Mastering Math with Cedric’s Cartesian Quest

A new quest for students taking on new math skills has just begun with the Cedric’s Cartesian Quest app! This free app is designed for middle school students who are blind or have low vision to both enhance their math knowledge and practice spatial skills in the Cartesian coordinate system.  

Using the app, students will take on the role of Cedric, the aspiring Wizard. As Cedric, students will practice their math skills, completing problems to defeat monsters and defend their forest home. On each adventure, students will sharpen various foundational skills including locating specific points on a graph, drawing interesting shapes on the coordinate plane, and applying their understanding of both geometry and symmetry across the x and y-axes to solve problems.  

The Cedric’s Cartesian Quest app is designed to bring math to life utilizing gameplay with an enticing story, mixed with an intentional focus on the development of math skills alongside the fun. The mix of both learning and gameplay create a new desire to practice math skills as students get excited to advance on their journey. The story includes an introductory quest to prepare students for their adventure, as well as thirteen quests with a focus on understanding the Cartesian coordinate system.  

Each quest is uniquely designed to be engaging as singular adventures that are part of an overarching storyline. The game has full accessibility support with high-contrast colors and screen reader compatibility. The app is also equipped with a help system that first encourages perseverance, provides hints, and then guides students to an answer after working through the problem. All of these things work together to create a truly independent student learning experience. 

One of only a few accessible learning apps available today, the Cedric’s Cartesian Quest app seeks to provide blind and low vision students with opportunities to participate in learning through fun games and engaging stories. While many sighted students have the opportunity to learn through mobile storytelling, students who are blind or have low vision don’t have the same mobile resources available to them. This app aims to ensure that students with any vision level have the opportunity to explore learning in new ways.   

With the growth of technology in schools, mobile learning apps are becoming increasingly present in the classroom. Teachers often find ways to use mobile learning games as part of their classroom activities and without accessible options, this leaves students with vision loss behind. Cedric’s Cartesian Quest gives all students the capability to participate in this fun, out-of-the-box learning style. The app can be played by students with vision loss, and their sighted peers, as well as individually and as a team. The Cedric’s Cartesian Quest app has the ability to bring students together with its intentional design and engaging stories.   

Expected to launch at the end of April or early May, once Cedric’s Cartesian Quest is released it will be available for free in the Apple iOS app store on iPad. Get ready to defend the forest, go on quests, and prepare for a learning adventure!