Matric boys at King David High School Victory Park have built innovative games and apps in their spare time that aid memory, pattern recognition, strategy, organisation – even chemical calculation.
The first involves maths and counting, requiring the user to focus on two things at the same time, namely multiples of a number and other numbers containing that number.
The next game is more about memory. Players are given a bunch of blank tiles and expected to match the images on them in pairs of two. However, they can see only two at a time, requiring them to think about what they have seen, and where the images are.
Another is also about memory, but less about pattern recognition and more about speech. Players are given a list of words, which soon disappear. They have to remember as many words as possible, and be able to build strong spontaneous mental connections between seemingly unrelated words.
Yet another game is completely patterns based. Players are given a grid of nine squares, a few squares flash a colour, and then go back to normal. They have to remember the order.
Brent Butkow’s chess game came third in South Africa in the Computer Programming Olympiad this year. It aims to teach people to think ahead and strategise.
Jonathan Utian has created a groundbreaking programme for teaching quantitative chemistry. Called Periodic Practice, the programme helps students to calculate and manipulate the substances present in a chemical reaction, a challenge for many particularly in testing situations.
Dan Rom has created a programme to assist students with time management. Called Make a Plan, the programme helps those who don’t want to waste hours creating a study timetable to remain on top of their work, organised, and well prepared for their exams.
