Virginia reportedly has become the first state to implement a pilot program using Tabula Digita's DimensionM video games to help boost student test scores in mathematics and motivate students to learn.

DimensionM is an immersive video-game world that engages students in learning pre-algebra and algebra objectives through a series of missions. Tammy McGraw, director of educational technology for the Virginia Department of Education, read about DimensionM and its use in New York City public schools.   After seeing some empirical research on the games' efficacy as a teaching tool, she decided she wanted to find out more.

According to a study conducted in 2008 by scholars at the University of Central Florida, DimensionM's immersive educational video games can improve students' understanding and raise scores significantly on district-wide math benchmark exams.

The study included all three interactive titles from the DimensionM series. The games have three-dimensional graphics, sound, animation, and storylines comparable to those in popular video games. (See "Students want more use of gaming technology.")

The study was based on a sample size of 193 algebra and pre-algebra students and 10 math teachers from Orange County, Fla. Evaluations included pre- and post-unit district benchmark exams, game preparation tests, motivational surveys, classroom observations, and personal interviews.

Students in the experimental groups who played Tabula Digita video games over an 18-week period scored significantly higher (in some cases, twice as high) on district benchmark tests than students in the control group who did not play video games, researchers said.

Also, four out of five teachers (and all 15 students) who were interviewed reported that students' math understanding and skills improved as a result of playing the educational video games.

According to the teachers, the games were effective teaching and learning tools, because they were experiential in nature, offered an alternative way of teaching and learning, and gave students reasons to learn math to solve the game problems and progress in the games.

Students said the games were effective because they combined learning and fun.

"The traditional view of video games has been that they are distractions from the task of learning, said Ntiedo Etuk, CEO and co-founder of Tabula Digita. "But this research clearly shows the opposite is true."

In another informal study conducted by a Florida district that used DimensionM as part of its summer school program, 75 percent of the group using DimensionM passed their summer course, compared with 37 percent of those who did not use DimensionM. After seeing these results, the district soon chose to integrate DimensionM into its curriculum.

In November, the Virginia Department of Education asked Tabula Digita to give a short demonstration. In January, the department agreed to implement the pilot project.