HopeGames – Values Mentoring – Part 2

Program Update Jan 2015:  We have recently partnered with the Sandiwaan Center for Learning and the Philippine Normal University to provide alternative learning courses for low income Out of School Youth, so that they may earn their high school equivalency. Our Values Mentoring or vMentoring Program is a vital component of our Alternative Learning program as well as our HopeGames community-building program – a character and community-building game for children that recreates real world communities in the virtual world, with the twin goals of having the children simulate their community development ideas in the virtual world and then using this as a model for engaging in actual development in the real world.

The longer story about all this

The students will be supported by a network of online volunteers who interface with the children via our vMentoring Facebook application, These volunteers are called “Values Mentors” or vMentors and they provide constant support, positive feedback, and encouragement to our children on the ground. We have modeled our Values eMentoring setup on Sugata Mitra’s “Granny Cloud” methodology, which holds that their are notable gains in student performance when students are being given positive feedback and affirmation while in the process of learning. This methodology is currently being tested and replicated by various institutions and experts in the field of education. Our initiative, however, is the first such experiment to test if the effectiveness of the Granny Cloud is not just limited to academic performance but extends to character and community development as well.

The program will be the subject of a research paper to be authored primarily by faculty from Philippine Normal University. Our research findings for the Alternative Learning Program, the HopeGames and our Values eMentoring component will be presented at Philippine Normal University and other top colleges and universities in the Philippines.

Budget plan

The goal is to donate about $500 to HopeGames.
Update (2014-12-22): All the hard work for the donation was successful we met our initial goal, and we want to thank everyone who was involved in the donation of bitcoins to our program.  Thank you! Now the goal is to donate another $500 to help us better implement our expansion into the Alternative Learning program.