Virtual Crew

Crucial Crew is an educational safety workshop provided by a range of agencies in the form of volunteers in the area to help teach children ages 10/11 years old about Gangs and Knife Crime, Antisocial behaviour, Cyber bullying and Internet Safety, Drugs and Alcohol awareness, Healthy relationships and Hate crime.

The topics and how they affect children

Gangs and Knife Crime - "Children and young people involved with, or on the edges of, gangs might be victims of violence or they might be pressured into doing things like stealing or carrying drugs or weapons. They might be abused, exploited or put into dangerous situations.

For lots of young people, being part of a gang makes them feel part of a family so they might not want to leave. Even if they do, leaving or attempting to leave can be a really scary idea. They might be frightened about what will happen to them, their friends or their family if they leave." (NSPCC, 2015)

Antisocial behaviour - "Children and young people diagnosed with conduct disorders often fail at school or college and become socially isolated. In adolescence, they may misuse drugs and alcohol or become involved with the criminal justice system." (NHS, 2013)

Cyber bullying and Internet Safety - "Cyber bullying affects people from any age or walk of life, including children, teens and adults who all feel very distressed and alone when being bullied online. Cyber bullying can make you feel totally overwhelmed which can result in many feeling embarrassed that they are going through such a devastating time, and not knowing what support is available to them. Many children feel unable to confide in an adult because they feel ashamed and wonder whether they will be judged, told to ignore it or close their account which they might not want to do." (BullyingUK, 2018)

Drugs and Alcohol awareness - "Alcohol interferes with a person's perception of reality and ability to make good decisions. This can be particularly hazardous for kids and teens who have less problem-solving and decision-making experience." (KidsHealth, 2014)

Healthy Relationships - Key topics like consent and grooming stand out within relationships and are usually used when someone is in a negative relationship. This means that healthy relationships are a key part of a young persons life as they are the most common people involved in these sorts of crimes.

Hate Crime - "Hate crime is where the person focuses on your:

- disability

- race or ethnicity

- religion or beliefs

- sexual orientation

- gender identity.

It's still a hate crime if someone makes an assumption about your identity. For example, if someone thinks you are Muslim when you are Sikh.

Hate crime can happen online, in the street, at school, college, work or at home." (childline, 2018)

Crucial Crew -> Virtual Crew?

Crucial Crew has been updated to Virtual Crew because it allows them to deliver the message in a more effective and timely manner to as many pupils as possible.

Opportunities

This allows us to be creative and create a product for a real client and will give us vital experience which we can use in the future. It will allow us to work towards a real brief with tells us exactly what needs to be made.

Educational Games

"Essex County Fire and Rescue Service’s Home Safety Game" (Essex County Fire & Rescue, 2018)

This game requires you to visit the 3 common rooms in the house, the bedroom, kitchen and lounge. In each room you have to click on the objects that could be potentially dangerous. It then gives you a description as to why it might be dangerous. You can then carry on.

You can also select the object and say that it is not dangerous and it would tell you why it would be dangerous so that the user knows for the future.

I think the game is very educational because it teaches you the right and wrong things to do with objects.

The game looks OK, is is a bit dark however I don't think that really means much.

The games usability is interesting, you can select the objects and say whether they are hazardous or not, however when you have selected all the objects, nothing happens. Surely it should at least go back to the title screen.

"Digizen" (Childnet, 2018)

Digizen is a game set in a school that has some interesting mechanics. It teaches a lot about internet safety, online bullying and healthy relationships. You have to complete tests at school about the topic but during these tests you get notifications on your phone about things to distract you.

There is also a story within the game of a boy who was bullied via his phone and you're job is to reassure him (or not?), that everything will be ok. Your choices are optional however so not everything you say may be nice. This means that the game, although educational, doesn't always teach whats right and so should not be taken entirely truthfully.

The game aesthetics link to the game theme very well as it is supposed to be depressing and sad. However it might not be too pleasing to younger children.

The game feels usable and its mechanics are not hard to learn. Certain features may be more difficult that others but overall don't require much skill.

References:

NSPCC (2015) Gangs and young people [Online]. Available from: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/staying-safe-away-from-home/gangs-young-people/ [Accessed 10 December 2018].

NHS (2013) New guidelines on child antisocial behaviour [Online]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/new-guidelines-on-child-antisocial-behaviour/ [Accessed 10 December 2018].

BullyingUK (2018) Effects of cyber bullying [Online]. Available from: https://www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/effects-of-cyberbullying/ [Accessed 10 December 2018].

KidsHealth (2014) Kids and Alcohol [Online]. Available from: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/alcohol.html [Accessed 10 December 2018].

childline (2018) DISCRIMINATION, HATE CRIME AND EQUALITY [Online]. Available from: https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/your-rights/discrimination-hate-crime-equality/ [Accessed 28 December 2018].

Essex County Fire & Rescue (2018) HOME SAFETY [Online]. Available from: http://www.essex-fire.gov.uk/homesafety/ [Accessed 4 January 2019].

Childnet (2018) HOME SAFETY [Online]. Available from: http://www.digizen.org/resources/digizen-game.aspx [Accessed 4 January 2019].