Exploring global citizenship through virtual travel

Virtual travel through the Asia-Pacific allows ākonga to develop global citizenship values.

The concept of Aotearoa Explorers, a digital tool for exploring the Asia-Pacific, was first presented at the Global Citizenship Teachers’ Forum in Hamilton last year, where it received an overwhelmingly positive response.

It’s a browser-based learning tool designed for ākonga in Years 5–8 and is available in both English and te reo Māori. The learner, or explorer, creates an avatar and then takes virtual tours of countries in North Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

In each country, the student can select up to three communities to explore – typically a city, a rural region and one that is more traditional. They can then interact with locals and learn more about the place they are visiting with encouragement from a series of prompts.

At the start of each level, the player sees a pop-up delivered by a friendly kākāpō, a companion that accompanies them throughout their adventures. The pop-up tells them what they need to look for, for example, in Japan it might be that they need to interact with a Sumo wrestler and find out more about them.

After every interaction, the student receives a notification in their online scrapbook so they can keep track of their experiences with the locals. And at the end is a quiz based on information shared throughout that level.

Demystifying Asia-Pacific

Project manager Hélène Eunson says the game is designed to demystify the Asia-Pacific and the cultures that are becoming increasingly visible in New Zealand.

The Asian population of New Zealand is predicted to rise to 26 percent (one in four people) by 2043 meaning that respect for each other’s lifestyles and culture is imperative. Similarly, the number of Latin Americans living in Aotearoa tripled in the decade to 2018 (Stats NZ) and is predicted to continue rising.

According to the New Zealand Centre for Global Studies, global citizenship education fosters a curiosity to examine the interdependent and interconnected nature of our shared humanity. Being a global citizen begins with young people exploring who they are in the world. This involves developing a deep understanding of self within local, regional, national, and global communities. It is about being aware of, and interested in, the wider world.

In Aotearoa, global citizenship education is embedded within the vision, values, principles, and key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum and can be integrated across a range of learning areas.

A cross-agency effort

The learner creates an avatar and sets off to explore different places and cultures.

Hélène is based at the University of Otago and works for the Centres of Asia-Pacific Excellence (CAPEs) which is a consortium of four universities funded by the Tertiary Education Commission and formed to help New Zealanders prepare for and find success in the Asia-Pacific region.

CAPEs commissioned the game and Hélène led the project, collaborating closely with developers Māui Studios, academics from the University of Otago, and teachers across Aotearoa.

The idea for the game came about as a solution to pandemic restrictions which prevented Hélène and her colleagues from their usual mahi with schools, delivering workshops about New Zealand’s relationship with the
Asia-Pacific.

“We kept having to postpone or completely cancel workshops, so we needed to find a way to reach schools without being compromised by Covid. We also needed a solution to reach rural schools that often get left behind and which had expressed a desire to benefit from our initiatives.”

The solution also needed to address both teachers’ and students’ needs, that is, being educational yet fun and engaging.

The team consulted widely with kaiako and ākonga, the CAPEs education team based at the University of Waikato who advised on promoting global citizenship, and a diverse academic group at the University of Otago.

“The CAPEs themselves focus on an individual region (North Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America), regions are represented by three teams, and within the teams they have a lot of expertise and links with those specific regions. They’ve been able to ensure the visuals are appropriate and that cultures are represented correctly,” says Hélène.

Kaiako input

Hélène says the teachers’ conference was an excellent opportunity to share the concept with teachers and principals. People were able to ask questions and give suggestions, and some took it back to their schools to share with ākonga.

Kaiako especially liked that they could use a teacher’s dashboard to keep ngā tamariki safe online, and that students did not need to create accounts. The dashboard allows teachers to track students’ progress and to switch between two modes of free play.

Teachers’ feedback also prompted developers to change the font to a plain, easy-to-read type and the text box colour to make it more accessible to children with visual difficulties. Hélène says the team is also looking at ways to add audio as an alternative way to engage with the content.

Māui Studios’ idea to add an option to Explore Aotearoa was a hit.

“We hadn’t planned to but then we thought, ‘Our understanding of global citizenship starts with understanding our own identity and also it would be fun’.”

Patrick Hussey, director of Māui Studios, says working on Aotearoa Explorers was “wonderful”.

“We tautoko the work CAPEs are doing to inspire a passion for cultural learning and bringing awareness of the importance of the Asia-Pacific region to Aotearoa New Zealand, and the world.” 

Ākonga are similarly taken with the game.

“I really liked the fact you could pick your avatar and that there was different music for each place,” says one student. “And I enjoyed the different little things you had to take photos of in each place and the people you have to talk to. I enjoyed walking around and exploring.”

Aotearoa Explorers has been developed for students in Years 5–8.

A prompt for further learning

A booklet containing information and ideas, in both te reo Māori and English, is available to help teachers make the most out of the game by linking in-game experiences to deeper learning about the concept of global citizenship.

“It’s a way to get those conversations started, a prompt for teachers,” says Hélène. “The goal is to demonstrate the diversity of the Asia-Pacific region and what it has to offer.

“We can’t represent all the diversity in those countries and all the different cultures, but what we can do is spark interest and give ākonga a taste of those places. We can make language learning more meaningful by giving them motivation to learn a specific language or help them understand why it’s important to speak Spanish, for instance, when they explore Argentina.”

Kaiako will also be provided with a support email address and access to a private Facebook group in which they can share how they use the game in their classroom, what challenges and successes they encounter, and what else they might need.

The team is now working on a short documentary about the making of Aotearoa Explorers and the kaupapa behind the project.

“There will be content in there for teachers who want to understand where this is coming from and why it’s important,” says Hélène.

For further information visit our website www.aotearoaexplorers.nz(external link)