University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is creating a Massive Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) called “McLarin Adventures” to teach math, reading, and social studies to eighth and ninth graders. In the game, students role-play as team members who travel to a newly discovered planet to create a new settlement. On this planet, they are confronted with a series of problems such as locating water and food supplies or building a shelter. In each of the game’s 10 open-ended scenarios, players must master the use of scientific instruments, collect and analyze data, and share unique skills and knowledge with other team members . The game will run on a server hosted at the University and use internet-based PC’s as clients. In the project, students will use the new generation of ultra-mobile PC’s (UMPC’s).

Targeted Teachers: 8th and 9th grade teachers interested in interdisciplinary content; could be used in math, science, or social science settings; based on NCTM national math standards for process skills and algebraic reasoning.