Motion Math: Pizza! is an app that teaches children about money through the setting up and running of their very own pizza parlour. Children get the opportunity to do everything from choosing the menu to dealing with suppliers and customers.
To begin with the novice restaurateur is given £50 with which to set up their business. Not a lot in today’s economic climate you would have thought but in the world of Motion Math: Pizza! £50 seems to go quite a long way. Indeed, it is enough money to get the entire restaurant up and running. The owner still needs to be careful though. Buy the wrong type of ingredients or quantities and profits can be quickly wiped out. As children earn money they are able to unlock new ingredients but in doing so they increase the difficulty level. More ingredients mean more pizza variations and prices to keep track of.
Learning through Play
The clever thing about this app is the way the learning occurs. At no point are children asked to complete any sums, rather mathematics is infused throughout the app. Right from the start players need to consider the cost of ingredients and set the prices of their pizzas at a level that will make a profit. Then customers coming into the shop need to have the cost of their orders added up. This has to be done quickly to prevent them getting annoyed and taking their order elsewhere.
In addition to pure mathematics this app also does a great job of teaching children sound business principles. For example, at the end of each day’s trading children are presented with not only the money they have made but details of how many of each type of pizza they have sold. How they use this information when they restock their ingredients goes a long way to determining the success of the business.
As play progresses the difficulty level escalates quickly. For example, the trip to the market to buy supplies which initially saw you faced with just one vendor selling three different toppings can have up to three vendors selling a variety of toppings in different proportions. Even as an adult it takes a little bit of time and mental calculation before you know which ingredient you should buy from which vendor.
Perfect for Classroom Use
Motion Math: Pizza! allows for multiple users to be set up and so is perfect for classroom use. Teachers could challenge their class to see who can make the most profit from their individual pizza enterprises. Even better, get them to work in pair on this task. Just imagine the kind of discussions that will be generated as each group tries to decide which ingredients to buy and what their mark-up should be on their pizzas.
One thing I would like to see in Motion Math: Pizza! is an option to slow down the pace with which the difficulty level increases. It is obviously designed as a game and as is the case with most games there comes a point where you lose and the game ends. I have no problem with this in principle but I have observed children getting quite distressed at the fact that they cannot keep pace with the orders. Indeed, there is so much good learning going on here that it is a shame that it cannot continue for longer. The ability to complete orders at a slower pace would therefore be a welcome addition.
Peter
Educational App Advice
