SCVNGR

creative, original
adoptable, replicable
promises impact, influence
inspires, motivates change
paradigm shifting, game changing

Why is it innovative?
Using this location-based mobile app as a means to facilitate student engagement with orientation programs & student activities may contribute to greater student retention.

More Information

From the SCVNGR website:

SCVNGR is a game.

And playing is easy. Go places. Do challenges. Earn points! That’s the core of it, but there’s a whole lot more. Discover cool new places. Do exciting new things. Share what you’re up to with your friends. Unlock badges (and even real world rewards) by doing quick, fun challenges at your favorite places as you go about your daily life.

From Mashable, On SCVNGR the Checkin Game Is What You Make It, August 12, 2010

The idea behind user-generated challenges is to allow game players to define the game for themselves. SCVNGR players could already select from a few seeded challenges such as snapping a photo or completing a social checkin; now they can easily create their own via the mobile app.

SCVNGR also updated the application with intelligent friend suggestions based on a user’s Facebook and Twitter connections as well as prior social checkin behavior. Photo captions and improved nearby place suggestions were added in this update as well.

From Inside Higher Ed, Using mobile apps for navigation, orientation, and transition, September 2, 2010

SCVNGR, unlike Foursquare and "check-ins," is a game-based app that focuses on "rewards." According to BU's Dean of Students Kenn Elmore: "I'm interested in how games can teach people to be confident and to figure out the big picture. I like the game approach as a way to help students see the place and pick up information along the way. I like that students can build trust with each other by playing together -- a community builder."

350 universities currently use SCVNGR as a recruitment and retention tool. It will be interesting to see how student affairs practitioners assess the impact of SCVNGR and other location-based mobile apps. The potential growth for technology-based forms of "challenge and support" seems to be boundless.