MATRIX Learning Second Life Blog

The Middle school Achievement through Technology-Rich Interventions (MATRIX) Learning is a Star Schools Project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. This partnership includes K-16 organizations in Ohio, Kansas, New Mexico and California, with the Ohio Board of Regents acting as the lead agency.

MATRIX partners are educators and researchers, software and game developers, and curriculum designers who are concerned about the lack of interest and ability in mathematics by many middle school students. They share a belief that new strategies and techniques can be borrowed from electronic games and simulations and small pocket-sized technologies that have already captured the interest and time of that same group of students.

The Ohio Board of Regents (OBR) is a nine-member coordinating board created by the Ohio General Assembly to coordinate and implement state higher education policy, advocate for and manage state funds for public colleges, develop a strategy for collaboration among Ohio’s public and independent colleges and universities, and provide higher education policy advice to the Governor and General Assembly.

For MATRIX, OBR serves as the lead agency, integrating and supporting the work of the partner organizations that include Instructional Technology Services of Central Ohio and Ohio Resource Center for Mathematics, Science and Reading. In addition, OBR has assembled a team of developers from Bowling Green State University, Ohio State University, Ohio University, and University of Akron to run feasibility tests and conduct research in urban and rural Appalachian middle schools.