TALENT SPOTLIGHT: JANE LI

Founder, Springbay Studio

Fifth Wave Labs Cohort 3 Alumna (2021) iBiome-Wetland has received many notable awards, including Best STEM app 2015 from the American Association of School Librarians, and iBiome-Ocean has been featured by Apple’s iTunes Store worldwide, and has been recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme. In her newest game, iBiome-Changing Ice, Jane invites kids to play with climate change scenarios, set their goals to reduce their eco-footprint, and use AR technologies to track their sustainable real life choices.

Jane’s first job in the video game industry was a programmer, writing code. Through experimenting with software development, Jane discovered her passion for digital storytelling and that video games were an ideal tool for learning.

Jane worked as a freelance consultant before co-founding Springbay Studio in the early 2000s with her business partner—also her sister—who had a degree in computer science as well as managerial experience. Through her work at Springbay, Jane is focused on nurturing and supporting people and preservation of the natural environment in which we live, “I always think, when we play something, I hope that we learn something,” Jane says.

Springbay projects reflect and promote the creators’ feminist values of equality and inclusion. They benefit all types of people, but when Springbay looked at who their audience was and the content they were building, it became clear they should start with children. Screen time is an ongoing issue for young people growing up in today’s digital world and Jane is well aware of the pros and cons of what online learning can offer. Springbay’s mission is to use gamification as a way to encourage young people to learn about and take action toward sustainable lifestyles.

The beauty and benefit of gamification is that it provides the feeling that you are playing a video game, but it’s not truly a game. The iBiome-Wetland game and app and the iBiome-Ocean school editions offer resources for students to build and explore natural habitats in virtual settings. The blend of virtual learning with real life field trips is a winning combination. Educators have told Jane how the gaming components keep students engaged and complement their teaching units on the ecosystem and natural habitats.