The future of learning...through gaming
Two tech trends that make us optimistic for K-12 learning:
1. Intuitive interfaces and software make the abstract touchable. Keyboards and the mouse
prevented young children from having fluid, complex experiences with computers. New
interfaces allow us to design experiences that make abstract concepts concrete and interactive.
2. Mobile devices allow for situated learning. Today, mobile devices can bring these situated
learning experiences to children on a larger scale. App-makers are only beginning to leverage
the reality that so many children carry an internet-connected camera and GPS. See: Project
Noah
iPad Adoption
● iPads in the classroom: 600+ school districts nationwide have integrated iPads into their
curriculum. In 2012Q2, Apple reported two iPads for each Mac sold to K-12 institutions.
● iPads in the home: 67 million iPads sold to date, 11.8 million iPads this last quarter.
Motion Math Profile (with images, video at end)
Key Stats:
● 650,000+ downloads to date
● 52% of downloads from last game Motion Math: Hungry Fish are Monthly Active Users
● Motion Math: Hungry Fish Top 20 App in Education Category of the App Store for 10
weeks
● Motion Math, the fractions game, improved students’ fractions test scores by 15%
● Motion Math, the fractions game, improved students’ attitudes towards fractions by 10%
Motion Math Fast Facts:
● Stanford School of Education, Learning, Design & Technology Program: Founders Jacob
Klein and Gabriel Adauto met and conceived Motion Math, the fractions estimation game.
● Design philosophy: Don’t balance fun and learning – fuse them together. Make math visual,
interactive, engaging. (Contrast this with some games’ attempts to make learning fun by
inserting irrelevant math worksheet problems into the middle of video game play.)
● Age appropriate: fun for ages 4 - 44
● Key pivot: From $1.99 paid app to freemium apps. In-App Purchase unlocks more levels.
● Investors and advisors: Kapor Capital, Dave McClure (500 Startups), VFormation, Mike
Wood (Founder of Leapfrog), Karen Edwards (former Yahoo! CMO), Ann McCormick (Founder
of the Learning Company) and many other world-class angels and executives.
● HQ: San Francisco
● Employees: 6; (Former) Educators: 5; Developers: 5; Ph.D.’s in Cognitive Psychology: 1
● Mission: To help children cultivate an intuitive mastery of math, to foster children’s delight in
intellectual challenge, and to be parents’ partners in their child’s education.
Motion Math's Milestone
Groundbreaking evidence: an iPad learning app can measurably deliver educational value
A USC professor studied 122 fifth-graders from two schools and four math classes to assess the
effectiveness of our iPad fractions app for improving students’ fractions knowledge and attitudes.
The study is the first to document learning and motivation gains achieved through iPad game play.
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Professor Michelle Riconscente designed and constructed the study, funded by a grant from the
Noyce Foundation. The full study is published by Game Desk: http://bit.ly/gamedeskmotionmath. Key
Findings:
● 5th graders’ fractions test scores improved 15% after playing Motion Math, for 20 minutes over
5 days. This was a significant increase compared to the control group.
● Students' attitudes and confidence towards fractions improved an average of 10%.
● Virtually all students rated the game as fun and that it helped them learn.
Motion Math Games
Motion Math HD
http://vimeo.com/15358368
Motion Math’s first app, Motion Math HD (video here, photos of kids playing game below), gives
learners a physical experience of the number line and an intuitive feeling for fractions by helping
learners perceive and estimate four important representations: numerator over denominator (1/2),
percents (50%), decimals (.5), and pie charts. By connecting each type with its distance on the number
line, learners can develop a fast, accurate perception of fractions. Motion Math HD (App Store link) is
$2.99 in the App Store.
Motion Math Zoom
http://vimeo.com/27732712
Motion Math Zoom (video here, hi-res video below), the interactive number line, lets children play
with numbers by pinching to zoom in and out of the number line. Different size animals represent
numbers, from amoebas in the thousandths to dinosaurs in the thousands. Most number lines teach
children place value from a procedural model of place value. Zoom challenges players to build a strong
conceptual model of place value instead. Motion Math Zoom (App Store link) is free to try in the App
Store.
Motion Math: Hungry Fish
http://vimeo.com/33657502
Motion Math’s most recent app is Motion Math: Hungry Fish (video here & screenshots below).
This fun addition and subtraction game for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch features a fish who eats
numbers and instant addition – by touching two numbers together, they will instantly add. Most addition
games ask 3+4=__. Hungry Fish challenges players to construct the many different ways to make a 7.
Motion Math: Hungry Fish (App Store link) is free to try in the App Store.
Motion Math: Wings
Coming soon to the Apple App Store!
Motion Math’s next app is Motion Math: Wings. This fun multiplication game for the iPad, iPhone
and iPod Touch features a bird who flies across colorful islands, building a nest and winning colorful
feathers. Most multiplication games only feature numeric multiplication (i.e. 4x5=20). Wings shows
multiplication in six different visual forms (e.g. 4 rows of 5 dots) to help learners build a strong
conceptual sense for multiplication. Motion Math: Wings will be free to try in the App Store.
Company Logos
Motion Math Game screenshots and photos of kids playing games
Motion Math hi-res video
Motion Math: Hungry Fish and Motion Math Zoom hi-res video
Hungry Fish screenshots
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About Motion Math:
Motion Math creates fun learning games that let kids play with numbers. The company’s first iPad app,
conceived at the Stanford School of Education, made fraction estimation fun and physical by leveraging
the iDevice accelerometer and won a Serious Play Gold Medal. A rigorous efficacy study - the first
done on an iPad app - found the game improved test scores 15% and attitudes towards fractions
by 10%. Subsequent games have received rave reviews, promotion by Apple, and #5 rankings in
the Education category. Motion Math is backed by a world-class group of angel investors, including
Mitch Kapor, Dave McClure, and Mike Wood (the founder of LeapFrog), and has been featured in
TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Wired, WSJ, Forbes, and the NYT. Most importantly: kids, parents, and
teachers love their products. To learn more, visit Motion Math at motionmathgames.com.
Contact:
USC Professor Michelle Riconscente
240-476-1400
[email protected]
An Bui, Motion Math
210-387-4876
[email protected]
Jacob Klein, Motion Math
917-568-0176
[email protected]
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