Zynga.org wants to improve the quality of education games and apps

Zynga.org and NewSchools Venture Fund have teamed up to create a new "ed tech" accelerator aimed at improving the quality of education games and apps, Zynga Inc. announced.

Education apps and games developers will be invited to participate in cohorts held at Zynga's San Francisco headquarters, where they will collaborate on and learn about game design, testing, analytics, product marketing and distribution.

LocoMotiveLabs, officKidaptive, Motion Math and Edmodo have been invited to attend the first cohort which will launch this summer.

Zynga Inc. employees are encouraged to volunteer their time to share their expertise in the relevant areas and Zynga.org has donated $1 million in funding for the accelerator's first year.

"Through the efforts of Zynga.org, we've shown that social games can impact peoples' lives for the better," said Ken Weber, executive director, Zynga.org in a statement. "We want to help entrepreneurs create high quality, scalable learning games that will enhance learning experiences for all 21st century students."

"We're proud to partner with Zynga.org on this project, which brings together the world's leader in social gaming, the top K-12 education impact investor and an initial cohort of all-star entrepreneurs," said Ted Mitchell, CEO, NewSchools. "Together, we are excited to push the boundaries of how students learn through educational games."