In the US alone, 22.5M kids aged 4-10 are growing up in a digital world the likes of which parents and teachers could not have imagined just 5 years ago. Parents must monitor computer/gadget time just like TV time, because on average, kids spend 11 hours a month playing games and watching videos online.

Elementary schools are struggling with how to incorporate digital citizenship and 21st Century Skills (the 5Cs – Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical thinking, and Character) into the curriculum, while still focusing on the core subjects (the 3Rs, Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic). Teachers recognize that today’s kids readily embrace technology. They are looking for ways to leverage that for learning.

Many sites cater to math, science, and reading, including those from reputed content providers such as National Geographic, Discovery Kids, Scholastic, Pearson, and McGraw Hill. However, they are unable to hold kids’ interest because they are perceived as school work, are not well organized, and are presented in uninteresting formats. Moreover, the US Department of Education is recommending a greater emphasis on global awareness, yet teachers are stretched with existing curricula and no easy solutions to satisfy this guidance.

Naaya has built a social gaming platform for learning (a social learning network) that includes media-rich Virtual Worlds that are canvasses for historical settings, collaborative experiences, and learning content. Each environment focuses on specific social/global studies topics and is built on a common framework that incorporates the 5Cs and 3Rs throughout the captivating game dynamic.

Only Naaya focuses exclusively on teaching the vital yet underserved subjects of global studies, digital citizenship and 21st century skills, where kids are immersed in hands-on, interactive, rich media experiences that can be enjoyed and shared between a child’s teachers, friends, parents and family.