Computer game aims to boost middle-school interest in math
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 12:46AM
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
April 28th, 2010 @ 10:15pm
By Sarah Dallof
SALT LAKE CITY -- Math and middle school students sometimes don't mix as well as parents and educators would like. One former teacher set out to change that by creating an educational computer game.
"Ko's Journey" follows a Native American girl whose village has been attacked. Guided by her spirit grandfather, she must solve a number of problems to get to safety and reunite with her family.
"Once you have them involved in a way where their imagination is engaged, they're hooked," explains lead game designer Scott Laidlaw.
Laidlaw was teaching middle school when he first learned students were performing dismally on state tests. "They had a 28 percent likelihood of passing," he remembers.
He quickly realized his students learned better when lessons were tied in with real-life and historical situations, so he started coming up with games for the classroom. He saw an 80 percent improvement on the tests.
"Ko's Journey" has taken years to design, develop and test. The tasks Ko undertakes involve algebra and geometry, among other skills. In one instance, Ko must travel in the dark. Students help her find the North Star using a Cartesian coordinate system. In another, her wolf pup is hurt. Students calculate ratios to make medicine.
"She's experiencing things you'll need to know for the rest of your life," says "Ko's Journey" communication manager Deborah Evans. "I think the kids can connect to that at this level and realize how important these skills are."
So far schools in California, Virginia, Tennessee and New York have purchased the game. Student and game tester Grace Vesely says she'd love to see it in her school.
"I think it would be so much fun to have just something different, even once a week," she said.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com