Review by Seann Dikkers, Common Sense Education | Updated February 2013

Ko's Journey

Story-based game with math puzzles feels like work

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • Math
Skills
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
4–8
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (2 Reviews)
Price:  $39-custom Custom pricing for schools; $39/student for homeschoolers
Platforms:  Mac, Windows

Take a look inside

4 images
Guide Ko on her quest and solve math problems along the way.
Your ancestor prompts you to go on a journey.
Making a medicinal poultice requires ratios.
Each problem brings you closer to your journey’s end.

Pros: Extended story problems integrate math computations.

Cons: Gameplay is repetitive and dull, and some confusing problems require extensive classroom support.

Bottom Line: Though it's more fun than worksheets, this game's engagement factor is so low that kids may dread it.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Unlike other math games, such as Manga High or Dimension M, Ko's Journey doesn't adjust to or have ability levels; the designers planned the game to be tightly connected to classroom lessons and practice so students would come prepared to solve problems. It does equip you with easy access to student progress in the form of data feedback. Kids can progress over multiple logins, and they, too, can see a screen that shows their position in the story.

You can set up an account and negotiate a school rate for the game. The individual rate per student is $39.

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Standards:

Ko's Journey uses the story of Ko to teach fractions, x-y coordinates, ratios, volume, and multi-step story problems.

Ko's Journey suffers from the "chocolate-covered broccoli" issue many math games struggle with. The game by itself is not entertaining; the player has minimal control over activities. For instance, in mini-games about hunting and gathering, the player does nothing but wait for the random result to pop up. Video explanations play only after players complete the math. All sections have one "right" answer, and problems can be frustrating. Some problems are initially complex and require returning to explanations multiple times. Kids may even feel incompetent, especially if they have to replay audio instructions multiple times with classmates listening in. 

If students already have some exposure to the concepts, they'll find this game better than worksheets but not as fun as informal gaming.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Ko's Journey is designed for classroom use and might be more interesting than worksheets, but it's not entertaining in itself.  

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

This is drill practice, and the app is built on traditional pedagogical principals. Still, the story does add some context. 

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

This product is built as a classroom supplement, and the supports and planning tools are its greatest -- though perhaps only -- strength.

Common Sense Reviewer
Seann Dikkers Researcher
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Expressions And Equations

  • 7.EE.3

    Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers in any form (whole numbers, fractions, and decimals), using tools strategically. Apply properties of operations to calculate with numbers in any form; convert between forms as appropriate; and assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies. For example: If a woman making $25 an hour gets a 10% raise, she will make an additional 1/10 of her salary an hour, or $2.50, for a new salary of $27.50. If you want to place a towel bar 9 3/4 inches long in the center of a door that is 27 1/2 inches wide, you will need to place the bar about 9 inches from each edge; this estimate can be used as a check on the exact computation.

  • 7.EE.4

    Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.

  • 7.EE.4.a

    Solve word problems leading to equations of the form px + q = r and p(x + q) = r, where p, q, and r are specific rational numbers. Solve equations of these forms fluently. Compare an algebraic solution to an arithmetic solution, identifying the sequence of the operations used in each approach. For example, the perimeter of a rectangle is 54 cm. Its length is 6 cm. What is its width?

  • 7.EE.4.b

    Solve word problems leading to inequalities of the form px + q > r or px + q < r, where p, q, and r are specific rational numbers. Graph the solution set of the inequality and interpret it in the context of the problem. For example: As a salesperson, you are paid $50 per week plus $3 per sale. This week you want your pay to be at least $100. Write an inequality for the number of sales you need to make, and describe the solutions.

  • 7.EE.1

    Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions with rational coefficients.

  • 7.EE.2

    Understand that rewriting an expression in different forms in a problem context can shed light on the problem and how the quantities in it are related. For example, a + 0.05a = 1.05a means that “increase by 5%” is the same as “multiply by 1.05.”

Geometry

  • 6.G.1

    Find the area of right triangles, other triangles, special quadrilaterals, and polygons by composing into rectangles or decomposing into triangles and other shapes; apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.

  • 6.G.2

    Find the volume of a right rectangular prism with fractional edge lengths by packing it with unit cubes of the appropriate unit fraction edge lengths, and show that the volume is the same as would be found by multiplying the edge lengths of the prism. Apply the formulas V = l w h and V = b h to find volumes of right rectangular prisms with fractional edge lengths in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.

  • 6.G.3

    Draw polygons in the coordinate plane given coordinates for the vertices; use coordinates to find the length of a side joining points with the same first coordinate or the same second coordinate. Apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.

  • 6.G.4

    Represent three-dimensional figures using nets made up of rectangles and triangles, and use the nets to find the surface area of these figures. Apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.

  • 7.G.1

    Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.

  • 7.G.2

    Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions. Focus on constructing triangles from three measures of angles or sides, noticing when the conditions determine a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.

  • 7.G.3

    Describe the two-dimensional figures that result from slicing three- dimensional figures, as in plane sections of right rectangular prisms and right rectangular pyramids.

  • 7.G.4

    Know the formulas for the area and circumference of a circle and use them to solve problems; give an informal derivation of the relationship between the circumference and area of a circle.

  • 7.G.5

    Use facts about supplementary, complementary, vertical, and adjacent angles in a multi-step problem to write and solve simple equations for an unknown angle in a figure.

  • 7.G.6

    Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- and three-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, cubes, and right prisms.

Operations And Algebraic Thinking

  • 5.OA.3

    Generate two numerical patterns using two given rules. Identify apparent relationships between corresponding terms. Form ordered pairs consisting of corresponding terms from the two patterns, and graph the ordered pairs on a coordinate plane. For example, given the rule “Add 3” and the starting number 0, and given the rule “Add 6” and the starting number 0, generate terms in the resulting sequences, and observe that the terms in one sequence are twice the corresponding terms in the other sequence. Explain informally why this is so.

  • 5.OA.1

    Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with these symbols.

  • 5.OA.2

    Write simple expressions that record calculations with numbers, and interpret numerical expressions without evaluating them. For example, express the calculation “add 8 and 7, then multiply by 2” as 2 × (8 + 7). Recognize that 3 × (18932 + 921) is three times as large as 18932 + 921, without having to calculate the indicated sum or product.

Ratios And Proportional Relationships

  • 6.RP.1

    Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. For example, “The ratio of wings to beaks in the bird house at the zoo was 2:1, because for every 2 wings there was 1 beak.” “For every vote candidate A received, candidate C received nearly three votes.”

  • 6.RP.2

    Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship. For example, “This recipe has a ratio of 3 cups of flour to 4 cups of sugar, so there is 3/4 cup of flour for each cup of sugar.” “We paid $75 for 15 hamburgers, which is a rate of $5 per hamburger.”1

  • 6.RP.3

    Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.

  • 6.RP.3.a

    Make tables of equivalent ratios relating quantities with whole- number measurements, find missing values in the tables, and plot the pairs of values on the coordinate plane. Use tables to compare ratios.

  • 6.RP.3.b

    Solve unit rate problems including those involving unit pricing and constant speed. For example, if it took 7 hours to mow 4 lawns, then at that rate, how many lawns could be mowed in 35 hours? At what rate were lawns being mowed?

  • 6.RP.3.c

    Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100 (e.g., 30% of a quantity means 30/100 times the quantity); solve problems involving finding the whole, given a part and the percent.

  • 6.RP.3.d

    Use ratio reasoning to convert measurement units; manipulate and transform units appropriately when multiplying or dividing quantities.

  • 7.RP.1

    Compute unit rates associated with ratios of fractions, including ratios of lengths, areas and other quantities measured in like or different units. For example, if a person walks 1/2 mile in each 1/4 hour, compute the unit rate as the complex fraction 1/2/1/4 miles per hour, equivalently 2 miles per hour.

  • 7.RP.2

    Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.

  • 7.RP.2.a

    Decide whether two quantities are in a proportional relationship, e.g., by testing for equivalent ratios in a table or graphing on a coordinate plane and observing whether the graph is a straight line through the origin.

  • 7.RP.2.b

    Identify the constant of proportionality (unit rate) in tables, graphs, equations, diagrams, and verbal descriptions of proportional relationships.

  • 7.RP.2.c

    Represent proportional relationships by equations. For example, if total cost t is proportional to the number n of items purchased at a constant price p, the relationship between the total cost and the number of items can be expressed as t = pn.

  • 7.RP.2.d

    Explain what a point (x, y) on the graph of a proportional relationship means in terms of the situation, with special attention to the points (0, 0) and (1, r) where r is the unit rate.

  • 7.RP.3

    Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems. Examples: simple interest, tax, markups and markdowns, gratuities and commissions, fees, percent increase and decrease, percent error.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 2 reviews) (2 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Susan R. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Lebanon High School
Lebanon, United States
Interesting, relatable math game

Ko’s Journey starts out interesting.

The game toggles between Ko and her adventure to get to the hidden valley where Ko will be reunited with her grandfather, and some real kids recreating the same journey in a video.

It’s an interesting concept that demonstrates real life experience with concepts and practices in the game play.

The game is aligned with Common Core and intended for the 6th and 7th grade levels. The game is somewhat intuitive but some aspects didn’t seem clear, like knowing how to operate the compass in the beginning.

The game allows for a teacher to add students to the game, and each added student is provided a username and password.

Students can log in from anywhere (the game is flash based and therefore cannot be used on an iPad) or anytime.

As long as the student logs in with their unique username and password the game will record each student’s progress allowing the teacher to follow the successful completion of each unit in the game, by each student.

The animated graphics were not great, but the story telling in the game about Ko and the journey was interesting.

The fact that after completing the practice unit, you were immediately brought to the modern day video, that demonstrated real life use of what was just practiced was a bit confusing, but also created relevance.

Ko’s Journey is web-based making access easy.

There appears to be a good pedagogy in place and the game maker claims it has increased student test scores by up to 50%.

While I found the game interesting, it seemed to be very slow paced.

I would be concerned that for 11-13 years old, it just simply too slow.

However, if students only spent short bursts of time on it, say 20 minutes at a time, it might work to keep their interest enough to finish the game.

It seemed a student could finish a unit in a 15 – 30 minute time frame.

A step-by-step guide is provided as a teacher resource.

Was unable to get access to the pricing structure.

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