edCirrus Helps Educators Game Their Way To STEM Learning

The company develops tablet-based games to improve students’ understanding of STEM in the real world.

By Dusty Smith

The next time you wonder whether the use of technology such as tablets promotes or inhibits learning in your student or child, consider edCirrus Inc.

Game apps designed for children might seem to be little more than a great way to siphon money from bank accounts, but edCirrus hopes to transform the tablet gaming platform into an incredibly useful tool for students from pre-K through high school.

The term for transforming lessons into games is called “gamification.” Sure, it sounds made up, but it’s the term for using games to better solve problems and understand how things work.

“Our aim is to promote engagement and creative learning among students,” said Sindhu Cauveriappa, co-CEO of edCirrus.

The idea of using games to teach is nothing new, but edCirrus aims to improve education in the prime areas where students in the United States are lagging: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, collectively known as STEM. Therefore the creators of edCirrus are partnering with innovators in the education field to develop STEM-based games.

“The gamification platform enables us to create games on STEM topics that are aligned to school curriculum anywhere around the globe, be it building a Mars rover or a microprocessor,” Cauveriappa said, “making learning interesting, hands-on and leaving a lasting impact is what we aspire to achieve.”

The focus on STEM is one encourage by the education community as well as the federal government because, while the United States lags behind on STEM education, jobs in the STEM areas are expected to outpace other jobs in this country for years to come.

edExplorer is based on the development of NASA’s Curiosity Rover on Mars. Game players work through the various steps necessary to build such a vehicle and land it on our red neighbor. By the end of the game, students have made decisions about the vehicle’s research and development, engineering, marketing and construction.

The games, designed for two to four players, maintain interaction among students as they solve problems together in an already-familiar tablet game format.

Johan Fremlin, director of technology at Nysmith School for the Gifted in Herndon, Va., said he could see the potential for edCirrus after seventh-graders at the school recently tested edExplorer.

“Absolutely, they did learn things from the game,” he said. “As they were progressing, they became more involved and eager to try to answer the next question – whether from guessing or past knowledge.”

Fremlin said he could practically see ideas sparking in his students’ minds, which they confirmed in comments posted on a dry-erase board after the test.

“It makes us think,” one student wrote, while another student noted that the game was challenging. Yet another student said he was ready to take on even more challenging tasks, such as redesigning the rover. There were criticisms, too, but mostly minor functionality issues that edCirrus can easily address.

“Any time we can get kids to learn while playing is a good thing,” Fremlin said, adding that he looks forward to edCirrus developing new products. “I can see it being usefully done for any subject. We would like to dig deeper into the research and development, and test some more things out or use some of the products, if edExplorer is an example.”

And that’s exactly what edCirrus plans to do. The company has advisors with backgrounds in technology, education and engineering. It has collaborated with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Innovation Gateway and plans to develop other partnerships. The edExplorer and edRiver James games were concepts created at VCU and turned into electronic games by edCirrus.

With edRiver James, students take a virtual canoe trip along the river and learn about the environmental aspects and ecological impacts they see along the way, touching on a range of STEM-related subjects. EdRiver Potomac, now in development, is based on the same concept.

edCirrus is exactly the type of partner VCU’s Innovation Gateway seeks to promote ideas created by students and faculty.

“We want to take the innovations inside the university and get them out to the public sector,” said T. Allen Morris, associate director of the Innovation Gateway. “We’re happy that they’re [edCirrus] putting the concept of the games to use.”

Besides games, the company also has created edTouch, a smartphone/tablet-based app aimed at optimizing communication between Pre-K school administrators, teachers and parents.

Learn more about edCirrus online at http://www.edcirrus.com/.

Dusty Smith has been working professionally in journalism, including education topics ranging from public school through higher education, since 1999. Find him on Linked In.