| Experian®, the global information services company, has made learning about money, borrowing and spending, easier and more fun for children with the launch of its new Creditability 3D role-playing computer game.
Creditability, powered by Caspian Learning’s Thinking World’s technology, is aimed at children and young adults and provides a unique way for them to learn about managing their finances.
The free game, which has its own Bebo page www.bebo.com/creditability where children can share their views and experiences, can be downloaded at www.experian.co.uk/learningzone. Creditability allows players to engage with a range of online characters and to learn in an interactive 3D environment. It takes players on a journey through four separate environments where they learn, through a range of challenges, about different financial scenarios. These include budgeting and managing money, renting or buying a property, avoiding identity fraud, and applying for and managing credit.
Creditability has been developed and tested in secondary schools across the country and comes with teacher notes and lesson plans. Tony Winfield, Head of ICT at Chilwell School in Nottingham, comments: “We've had a group of Year 10 students using the game and their response has been absolutely great. Creditability engages the children in an innovative, interesting and fun way, helping them to learn about managing their own finances - which has often been seen as a dry subject.”
James Jones, Consumer Education Manager at Experian, comments: “As financial decisions become ever more crucial and complex, it’s essential we equip our youngsters with the skills and knowledge they will need to manage money and credit successfully. While Experian is well known for promoting responsible lending, under our long-running consumer education programme we also work on a number of initiatives to encourage responsible borrowing. We hope young learners will find our latest resource, Creditability, a fun and engaging way to learn about money and credit.”
The game is already gaining recognition in the education sector after being awarded a Quality Mark by pfeg, the Personal Finance Education Group. Creditability is also receiving praise from the credit industry. Philip King, Director General of the Institute of Credit Management, comments: "The ICM is pleased to be lending its support to Creditability, which brings the issue of credit directly into the classroom. It is a well-thought out and executed learning project for young people that introduces them to the positive aspects of credit as well as the dangers of financial mismanagement."
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