New info about the idea that Math Classroom Challenge needs an Oculus device to be played. This is not true. You can play with a standard monitor. Also with an Oculus, and soon with HTC Vive.
But this is an option, enjoy Math Classroom Challenge in your monitor. Thank you!
We are proud to inform that the new Math Classroom Challenge stage, “Math & Rocks”, is now available on Steam as a Scenario at no extra cost.
In this scenario, set on the Moon, you will have to perform the same tasks as in the other scenarios. But you’ll also have to collect the rocks that fall on the moon. To do this, throw water on the rocks, and a report will indicate its chemical composition, and also, if it has water and/or helium 3.
The rocks will go directly to the moon rock depot. Water is important for the maintenance of the moon base. Helium-3 is important for the fusion reactors of the Moon.
From time to time, a large transport ship will arrive at the rock repository to collect and carry them to Earth along with helium 3, which will be used in the planet’s fusion reactors.
The points accumulated by obtaining the rocks are independent of those obtained by mathematical problems. You’ll have to decide what to give priority to, your spirit as a geologist or mathematician. At the end, the statistics will show you the number of rocks achieved, their points, and the helium.
Welcome to a new era of humanity. The era of the fusion reactor. The Moon and its resources are the future of humanity. Good luck!
Hello!
We’ve received info that Math Classroom Challenge needs an Oculus device in order to play with the game.
This is not true. You can play with your monitor, or with an Oculus device. When you run the game, Steam gives you the option to start the game in standard mode with your monitor, or in Oculus mode. It’s up to you. Sorry if we didn’t explain this feature in past entries.
By the way, the new scenario, “Math & Rocks”, is going very well and will be ready to download on June 16. Thank you very much for your support!
English version here.
Los juegos educativos han existido desde el principio de los tiempos de la informática. Juegos cuya finalidad principal es la de la enseñanza, permitiendo que el alumno adquiera una serie de conocimientos y habilidades en base a un software que le permite analizar su destreza, mejorarla, y obtener un resultado final.
Pero, demasiadas veces, los juegos educativos son demasiado educativos. ¿Qué quiere esto decir? Están muy centrados en el componente formativo, dejando de lado el componente lúdico. Esta característica de este tipo de juegos conlleva que el uso de estos programas se convierta, en muchos aspectos, en una extensión de una clase de matemáticas, o de física. Tenemos pizarras virtuales, con problemas virtuales, que se resuelven como en clase: con una tiza virtual, y con un resultado que es una puntuación de los ejercicios resueltos.
Este planteamiento no es negativo, pero es importante ir más allá de la idea de crear extensiones de una clase de matemáticas o de física. Y ahí es donde aparecen juegos que son muy similares, cuando no iguales, a cualquier videojuego que podamos imaginar, pero que, en su interior, contienen elementos que permiten el desarrollo del conocimiento del jugador. A esto se le llama fusionar jugador y alumno, de tal modo que ambos, el que juega, y el que aprende, son el mismo individuo.
Somos muchos los que hemos aprendido con juegos que, en principio, no tienen la etiqueta oficial de educativos, aunque todos sabemos que lo son. Pongo tres ejemplos. La saga Civilization sería el primero. ¿Cuánta historia hemos aprendido con esta saga? El segundo sería la saga Sim City, o su derivado actual, Cities: Skylines, donde aprendemos todos los aspectos del desarrollo de una ciudad. Y el tercero es uno que me toca especialmente: los simuladores de vuelo. ¿Cuántas personas que empezaron con el Flight Simulator y otros simuladores han terminado siendo pilotos profesionales? Yo conozco unos cuantos.
Debemos buscar nuevas fuentes de aprendizaje, basadas en el juego tradicional de PC y de consola, fusionado con elementos educativos. La pizarra virtual es muy importante, pero, ¿por qué quedarnos ahí? Podemos crear juegos divertidos, emocionantes, en tres dimensiones, con buenos gráficos y sonido, que además tengan un componente formativo y educativo importante.
Ese es nuestro cometido. Y en esa tarea estamos implicados. Aprender sin saber que estás aprendiendo. Ese es nuestro lema. Y deseamos que lo sea para miles de jóvenes en todo el mundo. Muchas gracias.
Spanish version here.
Educational games have existed since the beginning of the computer age. Games whose main purpose is to teach, allowing students to acquire a series of knowledge and skills based on software that allows them to analyze their skills, improve them, and obtain a final result.
But, too often, educational games are too educational. What does this mean? They are very focused on the training component, leaving aside the recreational component. This characteristic of this type of game means that the use of these programs becomes, in many ways, an extension of a math or physics class. We have virtual blackboards, with virtual problems, that are solved as in class: with a virtual chalk, and with a result that is a score of the exercises solved.
This approach is not negative, but it is important to go beyond the idea of creating extensions of a math or physics class. And that’s where games appear that are very similar, if not equal, to any video game we can imagine, but that, inside, contain elements that allow the development of the player’s knowledge. This is called merging player and student, so that both the player and the learner are the same individual.
Many of us have learned through games that, in principle, do not have the official educational label, although we all know that they are. I will give three examples. The Civilization saga would be the first. How much history have we learned from this saga? The second would be the Sim City saga, or its current derivative, Cities: Skylines, where we learn all aspects of a city’s development. And the third one is one that particularly touches me: the flight simulators. How many people who started with the Flight Simulator and other simulators ended up being professional pilots? I know a few of them.
We must look for new sources of learning, based on traditional PC and console games, merged with educational elements. The virtual blackboard is very important, but why stay there? We can create fun, exciting games in three dimensions, with good graphics and sound, which also have an important educational and training component.
That is our mission. And in that task we are involved. Learning without knowing what you are learning. That’s our motto. And we want it to be so for thousands of young people around the world. Thank you very much.
After visiting a garden in winter, and a lovely beach in summer, the next stage of Math Classroom Challenge will take us a little further. Specifically, to the Moon.
We will have to continue to solve more math problems, but we will also become geologists, collecting stones that will be taken to Earth for study. The more rocks, the more points you get with the math.
We will also be able to see different types of moonstones and know their main characteristics. We will be the new explorers of the secrets of the solar system. Coming next June, 15.
Note 1: you can find the manual here.
Note 2: there is a question we would like to answer: the game can be played in a monitor as usual, or with an Oculus Rift device, you have both options. It’s your choice. Thank you!
We are very happy to inform that Math Classroom Challenge for Windows/Oculus is now available at the Steam store, and, from version 1.50, the new Scenario “Math & Rocks”.
This game allows the player/student to learn numbers from the age of four, and from that point on there is no limit to age and fun with math.
Math Classroom Challenge allows the player to enjoy learning math in a safe environment, with simple music and fun characters, so that learning math is a game. From sums to equations, including integers and decimals, maximum times, difficulty, and other fully configurable aspects.
The game to enjoy math. Happy math day!
