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Schools

Interactive App Makes Learning Math Fun

Two Stanford grads combine forces at San Francisco startup

For legions of students who view math homework with the same disdain as cleaning their room or washing the dishes, a new video game might add up to total salvation at a fraction of the anguish.

Several innovative Californians are making great efforts to subvert the numbered reasons for apathy toward math. With the suite from Motion Math Games, available for download on Apple’s App Store, basic math education has taken a step toward being easy and approachable.

“Math is really key to success for students, even students who are not going to pursue careers in mathematics,” Michelle Riconscente said.

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Math performance in the biggest state in the U.S. is a major problem. A 2011 Department of Education report entitled “The Nation’s Report Card” cites that despite year-on-year improvements, 60 percent of fourth graders in California had numeracy at either a basic or a below basic level, ranking the “Golden State” as number 37 out of 50 states.

Riconscente, an assistant professor of education at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, authored a study of LA county schools for Gamedesk, a non-profit that addresses technology and learning, on how to improve knowledge of and attitudes toward fractions.

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Jacob Klein and Gabriel Adauto, who were students at Stanford’s 1-year Design, Learning, and Technology School startup program at the time, approached Riconscente through Gamedesk.

“Motion Math started as a masters project over 9 months ago,” Klein said about his a company, now run out of a small downtown San Francisco office. “We wanted to develop effective learning tools, essential to helping people succeed,” not something of just multiple choice questions.

Riconscente cites that a key requirement for many programs is completing algebra, a math area that is full of fractions. 

“If you don’t, you end up cut off from a lot of future opportunities,” she said. 

Klein said that he was never a math major, but the discipline influenced him. Through Math Motion, he uses a derivative field of math, computer science, every day. “It improved the way I view the world. I don’t think you need to be a math major to experience the power of math.”

Klein and his classmate-turned-business-partner, Aduato, are both former teachers. As the first class of what is now called StartX, they said they sought to make great strides.

"Knowledge transfers outside of the game, transfers into math class” and to classes beyond, Klein said.

The original app, Motion Math, is a former “Top 5” on the App Store. Inspired by another top app, Doodle Jump, you follow a star trying to return from earth to its home in a far-away galaxy. Every time you correctly answer a series of questions, you’re sent bouncing up toward the end goal.

In addition to “great fun games” like Doodle Jump, Klein said he is also inspired by all the ways you can interact with new technology. 

“Next is Android,” he said. “We’re also interested in some of the futuristic platforms like (Microsoft's Xbox) Kinect.”

The second app, Motion Math Zoom, features a zoomable environment requiring you to answer more fractions-based math. Fractions of numbers are represented by animals and insects. One dog equals ten frogs, one frog equals ten bees and so on. 

Riconscente said she has tested the app at a school herself. “Principals and teachers at the school were very excited about it,” she said. 

She also said she has plans herself to build similar educational apps in the future.

“(When it comes to apps) there are many questions that need to be asked and answered, including what makes them work well and how much better are they than traditional methods,” Riconscente said.

Study and efficacy has been part of the project since the beginning. Every week or so, the company will go to a local school to test its products, he said. “If you're going to teach it should improve student attitudes,” Klein said. “(Students testing the app) improved after a week of using our product.”

The latest offering, to be out this week, is Math Motion: Hungry Fish. “Our new game is really cool,” he said. “I think people are going to enjoy it. It's about a fish who eats numbers — instant addition.”

However, he said that they are not done developing. Klein said he hopes that they can continue to study the way students interact with math.

“There's room for improvement,” he said. “There is so much to learn in math. there are a lot of students will achieve... with math sense (at the core).”

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