{"id":41378,"date":"2023-10-20T15:13:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/grand-theft-auto-meets-a-maths-textbook-machinam-keeps-it-real-for-students-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:13:31","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:13:31","slug":"grand-theft-auto-meets-a-maths-textbook-machinam-keeps-it-real-for-students-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/grand-theft-auto-meets-a-maths-textbook-machinam-keeps-it-real-for-students-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGrand Theft Auto meets a maths textbook\u201d: Machinam keeps it real for students – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
Three QUT alumni are trying to answer a question persistently posed by young students when trying to learn a particularly hard algebra equation: \u201cwhy do I need to know this?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Machinam is a smartphone app that aims to show these maths equations and problems to students in a way that can be applied in the real world and in turn encourage more students, especially girls, to embrace STEM subjects.<\/p>\n
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The startup brings together problem-based maths learning with real life contexts through digital technology, providing an alternative to more traditional textbook-based learning.<\/p>\n
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Machinam co-founder Felicity Furey says it\u2019s like \u201cGrand Theft Auto<\/i> meets a maths textbook\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt connects what students are learning and makes it relevant to real life,\u201d Furey tells StartupSmart.<\/i><\/p>\n
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\u201cYou\u2019re in class but you\u2019re solving a real life problem.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere\u2019s a big context problem and then it goes into detail. Textbooks usually just have written formulas and it\u2019s about rote learning rather than critical thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
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For example, Furey says a complicated algebra problem could be framed in terms of a fashion brand designing clothes, or as a town trying to work out water supplies.<\/p>\n
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Furey studied civil engineering at university, and says the lack of clear real world applications is a barrier to increasing the number of STEM graduates.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt answers the question of \u2018when am I ever going to us this?\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said this when I was in school learning things like algebra and trigonometry, and they turned out to be the most valuable things to know as an engineer. I wish I had paid more attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The app will initially be targeted at Year 9 students before rolling out across the year levels, and Furey says this is a \u201ccrucial time\u201d in maths education.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThat\u2019s the first year it really gets conceptual,\u201d she says. \u201cIt becomes not really clear what the algebra can be used for.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s crazy for a 14 or 15-year-old to be thinking about what they\u2019re going to do at university. I thought I was awful at maths then. It\u2019s really cool to shift that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The startup has so far been bootstrapped by the three founders, along with competition winners of $5000 from Unleashed and a $10,000 grant from the Foundation of Young Australians.<\/p>\n
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Machinam is also one of six finalists in QUT\u2019s $100,000+ Innovation Challenge.<\/p>\n
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The product is still in a development phase, with a paper-based trial recently completed in schools, but the team has lofty ambitions.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOur ultimate goal is to replace textbooks,\u201d Furey says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAn increasing number of schools are becoming more digital and using digital textbooks. But these are usually just interactive pdfs, not like what we\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Furey and fellow co-founder Jillian Kenny created the Power of Engineering in 2012, a not-for-profit organisation aiming to inspire young girls to go into engineering.<\/p>\n
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Machinam eventually grew from there, with Furey saying they wanted to increase the scale and turn the idea into a commercial offering.<\/p>\n
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The startup was officially founded by the pair, along with Claire Bennet, in 2013.<\/p>\n
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But Furey\u2019s interest in promoting STEM to a wider audience started much earlier than that.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhen I was in school my teachers told me to do engineering, but I thought that was crazy and too hard and not the kind of career for me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI did it and I realised you could use maths and science to create the world around you.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve been personally passionate about this since I walked into my first university engineering lecture and there were only 10 girls in a whole room of 120 students. That was in 2004 so it\u2019s been on my mind for a while, and now it\u2019s becoming a national issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Promoting STEM education has become a large talking point of late, with both sides of the political spectrum trying to increase the number of graduates in this field and the diversity.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re really excited to be involved. It\u2019s important for Australia\u2019s future and where we\u2019re heading as a country,\u201d Furey says. \u201cWe can be in that conversation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt can be frustrating when people are talking a lot about how much of a problem it is, but you don\u2019t hear about many solutions.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe want to be a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
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