PIXELearning's Business Success To Launch For GCSE Students

Officials from UK-based PIXELearning, which specializes in the application of game and simulation techniques and technologies for training and educational purposes, announced that its serious training game Business Success will be officially launched by European educational organization Edexcel on November 16. PIXELearning's co-founder Kevin Corti commented to Serious Games Source in a recent interview that that Business Success is an update of PIXELearning The Business Game, and “was modified in conjunction with Edexcel, Europe’s largest exam awarding body part of the Pearson Group, to more closely fit the UK school curriculum.” Business Success is aligned to Edexcel's GCSE Business Studies specification. The game covers a three year life cycle of a product, addressing subjects such as Finance, Marketing, Operations and External Influences. It is a strategy game that will help to get students to look at how they place the different aspects of the subject and form the basis of discussion and learning. Throughout the week of November 16, dubbed Enterprise Week, students studying Edexcel's Business Studies GCSE will be offered the chance to play the game in a virtual 'league'. The winning student will win an iPod for themselves and a copy of the game for their school. One copy of the game enables teachers to give their students unlimited access for one year. "Enterprise education can help raise aspirations and develop valuable skills for both higher education and employment,” commented Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel's managing director. “Students enjoy being given the autonomy to tackle relevant problems, take responsibility for their own actions, engage in real issues and evaluate the outcomes of their decisions. And Business strongly supports the acquisition of entrepreneurial attributes as an important factor in developing a skilled workforce and a dynamic economy."