Actual Game
Mighty Math Astro Algebra1-Click Install
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The Game
Astro Algebra features imaginative activities and tools intended to make algebra fun and interesting for the junior high school student. As this intergalactic learning adventure opens, the 'Astro Algebra Alliance' invites the user to become the Captain of their flagship, the Algebra Centauri.
Each mission features sympathetic aliens in need of mathematical assistance. Early missions involve simple concepts.
Astro Algebra does not provide basic, step-by-step math lessons. Instead, the program offers a sequence of 90+ missions that cover pre-algebra and algebra concepts. Each mission focuses on a specific topic, and attempts to consolidate the student’s understanding of that topic. Unfortunately, the program’s teaching tool, the AstroNet, is only loosely linked to the missions, providing generic animated demonstrations and examples for students who need help with the math involved in their current mission.
Parents or teachers can track individual user's progress via a 'grow scale.' This measuring device automatically advances the user when sufficient successful solutions are entered, or can be used to focus the user on certain math skills.
Two modes of use are available throughout the program. In the 'On-Duty Mode,' the student receives a transmission from an alien-in-need, and is transported to one of three stations to complete the mission by correctly solving the algebraic problems posed. The 'Off Duty Mode' allows the user to independently explore the stations. The stations include the Grapher, which is used to create interactive graphs based on ordered pairs; the Cargo Bay, which is a sorting and manipulating tool; and the VariaBlox, which provides virtual manipulatives for better conceptualization of highlighted topics.
Most of the problems used in the missions are challenging and fun, and provide valuable reinforcement of the skills students are learning in the classroom.