In Pursuit of the Enigma: a Project in Computer Assisted Teaching in Aid of Harmonious Social Relations

Abstract

A recent Spanish law for the reform of secondary education (LOGSE) contains a series of provisions designed to arouse interest in other cultures, to increase awareness that people do not emigrate in search of pleasure or as part of a premeditated invasion, and to promote tolerance as a guiding principle for life in the community. In keeping with these new requirements, a computer game based on a fictional plot has been designed in which the players find the information they need by questioning a series of characters one by one. Their mission is to guess a mystery sentence (the enigma) and to answer the questions on a sheet they receive at the start of the game. The characters tell the students about their lives and customs and about what it felt like to leave their homeland. They also help them to answer the questions and find the mystery sentence.