JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
The conference center at SPAWAR Systems Center (SSC) Atlantic was the site of a Tri-County DimensionU competition March 29, which saw 36 students from six local middle schools compete in a contest that tested their math and science skills in online, multi-player educational video game software.
Students from Gregg Middle, Haute Gap Middle, Oakbrook Middle, River Oaks Middle, St. Stephens Middle and Westview Middle schools took part in the competition, all under the watchful eyes of SSC Atlantic volunteers and mentors.
DimensionU gaming software covers kindergarten through twelfth grade subjects, with content aligned to state and national educational standards. The games engage students in a series of first-person action adventure missions with three-dimensional graphics, sound and animation comparable to those in popular video games. Students customize their avatars and can go online to play individually or in teams, with classmates or with other students around the world. By effectively navigating the myriad of embedded lessons covering math, science, language or history, students can master concepts previously discussed in the classroom.
DimensionU is funded by the National Defense Education Program. This event was part of SSC Atlantic's educational outreach program aimed at developing science, technology, engineering and math talent in K-12 schools and at universities. SSC Atlantic utilizes volunteers from its technical workforce to serve as role models, mentors, content experts, competition judges and in other roles that show students the value of a STEM career. Their mission is to inspire, engage, educate and employ the STEM talent that is essential to deliver innovative solutions for the nations' and SSC Atlantic's current and future challenges.
As far as results, Team 1 and Team 2 from Haute Gap Middle took first and second place honors respectively. One of the two teams from St. Stephens Middle came in third. However, it was clear from the engagement that all participants were winners.