Functions Fun: An iPad Educational Game for Teaching Mathematical Functions and Graphs

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dc.contributor.authorLiu, Xuanen
dc.contributor.committeechairBalci, Osmanen
dc.contributor.committeememberNorton, Anderson H. IIIen
dc.contributor.committeememberTilevich, Elien
dc.contributor.departmentComputer Scienceen
dc.date.accessioned2019-06-19T08:01:55Zen
dc.date.available2019-06-19T08:01:55Zen
dc.date.issued2019-06-18en
dc.description.abstractTeaching and learning mathematical functions and graphs pose significant challenges for teachers and students. Students often have difficulty in understanding a functional relationship between two quantities such as distance and time, temperature and precipitation, and gas price and number of gallons. Teaching students to have quantitative thinking about functions can help them understand the rate of change for complicated functions and later succeed in learning Calculus. Traditional educational methods such as static graph images and some learning tools usually have some limitations. Teaching students the dynamic changes of quantities within the static picture has serious difficulties. Compared to the learning tools, the game-based learning increases interest when students are learning complicated functions. This thesis presents a game-based learning application called Functions Fun, which runs on iPad tablet computers. The game is created to teach / learn the following functions: Linear, Quadratic, Exponential, Logarithmic, Trigonometric, and Polynomial with degrees over four. Each function is covered under a game level. The game setting is a jungle environment. Each game level has its own scene, challenging the player to take an action while teaching a function and its graphical representation. Functions Fun enables students to play and learn functions and graphs in a more effective and entertaining manner.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralTeaching functions and graphs plays an important role in mathematics education. Teachers and researchers emphasize the need for students to form the quantitative thinking habits when they are learning different function graphs. This thesis presents Functions Fun, an iPad educational game that aims to help secondary students to understand function graphs by varying two quantities x and y such as distance and time, temperature and precipitation, and gas price and number of gallons. Adventure game is chosen as the game genre and six real-life models related to the following six functions are created: Linear, Quadratic, Exponential, Logarithmic, Trigonometric, and Polynomial with degrees over four. Each function is covered under a game level. The game setting is a jungle environment. Players are rewarded for their accomplishments. Through game effects and animations, students can have a better understanding of how the value changes of variables x and y influence the shape of graphs.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:20315en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/90289en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectEducational gameen
dc.subjectgame-based learningen
dc.subjectiOS applicationen
dc.subjectiPad gameen
dc.subjectmathematics educationen
dc.subjectteaching functions and graphsen
dc.titleFunctions Fun: An iPad Educational Game for Teaching Mathematical Functions and Graphsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineComputer Science and Applicationsen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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