About+Math4+Project

The Math4 Project

Brief History and Introduction

 * The Math4Team goal is to design a collection of activities that target the learning objectives defined by the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics for the fourth grade in hopes of educating all fourth grade students in math. Dave Nalley, a Fedora Ambassador (a regular, experienced contributer to the Fedora Project), started the Math4 Project February 7, 2009. This project depends on volunteers with an interest in math learning who create XO activities. Nalley understands that everyone learns differently, and the activities are meant to cover topics in a variety of ways.
 * The Project focuses on activities that can be conveyed with the XO laptop, in that it is free software and free content, that will cover all aspects of 4th grade math. These activities are created in such a way that it effectively explains the concepts.
 * Because all children learn differently, Math4 wishes to have many different activities that can cater to various ways that children learn best. Math4 seeks people who would like to help contribute to and promote math learning.

Who's Who
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 * Math4 only has two main development team organizers, Greg DeKoenigsberg and Karlie Robinson .
 * **Greg DeKoenigsberg** is the Chief Technical Officer for the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME). He was the founder and first chairman of the Fedora Project Board. He currently serves on the oversight board for Sugar Labs. His blog at livejournal does not appear to be active anymore.
 * **Karlie Robinson** is a recruiter and liaison for the Math4 Project since she is not a programmer. She is a Fedora Ambassador and owner of Webpath Technologies in Rochester, NY.
 * They aim to have 2-3 teacher and 2-4 developers in each team, but their wiki is either in need of updating or they have had little progress in acquiring the volunteers needed for each team.
 * Here are links to some of the formative blogs posted by Greg DeKoenigsberg:
 *  La Dolce Vita: Chapter 9
 * La Dolce Vita: Chapter 10
 * One notable team is currently active, however: an XO-based class from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, headed by Professor Stephen Jacobs. They have many projects listed on their wiki, but according to news from the mailing list, the math-based game Fortune Hunter is their current focus. A detailed wiki of the project is available.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">There are a number of students involved with this project, which are listed on the [|Students] page of their wiki.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">There is also a Utah area team working on some projects for Math4 and the XO laptop, with its own mailing list and once a month gatherings, though geographically joining such a team would not be very feasible for our own group. The project seems very open to either having newcomers start out on current projects or getting new teams started.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Ideas for Contributing

 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">[|Fortune Hunter] is a game involving a protagonist making his way through a dungeon. In order to advance, the player must solve puzzles, Math problems, and defeat enemies. This project invites any kind of help such as python programmers, artists, designers, translators, etc.
 * [|PacMath] plays off of the game PacMan, but instead of aimlessly eating ghosts, the player must eat the ghost that corresponds to the correct answer to a Math Problem. The problems on this game will be to perform basic arithmetic (add, subtract, multiply, and divide). Features include adjustable speed for increased difficulty, ability for a teacher to examine a student's performance and ranking, and a list of the top ten scores displayed when the player pauses the game. There are bugs that need to be fixed and contact information for more ways to help.
 * [|Math Maze] is a game that allows the player to make his or her way through a maze guided by math problems. Each intersection will have a math problem with an answer for each direction. The player must successfully answer questions in order to progress through the maze. This project has many future goals including implementation of the GUI, implement different types of math problems, have multiplayer capabilities, online play which would include leader boards, and more.
 * Check out the bugs that need addressing and see if there are any we can begin with.