A university in the United Kingdom is allowing students to play popular augmented reality mobile game Pokémon GO as part of the requirements for a degree. Is this a brilliant move to get more students interested in the program, or a gimmick that does nothing for students?
Students under the business information technology program in Salford University are being allowed to play Pokémon GO in a move that the school claims would make the course more accessible.
"We want new students to feel that our subject is accessible and easy to grasp," said Salford lecturer David Kreps. He claims that Pokémon GO is perfect for the cause.
In Pokémon GO, players use their smartphones to track and capture Pokémon in the real world, which can then be trained up to battle other Pokémon that players have left to defend gyms.
To make the gameplay possible, the mobile game utilizes different kinds of information systems that can be accessed through the internet, along with the GPS sensor and camera of the smartphones of players. With these technology featured in Pokémon GO, Kreps and Salford University could be thinking that it would be an interesting way to introduce these tools to students.
Kreps added that students will be asked to play Pokémon GO, progressing through the course will require them to go through more complicated things, though it was not clear if this meant tackling harder challenges on Pokémon GO or if it meant moving on to more advanced and business-minded software.
However, Campaign for Real Education's Chris McGovern is decidedly against the idea, calling the move as "farcical." According to critics, using Pokémon GO as a part of the program's curriculum is indicative of how degrees are being dumbed down, with McGovern adding that it encouraged students to enroll in a program which only led to limited job opportunities.
Pokémon GO certainly does not have an image that can easily be associated with academics, and that is not helped by the research that was recently released by recruitment specialist Ajilon. According to the study, millennials in the United States waste a lot of their working hours on various online pastimes, including browsing social media and playing Pokémon GO. The survey found that 27 percent of the participants were distracted from being productive due to playing the mobile game.
Is Salford University ahead of its time in using a mobile game such as Pokémon GO to attract students and teach academic principles? Or is the institution simply using the popularity of the app as a gimmick? The debate continues.
