I have been working as a consultant with a company who make video and multi-media teaching aids for use by children at home. They asked me to look into how a game approach could be utilised to enthuse those children for whom mathematics was a crushing bore due either to poor teaching within their school or for other reasons such as peer pressure or straightforward antipathy towards maths as a subject. Evidence has shown that some online games are attracting millions of subscribers but at the same time according to Prensky the average age of a gamer is currently 31. My problem therefore is what age group would derive most benefit from using a games approach to maths education? Too young and they will not have the capability of accessing the game on their own volition whereas older children may be patronised by this attempt to use games for an academic subject.
Context
Provide details regarding the environment from which this case study is derived. Who was behind the game development / deployment? Who was the target audience? What is the broad domain of knowledge / expertise addressed? Use the table below as appropriate, or enter your own free-text description.
What were the intentions of the parties involved? What were the expected outcomes? What are the measures of success?
Details
Describe the game itself, its process of development and / or deployment, focusing on the issues which you find most interesting. Write in free narrative form, with a clear reference to your personal experiences and observations. Include visual materials if possible and link to on-line resources.
Outcomes
What where the positive and less desirable results of this experience? How do they map to the original aims? What unexpected outcomes (good or bad) have you noted? What are the key factors contributing to the outcomes?
References and links
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