Cyberchase is the only mathematics series for children on U.S. television. Cyberchase is designed to engage children aged 8-11 in mathematics, help them develop knowledge and skill in math and problem-solving, and reinforce the usefulness of mathematics. The content of Cyberchase supports the 3rd-5th grade standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. While Cyberchase will continue to be broadcast nationally on PBS, this broad implementation proposal will expand access to Cyberchase's entire body of materials on a reconstructed online portal. This new digital portal will house all of Cyberchase's multi-media mathematics content including 94 episodes, over 50 online math games, and scores of activities. The portal will organize materials by math topic, allow for on-demand viewing and downloading, and create guided learning trajectories to make it easy and fun to explore a math concept more deeply. Ongoing outreach will sustain Cyberchase's PBS presence and its impact on communities. Multimedia Research will conduct front-end/formative evaluation to inform design decisions. MediaKidz Research and Consulting will help set up online tracking mechanisms in the prototype phase and will track and analyze data once the portal is launched.
The project will partner with online content providers such as Yahoo Kids and NSDL's Science and Math Informal Learning Educators (SMILE) pathway, and Science Buddies to expand distribution and use. They will also work with existing partners, both in the formal and informal arenas, to introduce the new portal to a wider audience. These partners include the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM), Girl Scouts, Girls, Inc., National Engineering Week Foundation (EWeek), and VITAL (Video in Teaching and Learning).
Cyberchase online currently attracts 500,000 unique visits a month. The proposed portal will continue to serve this audience in improved ways and serve new audiences who cannot or do not watch PBS stations. It will also provide a home for the material for the expanding numbers of young people who are spending increasing time online. Besides expanding access to Cyberchase materials, the new portal will be able to provide guided learning paths through which users will be prompted to navigate around themes or concepts. To test whether the new learning pathways succeed in encouraging children to use related media on the site, tracking mechanisms will be designed and the resulting data analyzed.
With this grant, the hit math series CYBERCHASE created a new website that houses its entire eight seasons of mathematics content. Found at pbskidsgo.org/cyberchase, the site also boasts a new design that brings math learning to the forefront. Produced by WNET, CYBERCHASE is the leading math media brand in America. Every year, it engages millions of children through an animated public television series, a website, and outreach activities. The goals of the new website are to increase access to CYBERCHASE’s resources, expand its audience, and extend learning by guiding children through video, games and activities on key math topics. Past research on CYBERCHASE has shown the educational benefits of such cross-platform learning, especially if the media are used in a single setting. Launched in October 2011, the site presents all of CYBERCHASE’s media content – 94 episodes, 50+ math games, printable activities and short videos (some in Spanish) – making it one of the largest math resources for children on the Web. Primarily aimed at kids 8 to 11, it also serves older and younger children, along with parents and educators looking to bolster math learning with engaging media. The site is structured to make math content easier to find and to reinforce learning. Recommended pathways that appear next to every episode, game and activity prompt children to try other offerings on the same math topic. A Find It! page lets users browse all CYBERCHASE content by topics such as fractions, geometry, and science/engineering. Each item has also been tagged to attract more visitors who are searching for "math games" or similar topics online. WNET conducted publicity for the site and critical response was positive. The Washington Post wrote, "This site has something for everyone," while Wired Magazine’s Geek Mom cheered that now "those who don’t or can’t catch the series on television can access top-quality children’s programming with the click of a mouse." The site’s resources were also introduced to outreach partners, and new STEM organizations signed on to link to CYBERCHASE on their websites. In the first two months, the relaunched site had 3.4 million unique visitors, three times more than in comparable periods in the past. In three months, its online video had been viewed ten million times, up from 4.2 million in the three months prior. An analysis of Web data also showed considerable use of the learning paths and Find It! page, where fractions were the most popular item. In sum, the new site is extending the reach and impact of CYBERCHASE’s resources, while making them permanently available to children, parents and teachers.
