Problem identification

Math fun

Math fun is an android application that will be used in a school-based environment. The application is aimed at children between the ages of 5 and 8. This project is a joint collaboration between me and my project partner Tara.

The Problem

The main problem our application aims to fix is how many apps are individual with content. Many math applications are self contained and only focus on one topic e.g money. From interviewing teachers who use applications to teach children, we found that they would spend long hours searching through the app store to try and find applications that suited there learning plan. One of the teachers interviewed(see user research) showed a spreadsheet of all the different applications she uses. The teacher also said she has to keep track of the children’s progress within each individual app. Our goal is to get rid of the time consuming search for math applications and have all the content contained into one big app.

Similar applications

While researching for the project we looked at several children’s educational applications. Some were recommended by the teachers interviewed. we looked at and assessed the apps on aspects that would be applicable to the application being made. Out of all the applications that were examined, three were selected as they contained relevant features such as reward systems, teacher-student interaction and math-based games. Another aspect that was taken into consideration was the visual appeal and color scheme.

Numeracy box

Numeracy box is designed to provide an extensive bank of teacher-controlled activities and games. These focus on the statements and examples relating to number and the number system in the national numeracy strategy.

Numeracy box has a teacher-student interaction, which are application takes inspiration from. The programme allows the teacher to customize the child’s personal experience and learning outcomes. The application lets the teacher change the level difficulty depending on the child’s ability and age.

Visually the programme is not as appealing as more modern children’s apps. Numeracy box is an older programme from the early 2000s. Its design can be considered outdated with its lack of colour and interesting theme.

Khan academy kids

Khan academy kids is an application that contains games, books, songs and activities. I found Khan academy to one of the more aesthetically applealing apps out of the ones we looked at. The app does contain multiple math topics but in my opinion it is not suited for a school based environment.

Amazing coin

Amazing Coin is an educational game for children to practice identifying and solving maths problems with coins. It teaches children how to recognize, count, add, pay and make change with coins. This application rewards the children with money which in turn allows them to buy food in the store and eat them later.

The coin games are engaging and interesting to play. The variety of games are fun and teaches children valuable math-based skills. The reward system is satisfying as it allows children to earn currency from the different games and use them in the virtual shop.

The reward system does not match the overarching theme. They look like two different applications were put together. The main game has an underwater theme while the reward system is a grocery store themed activity in the app.

The three apps have qualities that inspired the app we are trying to make. Taking the positive qualities of the apps such as color,interactivity, and rewards for effort helped us build our app. It also helped us look at the negative qualities and how we can build upon them.