Tabula Digita Launches Video Game Tourney with Scholarship Prizes
Tabula Digita, maker of the DimensionU Learning System and its DimensionM math-based action video game, has issued a challenge to the best gamers (and math students) in grades 3 through 8 in the land. From Nov. 15, 2010, through May 1, 2011, the company is sponsoring the U Games National Scholarship Tournament, an online contest with a top prize of a $50,000 college scholarship.
Registration is formally open for the competition, which will consist of 12 rounds lasting two weeks each. Participants will compete online against their fellow students at the equivalent level (elementary or middle school) throughout the United States, honing their gaming skills while mastering mathematical concepts and applications in prime numbers, fractions, and complex equations. Scores will be based on strategy, academic performance, and "need to know the math" outcome, as well as basic game play skills, which means players are rewarded regardless of their individual strengths, and they are encouraged to improve in all areas as the tournament progresses in order to continually improve their scores.
The top 10 finishers nationwide at each level of play will be invited to the live U Games Tournament final event in New York May 21, 2011. The prize for the highest score in the middle school level competition is a $50,000 college scholarship and an additional $1,000 cash. The elementary school level winner will receive a $10,000 scholarship and a family vacation for four to Disney World. Among the more than 1,000 other prizes for top finishers include Apple iPods and iPads, gaming consoles, LCD TVs, razor electric bikes, and retail gift cards. Co-sponsoring the competition with Tabula Digita are Intel and Dell.
"Over the past few years, more and more educators have embraced our game-based, pedagogical framework because they have seen firsthand how it improves student comprehension and mastery of math concepts," said Ntiedo Etuk, founder and chief executive officer of Tabula Digita, adding that incorporating the practice of these concepts into video games makes "fun" the foundation for the learning process.
Students wishing to register must have a computer that meets the minimum system requirements, as well as parental permission, and they can download a tournament version of the learning system and video game here. New entrants are welcome at any point in the tournament prior to the final online round.
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Scott Aronowitz is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas. He has covered the technology, advertising, and entertainment sectors for seven years. He can be reached here.