This has been shown to really get them involved and they immerse themselves in the events, creating the potential for them to learn from the consequences of their decisions and therefore gain some life experience, albeit only within the game.
3) The pupils discuss what goes on in Rubikon with their teacher, so this gives them the opportunity to reflect on and evaluate how well they work in relation to one another and as part of a team (and hence in society – as part of the game, the youngsters have to agree on the laws for their municipality), and also how they are with handling their finances (in the game, everyone has to manage their own money, provide for their own needs, has the option to take out a loan, and so on – just like in everyday life).
4) In Rubikon, pupils encounter certain limitations that have an important significance:
– Everyone has just one life, so how players treat that their life (finances, food, rest…) and what decisions they make play a really crucial role. (One exception is possible resurrection – see p. 17-18.)
– The amount of time a day children can spend in Rubikon is limited, to prevent them from spending all their time staring at their computer or mobile phone.
5) In return for their exemplary behaviour during the game, pupils may be awarded the title of Knight. If they do, after the end of the game they are ceremonially knighted (in an actual ceremony, attended by their classmates, teachers and parents) and presented with a Rubikon Ring (p. 10, 32-33 and 68). Here, knighthood is a form of motivation and a reward for consistently honourable conduct, and also sets a positive example for other players.
What have we achieved so far?
Rubikon has already been played by around 1,000 pupils at some 30 schools in the Hradec Králové region as part of a pilot project carried out in 2009-12. The scenarios were created in collaboration with the Faculty of Education of the University of Hradec Králové.
Where are we heading?
We know want to upgrade Rubikon in line with the times and offer it to schools once again. We are convinced that it is essential to bring up youngsters to respect values such as cooperation and honesty, help them to build good relations, and teach them basic financial literacy and critical thinking skills, and that in this regard Rubikon can play a very positive role in shaping young minds for the better.
In the future we are also planning to create new scenarios (see point 2), so that children playing Rubikon encounter current topics and challenges that are relevant to our modern age. We are open to suggestions from teachers and parents, who are in contact with children on a day-to-day basis, after all, and would be glad to draw on their experience. Should you have any idea as well, we will be very happy if you let us know. 🙂
We want to obtain funding from various institutions to cover the further development of the project, on which we plan to collaborate with the Faculty of Informatics and Management and the Faculty of Education of the University of Hradec Králové, as well as with schools in the Hradec Králové region.
After upgrade, we want to offer Rubikon to all schools in the Czech Republic and abroad.