One of the prominent activities of our Math Power! initiative is hosting a series of global math festivals throughout the year. Presenters include noteworthy individuals and organizations bringing the joy of math to learners of all ages. If you and/or your organization would like to featured at a future festival, please submit below!
In addition, make sure to checkout the 2021 mEducation Alliance Symposium where some of our favorite festival presenters will be presented at a variety of Math Power! sessions.
Submit a Presentation for an Upcoming Festival
Math Power! Virtual Festival tracks include:
- Rounding Up: The best of Mass and Mixed Media for Math Instruction
- Don’t be obtuse: Why Teaching Mathematical Concepts through Games, Puzzles, and Manipulatives is the right angle
- Multiply! Strengthening Math Partnership Networks
- Just like pi, it never ends: Mathematics in Society & Everyday Life
- Creative Expressions: Mathemagic & Other Math-Inspired Performances
- Do the Numbers Add Up? Research and Evidence of Effective Math-Focused Interventions
- Girls and Math: It’s not just for algebros or tangents
- Solve for X: Pitch us your creative ideas for accelerating math attainment in developing countries.
First Math Power! Virtual Festival: March 15 – 19
Our first of a series of Math Power! Virtual Festivals kicked off the week of March 14th. That week, starting on Pi Day (Sunday, March 14th), we shared pre-recorded content that featured high-quality technology and non-technology-supported initiatives, partnerships, research, and institutions advancing math instruction in formal and informal educational settings, specifically in Africa. Our festival presenters included a mixture of global and local African math champions, policymakers, and educators, with more to be featured in later events. Presentation proposal deadlines for additional math Festival events are rolling so it’s not too late to submit one for consideration for inclusion in future events using the button above.
To ensure the event is accessible to all, presentations had been pre-recorded and were shared at various points during the week. The video drop was followed by live discussions with nine presenters at 9 a.m. ET each day. The pre-recorded videos live on our media channel (which is also linked below). Those that subscribe for the Math Power! Festival updates will also receive invitations and links to other fun numeracy activities, but we have also provided a list below.
Presenters included:
Monday, March 15th
Track – Solve for X: Pitch us your creative ideas for accelerating math attainment in developing countries
M-Shule is the first personalized, mobile learning platform in Africa to connect learners with tailored tutoring, training, assessments and data through SMS. Meaning “mobile school” in Swahili, M-Shule’s platform uses artificial intelligence to deliver personalized learning support, skill development, and data collection tools over text message and chatbots. Then M-Shule analyzes data and shares insights with key stakeholders and organizations to power better support. By making an all-in-one learning platform possible with the simplest feature phone, M-Shule unlocks new opportunities for millions across Sub-Saharan Africa and the world. Based in Kenya.
Track – Solve for X: Pitch us your creative ideas for accelerating math attainment in developing countries
Shetechtive Uganda is a social enterprise that empowers African girls and young women to use technology for their social good. They will be speaking about their “All girls and young women owning an educative smartphone” project, which ensures continuity and inclusivity of math education to marginalized groups of girls and young women such as those who are Persons with disabilities, teenage mothers, refugees, urban slum residents in Uganda during and after the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic by providing affordable educative smartphones on an interest free loan basis that is pay-able in installments over a convenient period of time for the beneficiary. Based in Uganda.
Tuesday, March 16th
Track – Rounding Up: The Best of Mass and Mixed Media for Math Instruction
Ubongo is an NGO, founded and based in Tanzania, which develops high-quality, pan-African, localised edutainment. With more than 17 million monthly learners, in more than 9 languages, Ubongo can be considered “Africa’s largest classroom.” Ubongo leverages the power of edutainment and the reach of mass media to reach African kids through technologies that they already have and use in their home. Through a process of curriculum mapping, Ubongo identifies gaps in local curricula, as well as areas that may benefit from supplemental content, to create a curriculum for each broadcast season of the two shows. In addition to teaching math through beautiful animation, catchy songs and engaging stories, Ubongo is committed to creating content that is highly adaptable so that children can learn in their local language. Based in Tanzania.
Track – Solve for X: Pitch us your creative ideas for accelerating math attainment in developing countries
Global Math Project: Tanzania is a community of people who want all learners and teachers across the globe to experience joy and wonder in school relevant mathematics. Their focus is to reach more students in Northern Tanzania and impact on math appreciation, accelerate understanding in math, math talk sharing different experience in math. Erick Mathew Kaaya will be speaking about the founding on the GMP Tanzania and his work with volunteers. Based in Tanzania.
Wednesday, March 17th
Track – Solve for X: Pitch us your creative ideas for accelerating math attainment in developing countries
Karismath will be presenting on a concept of math television and accompanying apps, which they have piloted in Ghana. Karismath has a Universal Design in Learning (UDL) approach and works simultaneously for four audiences (a) Teacher-Trainers (b) Teachers c) Parents & d) Students). The same program can be used in 4 different ways with unique Karismath plug-ins for each, to activate targeted learning. Based in the United Kingdom.
Track – Don’t be obtuse: Why Teaching Mathematical Concepts through Games, Puzzles, and Manipulatives is the right angle
mJangale’s goal is to democratize coding by delivering a variety of courses and activities for youths (high school students in particular). Courses range from mobile and web development to data science and artificial intelligence. They are delivered in face-to-face, online, and hybrid settings. Overall their vision is to make coding accessible to youths across the continent. It aims at inspiring and educating more than 10,000 youths in Africa from diverse backgrounds in the next 3 years. Based in Senegal.
Thursday, March 18th
Track – Just like Pi, it never ends: Mathematics in Society & Everyday Life
EduTab Africa develops STEAM activities ensure acquisition of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and innovation which are essential in today and in the future. One activity is The Global Maths Circles where they expose young minds to mathematical dive and its relevance to the world we live in and positive attitude change and its usefulness. Based in Kenya.
Track – Solve for X: Pitch us your creative ideas for accelerating math attainment in developing countries
Matica, a math card game, was developed as an unconventional mathematical social learning tool for learners to improve their basic numeracy skills and improve learners’ interest in mathematics through social interaction and play. A deck has 46 cards with 36 cards labelled with numbers 1 to 9 each assigned one of the mathematical arithmetic symbols +, -, ÷, x; and pairs of special cards of addition, subtraction, square, square-root signs and two mockers assigned a number zero. Based in Uganda.
Friday, March 19th
Track – Just like Pi, it never ends: Mathematics in Society & Everyday Life
Shield of Innocence has produced the Louis Pedantic Series which aims to improve the learning outcomes of primary school pupils in Mathematics. It is animated and presents Primary School Stage Mathematics to learners using fun and child-friendly themes. The series also incorporates music to help with memorization of mathematical concepts and uses the stages of Story Telling, Problem Identification, Problem Exploration and Sequenced Problem Solving, in simplifying Mathematics’ lessons to achieve actual learning. Based in Nigeria.
Product Introduction – Math Game Catalog
Education Above All, with the assistance of Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival and the mEducation Alliance, has produced a math game catalog that will be released in the coming weeks. This catalog contains math game descriptions for a variety of learning levels, as well as environments. Based in Qatar.
Thanks to those who joined us! And be sure to subscribe for updates of upcoming events using the button below.
Interested in being featured in our S.T.E.M. Pavilion?
Do you have a brilliant S.T.E.M app and/or initiative that you want to share with attendees of the Math Power! Virtual Festivals? If so, step right up! The virtual S.T.E.M. Pavilion is the place to be. Sponsoring exhibitors — — your brand visible throughout the entire festival — will have this unique space for presenting to and networking with other exhibitors and attendees. If you are interested in this — and other promotional opportunities, please see our sponsor page and email us at medalliance@
