Game Mode: Making Math Fun!

BACKGROUND

Chalkdoc was built for teachers by former teachers - allowing them to make customized worksheets, activities and assessments on the web in just minutes. It differentiated itself from competitors by giving teachers full control of the end-products, with unique customization abilities not found in the traditional pre-built worksheet alternatives. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

Steve Walker, CEO of the Seattle-based company, saw the desire for real-time interactive experiences in the classroom beyond solo worksheets. He had a small team build a prototype that turned the custom worksheets into live, multi-player trivia games. The prototype was then brought to Ten Forward for design and implementation into the existing web application, and “Game Mode” was born!

THE APPROACH

Ten Forward’s team of designers and engineers worked closely with Steve to develop a game option that could instantly transform a teacher's custom activity into a short, multiple-choice trivia game played in the classroom. A teacher projects the question on their screen while students select their answers from their personal devices. The key was to incorporate the right game mechanics to make it fun and engaging (think: time-bound questions, points, leaderboards) while not deterring from the focus at hand, which was to educate students. 

RESULTS

During implementation, a number of complexities arose around dynamic sizing of math problems/symbols across multiple devices. The development team made multiple changes to the layouts and responsiveness, alleviating those pain points.

The game mode is now live and available for all multiple choice activities! Students can access each game from a computer, mobile device or tablet, broadening the possible arenas for use. 

To learn more about building engaging quizzes in the classroom, see how Game Mode works here!