CandyFactory Educational Game for iPad
“Only about 10% of the apps we have reviewed so far (of a total of more than 3,800) have achieved a grade of A or B. Congratulations on your app reaching this level of excellence!” [Balefire Labs]
Video Demo
Presented by Dr. Anderson Norton
Description
The CandyFactory educational game supports more powerful conceptions of fractions. By coordinating actions of partitioning (slicing) and iterating (copying) candy bars, students learn to conceive of fractions as sizes relative to the whole. The idea is that students begin to understand partitioning and iterating as inverse operations: If a student partitions the whole into n parts, she can reproduce the whole by iterating any one of those parts n times, thus establishing unit fractions as 1-to-n size relations with the whole. Likewise, students begin to understand non-unit fractions, m/n, as m iterations of 1/n; i.e., a fractional part that is m times as big as 1/n.
The game consists of five levels:
- Level 1: Partitions are visible in the whole and the customer order, which is always a proper fraction (m/n, where m is less than n). This way, students can get oriented to the game while relying on only part-whole concepts (m/n as m parts out of n equal parts in the whole).
- Level 2: Partitions are no longer visible in the whole, but the customer order is always a unit fraction (1/n). At this level, students can practice slicing the whole with finger swipes, and they begin to understand 1/n as the unit fraction that fits into the whole n times.
- Level 3: This level is like Level 2, except now the customer order can be any proper fraction. Students should begin to understand m/n as m copies of 1/n and as a size relative to the whole.
- Level 4: This level is like Level 3, except now the customer order can be any fractions, including improper fractions (m/n, where m can be greater than n).
- Level 5: This level is the reverse of Level 4. Students are given a fraction (proper or improper) and asked to produce the whole from it. For example, given a piece that is m/n of the whole, students need to slice the given piece into m parts and make n copies of that piece.
Version 2.0 New Features
- Two modes are provided: (a) tutorial mode (How to Play), and (b) game play mode (Play).
- Guided interactive hands-on tutorial on how to play each of the 5 game levels.
- The tutorial mode (How to Play) can be selected for any game level. (There is no lock on the tutorials.)
- Two-finger tap for context-sensitive help during the game play for each game level.
- New set of menus on the home screen: How to Play, Play, Achievements, Options, and About.
- The student’s (user’s) performance report at the end of a game play can now be emailed within the game.
- Bug fixes and enhancements.
- Runs on all generations of iPad (1, 2, 3G, 4G), iPad Air, and iPad Mini (1G, 2G).
Teacher's Handbook
Getting Started with the CandyFactory Educational Game
Download
CandyFactory Educational Game for iPad is available for download free of charge from the Apple App Store. Click here to see its iTunes Preview.
Screen Shots
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