Jeanne Petrizzo with EnVeritas Group wrote a fantastic blog post about a Questalot game used at BJU in its Principles of Accounting class. The article is reposted with permission.
It’s all fun and games until… well, it’s always fun and games with Gamemaster Inc.’s brilliant gaming platform, Questalot. Questalot is a unique, interactive scavenger hunt app that has an extensive range of uses and purposes to draw in employees and customers of any company in any industry. From team-building activities to promotional challenges, businesses and schools can customize the app to accomplish a variety of objectives, from customer/student retention to internal exercises.
Recently, Mr. Chris Rawlings, a CPA and accounting professor at Bob Jones University, hosted a Questalot game as a form of extra credit for his Principles of Accounting class. Students could voluntarily participate for ten extra credit points, and if they didn’t have a smartphone, they could join another student who did. Of the 123 class members, 121 signed up, and about 70% participated to the fullest level. For students, the game was designed to provide an interactive and interesting way to engage in and out of the classroom and network with potential employers and alumni.
The series of challenges included answering daily questions, visiting the campus’ Career Services office and checking in with the GPS-enabled app, finding and meeting an upperclassman, snapping a photo with a member of one of the college’s sports teams, and researching and answering trivia about accounting companies like Ernst & Young and KPMG.
While the students benefitted immensely in regard to extra credit points, and the actual game benefits, the host, Mr. Rawlings, was able to obtain valuable data and rich analytics in a non-invasive manner. His goals were to address and promote retention, increase school spirit, reintegrate mobile technology, encourage peer-to-peer learning and generally make learning enjoyable, all of which he was able to accomplish through the game.
With the inclusion of questions about accounting companies and other local businesses, Mr. Rawlings was able to promote sponsorship and obtain prizes for the game winners and also provide an opportunity for accounting firms to interact with students as freshman, rather than waiting late into their college careers when it might be too late to recruit.
The Principles of Accounting game is just a case study and small example in the field of higher education. Consider the giant world of possibilities for the Questalot app. The game creates an experience that draws the user in and can be customized for almost any purpose in any industry. With the GPS-enabled challenges, the game can promote visits to a certain company location and encourage recurring revenue.
From team-building exercises and promotional contests to student orientation and mobile learning along with an array of other ideas, the Questalot app holds the power to provide a unique gaming experience for users and valuable measurable data for game hosts. With this brilliant tool designed by Gamemaster, everyone is a winner.
Jeanne Petrizzo – Writer/Editor
