The Wizard World of Numbers has been designed as a prototype game for students aged 6+, who are impacted by Cerebral Palsy, to learn to count from 1 to 10. Of course this game can be played by any student who would like to learn to count and loves wizards, magical potions and spells as much as we do!
How does the app work?
The game can be used as a teacher aid in Cerebral Palsy specialist schools or at home with assistance of family or caregivers. The Wizard World of Numbers is an Augmented Reality game that requires a set of printed number cards (found below), which when held up in front of a mobile device will start to teach the student about each number.
What is the gameplay?
Each number is taught as part of a story that takes the student on a journey to become a number wizard! Each number is treated as a spell and the wizard apprentice is being taken on a magical story that requires counting and measuring potion ingredients or finding a number of doors or keys in order to face the final number spell test for each learned number. In order to pass the test, the student is asked to hold up the empty Magic Card which will ask the student to recognise the learned numbers in order to win their reward and become a fully fledged number wizard.
This project has been funded by MBIE as part of the Unlocking Curious Minds project and has been developed in collaboration with the University of Auckland and Geo AR Games.
Installing the app
The Number cards
Once you have installed the app using the app store (see above), you will need to print the number cards. You can print the cards in either colour or black & white -- as long as the tablet has a decent camera. For convenience, the cards are available in 3 different sizes -- select your preferred size:
- Large cards (one card per A4-page)
- Medium cards (two cards per A4-page, cut after printing)
- Small cards (four cards per A4-page, cut after printing)
Instructions and hints for the app
Here are some hints as to how the app works:- Choose which number you want to start with on the Main Screen. We suggest to go sequentially.
- Place the corresponding number card on a bookstand or on a table, and hold the tablet over the card so the camera can recognise the image. You may choose to mirror the tablet screen on a larger television to work with a group of students or for better visibility.
- During the number introduction and the counting sequence, it is important for the app to see the number card.
- Once the learning section for the chosen number has been completed, you will be prompted to hold up the Magic Card (which is the empty number card) in front of the device. The Magic Card needs to remain in front of the screen during the entire quiz time in order to show the numbers.
- Once the student has completed the quiz successfully, you can visit the reward room to find the reward.
- Number 10 is locked until all 9 numbers below have been completed.
The Team
University of Auckland project leads:
|
| App designer: Melanie Langlotz (Geo AR Games) |
| App sound expert: Cole Goodley (Geo AR Games) |
| App developer: Amie Wolken (Duality Agreement) |
| Master of testers: Stephen Doel (Central Auckland Specialist School) |
| Mathematics advisor: Gillian Frankcom-Burgess (Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland) |
PUSH GO episode
Our journey has been documented as the first episode of the PUSH GO series, kindly produced by Purple Sheep Productions.
Curious Minds Story
The article "Creating maths wizards with AR gaming" shares some more background to the project.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful for the funding received by MBIE Unlocking Curious Minds support that has made this project possible.
Special thanks to the team at Purple Sheep Productions for their kindness in making the PUSH GO video.
We are also very thankful for the kids, parents, gaurdians and teachers at Central Auckland Specialist School for working closely with us throughout this entire journey.
