Innovation Profile: Centennial College
Centennial College and Spongelab Interactive on their Game
One good revolution deserves another. That's the premise behind a Toronto-based educational game developer's R&D partnership with Centennial College.
Spongelab Interactive is a three-time international award winner for its instructional biology game, Genomics Digital Lab. Schools in more than 50 countries are using this interactive learning software, demonstrating the growing demand for game-based teaching tools. Intel has also endorsed the module for its Classmate PC laptops.
Spongelab co-founder Dr Jeremy Friedberg is ready to do it again with a game on the genomics revolution and the history of biology, and he's doing it with help from Centennial College Biotechnology Professor Dr Paula Demacio and five students.
"We're a small firm, doing cutting-edge development," says Dr Friedberg. "Our work is very technically challenging and requires a lot of passion and perseverance. The talent at Centennial has been an enormous asset, especially with this particular game's strong development challenges."
A Centennial computer science student took on the game's first challenge, helping to develop the customized game engine to support self-directed learning through interactive simulations and modules. Another Centennial biotechnology student and three design students took on the remaining challenges: historical content, an engaging storyline, randomized content for each student's game mission, and stunning digital artwork. Complete with tutorials and monitoring tools, the game will launch in fall 2010 and be fully accessible online for a licensing fee, with no required downloads.
Funding from the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation supported the college students' participation during co-op work terms and Demacio's role as project advisor. Possible future partnerships for Spongelab and Centennial may include an online health literacy project.
Toronto Region is the ideal location for such interactions. It is home to many of Ontario's 800 digital media companies and their 18,000 employees. About 130 Ontario university and college programs in engineering, computer science and digital media educate highly skilled workers in these dynamic fields.
© 2011 Toronto Region Research Alliance