The SMU Challenge (previously ACE)
The SMU Challenge is a mobile trivia game app (an update to the previous SMU Accounting Challenge ACE Game which achieved 39,000 downloads worldwide) where faculty can upload questions and have students compete and answer them via the app.
The primary motivation and purpose of The SMU Challenge are for personalized learning with self-paced digital tools and to learn more about the subject matter in an engaging way. As a single-player digital simulation game, the game is designed to be a fast-paced mobile game that tests students' knowledge using basic questions. Students have to answer a series of multiple-choice questions within a specified time limit. Each correct answer is two points and if the student manages to answer 3 consecutive questions, a fever mode is triggered with the chance to earn more points.
They can also gain more time through the three different bonus rounds, which comprise different question types. They are also able to review their responses to learn from their mistakes, post their scores to a Leaderboard and send challenges to other players.
The app has two objectives - 1) For new students to the topics or the general public, it helps to generate recall of basic concepts and terms. 2) For current and advanced students, it attempts to provide reinforcement through identification and interpretation of concepts.
Teaching Strategy
The app is primarily played by students outside of class time (on the way to class or during breaks) to review concepts (which can be done within the app itself) as the game-play is usually completed in 2 minutes or less.
At the end of the game, students review their responses and the correct answers to the questions which they have answered incorrectly. Through the app’s leaderboard, students are also able to find out how they ranked against their peers. This motivates them to aim for higher scores and thus increase their level of participation. The app also features a challenge mode where students can challenge one another for a higher score.
Faculty members can also access a Content Management System to set up questions and download statistics for the game.
Accolades
In June 2019, The SMU Challenge (previously known as The Accounting Challenge or ACE) creators Associate Professor Seow Poh Sun and Senior Lecturer Wong Suay Peng clinched Runner-Up at the Howard Teall Innovation in Accounting Education Award for their Accounting Challenge App. They received their award at the 2019 CAAA Annual Conference in Ottawa, Canada, held from 30 May to 1 June 2019.
In 2017, Prof Seow and Ms Wong made history for the second time as the first professors in Asia to clinch the prestigious Jim Bulloch Award for Innovations in Management Accounting Education presented by the American Accounting Association (AAA). This was the second AAA award that the pair had clinched for their work on the app. In 2015, the duo were also the first professors outside the US to receive the 2015 Innovation in Accounting Education Award for ACE.
The ACE app was also awarded the CEEMAN Champions’ Award in 2013 and the Bea Sanders/AICPA Teaching Innovation Award (Honourable Mention) in 2014. Read the abstract of the paper "Using A Mobile Gaming App To Enhance Accounting Education" by Prof Seow and Ms Wong here or download the full paper here.
Screenshots
Click the articles below to view related media coverage on the ACE app: