MathMovesU.com: math in real life (with extra multimedia for good measure)

photo credit: eriwst

Good morning all,

Fellow Diigo user (and PLN member) Ted Sakshsaug recently shared this gem, which I knew I wanted to explore and blog about, considering my substantial math deficiencies! http://www.mathmovesu.com/ is a wonderful collection of real-life math challenges wrapped in a very entertaining and rich user interface:

In their own words:

“Raytheon’s MathMovesU is an innovative program designed to engage middle school students with math when their interest in the subject typically declines. Algebra, geometry, decimals, fractions & word problems combine with topics kids are passionate about; sports, music & fashion. MMU delivers math problems via games, polls and fun facts.”

“MathMovesU.com will supplement your classroom curriculum. It’s designed to help middle school math students practice and improve their math skills. MMU combines stuff kids are into like music, sports & fashion with algebra, geometry, decimals, fractions & word problems.”

You begin by creating & customizing a character based on your role (student, teacher, parent), age, and gender. Although an email address is needed to save the character, you can skip that part and just play. Choosing the character allows the site to tailor the experience for you personally. You then scroll through some very elaborate scenes using the arrows on your keyboard:

Where you will find a collection of challenges embedded into each scene. Clicking them presents a problem to solve:

To be sure, this isn’t gameplay (although there is a scorekeeping capability) – but the interface is very unique and extremely engaging. Feedback is provided immediately and the experience is very pleasing, especially due to the slick soundtrack, catchy graphics and fun animations.

http://www.mathmovesu.com/ offers a Teacher’s section as well as an overview video that’s worth checking out. It’s not supposed to be an immersive gaming experience, but it delivers on its promise to engage kids with math challenges presented in contexts they care about. Check it out today!

Hope this helps,

-kj-