GOZOA - The Key Quest

Gozoa The Key Quest is a fabulous app for kids that enjoy gaming. From an adult perspective, it is very much like a Super Mario game (but with very strong educational links). If only Super Mario had included maths quizzes alongside its games – a massive section of the generation Xers would now be maths geniuses! The app is set in a very similar way with Gozoa running along in different “worlds” in which he must find his way out, collect gold flowers, points and diamonds. Gozoa’s aim is to find his way around the island and collect all the key in order to save his friend! At certain points, in order to get to the next level, Gozoa (the learner) must crack codes. These codes are in the form of maths questions which look at multiplication, division, addition and subtraction

We found the variety of levels in each of the questions to be very well thought out so that the app can benefit all children that are in Primary School. This is very good so that teachers can set questions for their kids depending on their specific level rather than their age. We have found that teachers love being able to personalise their teaching to their kids so this app is great for looking in to that.

From the pedagogical perspective, the app is very much a “reward” rather than a testing or revision app. It can also be giving to kids as homework (as teachers can see how the kids are performing in the backed). The app is extremely engaging and kids will get very engrossed in it, therefore parents and teachers may want to monitor the use of it. Even so, you can’t go far wrong given that kids will be practising their maths. Just make sure that they don’t make it too easier on themselves!

Moreover, we found the rewards system within the app to be highly motivating. Our kid testers were jumping around in excitement at the prospect of getting an extra diamond or points in order to move along faster towards the end. The fact that kids can complete additional quizzes in order to get more points makes for a very nice “carrot”.

The app is very easy to use and kids can be left to find their way around the app. They will love to solve the puzzles as they progress on their “adventure”. Parents can take part in playing with their kids and making their app a working home activity that will motivate their kids to improve their own maths skills so that they can solve more puzzles!

We love the design and the graphics of this app. There could not be a more well-thought out gaming and educational apps combined!

You can download GOZOA - The Key Quest on your iOS devices from the Apple App Store.