July 21, 2021
Game distills lessons in indigenous learning
An online game aimed at supporting indigenous education goes live today.
Katuku Island took years of development by Dr Phyllis Callaghan and her late husband Craig Callaghan, and draws on their experience in Māori education, including teaching at Gisborne Boys High School, Tūranga Tane.
She says while there are some technical components that required overseas input, the core of the game is by Māori and for Māori.
"So the avatars are like warrior toa, warrior princess. We have whakairo in our backgrounds, We have cultural literacy tasks that are built on a Māori worldview. We have waka. Every element comes from a Māori worldview. Not only that, it is created by Māori," Dr Gallaghan says.
Katuku Island is being launched today at Te Poho o Rawiri Marae in Gisborne, and it will be available free on Google Play and the Apple Store.
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