Leonie Horsch | MathCityMap

We are very pleased to welcome the Landesberufsschule für Handwerk und Industrie Bozen as a new MathCityMap partner school. After the school’s teachers participated in a MathCityMap training in 2024, the school has now officially published its first two trails:

The feedback from the students has been very positive. Designed as small outdoor learning activities, the trails offer a welcome change from regular classroom lessons. The spacious area in front of the school and the nearby river provide a pleasant outdoor learning environment.

The trails were carried out with two fourth-year classes from the technical school for computer science as well as a basic vocational class. Equipped with the necessary tools, the groups were able to work independently, with occasional input from the teachers when needed. One important takeaway: a short briefing in the classroom makes the on-site activities run much more smoothly.

Thanks to the frequent double lessons, the trails with their seven tasks can easily be completed within one teaching unit – including travel time there and back.

We thank the Landesberufsschule für Handwerk und Industrie Bozen for their commitment and warmly welcome them to the MathCityMap community!

The package with the official partner school badge and the MCM measuring instruments is on its way and we are looking forward to receiving more applications from all over the world.

All further information on the partner school programme and the requirements for application can be found both in the article on the first MCM partner school and on the homepage of our MaSCE³ project.

On Thursday, December 4th, our third MathCityMap Partner School Meeting took place – once again a very enriching exchange on the use of MathCityMap in the classroom.

This time, the focus was on our new feature, the student accounts. With them, students can independently create their own MCM tasks and thus further develop their problem-solving and problem-posing skills. After an overview of other recent MCM updates and a short introduction, there was a hands-on phase during which participants could try out the new feature directly.

The meeting was attended by part of the MCM team, several project partners, and numerous teachers from Slovakia, Portugal, Spain, Germany, and Italy. Participants took the opportunity to ask many questions. We were particularly pleased with the positive feedback and the valuable suggestions for improvement, which will now be incorporated into the further development of the system.

At the end of the online meeting, we took a group photo to capture this successful event.

We would like to thank all participants and are already looking forward to the next meeting!

If you’re reading this, you’ve already discovered it: our website is now shining in a brand-new design! We’re excited to offer you a more modern, clearer, and hopefully even more enjoyable user experience.

We’re especially happy to introduce our new step-by-step tutorials for both the app and the web portal. These guides walk you through the most important features one step at a time — perfect for new users and for anyone who wants to rediscover certain functions at their own pace.

As with any major relaunch, there may still be a few minor issues or display problems in the first days. If you notice anything that doesn’t work as expected, please let us know — ideally by sending an email to info@mathcitymap.eu.

Thank you for your support, and enjoy exploring our new website!
Your MathCityMap Team

Step 1 – Open the Webportal

To be able to use the web portal in the app, you must first activate the management option in the settings.

Then you can click on the “Manage trails” field on the start page. The web portal and a login window will open.

Step 2 – Log in to the Webportal

If you already have an account in the MathCityMap web portal, you can sign in directly.

Otherwise, you can register.

You can also continue without logging in, but then you will not be able to use all the functions of the portal.

Step 3 – Functions of the Webportal

You can use the web portal via the app in the same way as you do via the browser. Only the view is slightly different when using the smartphone.

Here you will find the menu fields in list form and can switch to the map view by clicking on the map symbol at the bottom right.

You can also switch back to the menu view by clicking on the list icon.

Step 4 – Manage Content

In contrast to using the web portal on a tablet or laptop in the browser, you will find the various management options for your content under the three dots at the top left if you have clicked on a task, a trail or a group.

Step 5 – Exit the Webportal

You can return to the various app functions by clicking on one of the symbols in the lower blue field.

The house icon stands for the start page of the app, the location icon for searching for trails and the download icon for your saved trails.

Further Tutorials

Step 1 – Switch to the observation view

Open the trail for which you have created your digital classroom and click on the corresponding icon.

Depending on when you want to open the digital classroom view, you will find your digital classroom under “Ongoing,” “Upcoming,” or “Completed.”

Click on the desired digital classroom to open the observation view.

Step 2 – Overview in the “Ongoing” observation view

At the top of the view, you can see how many minutes are left, meaning when the digital classroom will automatically end.

The view shows a list of all joined groups with names, status, and points on the left side. The number after the hashtag indicates the order in which the groups joined. The group with the most points is always at the top of the list.

For each group, you can see round fields that represent the different tasks. A white field means the task has not yet been viewed. Blue means the task has just been opened. Red, yellow, and green stand for incorrectly, satisfactorily, or well-solved tasks. A grey field means that this group has skipped the task.

If you click on a group, you will access the chat. Here, you can communicate with the participants via message, voice note, or pictures throughout the session. Under “Events,” you can see how the learners proceed — for example, whether they use hints and whether they need multiple attempts to solve a task.

On the right side of the view, there is a map showing the tasks and the joined groups (provided they activate GPS). Through numbering and colour coding, the groups on the map can be easily found again in the list.

Step 3 – Additional functions in “Ongoing”

At the top right, there is a chat icon. By clicking on it, you can send a message to all participants at once. Use this, for example, for time-related hints.

Under “Settings,” you can, for instance, extend the session duration or adjust your view. You will also find some information about your digital classroom there.

Under “Events,” you can see all the actions of the joined groups. For a more compact view, select individual groups and then go to “Events.”

To remove members, click on the corresponding group and then click on the X in the top right. Confirm the action with “OK.”

Step 4 – Manage upcoming digital classrooms

Up to 30 minutes before the start of the session, you can adjust the settings of your digital classroom.

The same settings can be edited as when creating the digital classroom.

During the session and in the 30 minutes beforehand, editing is no longer possible.

Step 5 – Manage completed digital classrooms

Up to 6 months after the session, the collected data of the digital classroom can still be viewed.

For example, you can gain insights into which tasks were easy for the learners and which may have caused problems more frequently. These can be discussed again during a joint review session.

Weitere Anleitungen

Step 1 – Select an Existing Trail

To select an existing trail, click on the “Trails – Create and Manage” field. You can also click on “Trails” in the menu bar on the left.

A view with your trails will open. Click on the desired trail to open its detailed view.

You can also create a digital classroom with public trails. Click on the desired trail to open its detailed view.

Step 2 – Switch to the “Digital Classroom” area

In the top left, you will see an icon showing a figure in front of a blackboard. Click on it to open the digital classroom section.

Here, you’ll see an overview of already created classrooms (if any), as well as a “New” button to create a new digital classroom.

Step 3 – Create a new digital classroom

After clicking “New,” the digital classroom editor will open.

First, fill out the general information: The name of the digital classroom will be displayed to the learners in the app, select the date and time for the session (learners can join 30 minutes before the start), and set the duration of the digital classroom (after the time has expired, the session will end for all participants).

You can also write a welcome and farewell message. These will be shown to all participants at the beginning and end or when leaving the session.

In the settings, you can enable or disable the leaderboard. The leaderboard is a local ranking list and shows your team’s score, as well as the score of the team ahead and the team behind.

With the automatic task assignment feature, you can control whether all participants should start with the same task or whether they should first spread out among the tasks.

Click on “Create” to save the settings. The digital classroom will then appear under “Ongoing” or “Upcoming” depending on the start time. In the square brackets, you’ll find the associated code starting with an “s.” Share it with your learners so they can join the digital classroom.

Weitere Anleitungen

Step 1 – Session Information

Below the title of the trail, you can see how much time you have left to complete the trail, so you know when the session or digital classroom will finish.

You will also find a list of the other teams and their current scores so you can compare yourself with them during the session.

Step 2 – Task Overview

Click on the three dots at the bottom right to use other functions of the digital classroom.

For example, you can get an overview of the trail tasks by clicking on the flag icon. You can then select a starting task if this has not been selected already.

The blue flag symbol then turns into an orange eye symbol. If you click on it, all the tasks on the map will be displayed again.

Step 3 – Chat Function

You can contact the person leading the session during the digital classroom. To do this, click on the three dots at the bottom right and then on the speech bubble icon.

You can write messages, record voice messages and send photos.

The person leading the session can reply to you in the chat and the messages sent to all participants will also appear there.

Step 4 – Quit Session

If you want to leave the session early, click on the three dots and then on the orange exit symbol.

Confirm with “Yes” to end the session.

You will then be given a summary of your achieved score and completed tasks.

Further Tutorials

Step 1 – Open the Trails Section

Click on the “Add trails” field on the start page or on the plus symbol at the top right under “Browse trails”.

A window will open with the title “Private Trail or Session”.

Step 2 – Enter the Code

Codes from digital classrooms differ from codes from regular trails in that they start with an “s”.

You will receive the required code from the person leading the session.

Enter the code and then click “Add”.

Step 3 – Accept Terms and Conditions

In the digital classroom, the person leading the session receives information about the location and trail progress of the participants.

Participation in the digital classroom is only possible if these terms of use are accepted.

To do this, place a tick next to “Accept terms of use” and then click on “Continue”.

Step 4 – Team Name

Choose a team name in your group and put it in the first field.

Enter the names of your team members in the second field. Click the plus symbol to add additional members.

Then click “Enter” to join the session.

Step 5 – Download Trail

You will be shown all the important information about the digital classroom trail.

Click on the blue “Download trail” button at the bottom of the screen to save the trail.

Step 6 – Start the Trail

The blue button then changes to “Start trail”. Click on it to start walking the trail.

A map view with the tasks will open.

Further Tutorials

Step 1 – Preparation

Before starting the trail, gather any measurement tools you might need. The trail’s information will specify which tools are required.

If you’ve already downloaded the trail, no internet connection is necessary outdoors.

Step 2 – Navigate to the First Task

Egal ob du dir eine Startaufgabe aus der Liste oder direkt von der Karte ausgewählt hast, es wird dir dein aktueller Standort und der Standort der Aufgabe angezeigt.

Laufe nun zu der ersten Aufgabe, das Titelbild hilft dir dabei den genauen Ort zu bestimmen.

Klicke unten auf dem Bildschirm auf das blaue Feld “zur Aufgabe”, damit du die Fragestellung lesen und mit dem Bearbeiten beginnen kannst.

Step 3 – Solve the First Task

Take the necessary measurements and calculate your solution.

Enter it in the answer field and click “Check” to save it.

You’ll receive feedback on whether the task was solved correctly.

Step 4 – Feedback

If you have solved the task correctly, a green tick will be displayed and you will receive the full score.

You may receive an orange tick for tasks with a solution interval, for example. In this case, your answer is within a satisfactory range, but could be more accurate.

A red X is displayed if the task has not been solved correctly. You then have the option of entering a new solution. If you enter several incorrect solutions, points will be deducted from the task.

Step 5 – View Sample Solution

After solving a task or exceeding the allowed attempts, you can view the sample solution. To do this, click on the “Sample solution” field.

There you can see, for example, whether there are alternatives to your solution. If you are in the yellow range of the solution, you can see where you may have made measurement or calculation errors.

Step 6 – View Hints

If you are stuck on a task, the step-by-step hints can be helpful.

Click on the light bulb symbol to display a hint.

Then try to find a solution or, if necessary, look at the next clue.

Step 7 – Move to the Next Task

Once the solution is accepted, a button will appear prompting you to proceed to the next task.

Click “Next Task” to display the map and the next recommended task.

You can click “Go to Task” or choose a different one.

Step 8 – Skip a Task

If you cannot solve a task or want to return to it later, you can skip the task.

Click the orange arrow and confirm by selecting “Yes”.

The skipped task will appear as a grey arrow on the map, reminding you to revisit it later.

Step 9 – Access Additional Features

Clicking the three dots at the bottom opens additional features.

Firstly, you can click on the blue flag symbol. This will give you an overview of the trail’s tasks and you can also select which one you would like to work on next.

Secondly, you can click on the orange arrow symbol. This allows you to reset your progress on the tasks. If you want to do this, you must click on the arrow symbol and then confirm with “Yes”.

If you click on the X, these two fields will disappear, and the three dots will be displayed again.

Step 10 – Finish the Trail

Once you have completed all the tasks, you can finish the trail. You can also pause the trail at any point.

To leave, click on the white arrow at the top left corner.

Your score is displayed at the top and you can also see your progress in the trail information.

Further Tutorials

Step 1 – Open the Trails Section

Click on the “Add Trails” field on the start page.

A window titled “Private Trail or Session” will open.

Alternatively, you can access this view by clicking the plus symbol in the top right corner of “Browse Trails.”

Step 2 – Enter the Code

Each trail has its own code so that it can be shared specifically with other MCM users.

Enter the relevant code in the window that appears and click on “Add”.

Step 3 – View Information

You will receive a notification confirming the trail has been successfully added. After clicking “Ok,” the trail’s details will appear.

This includes grade level, distance from your current location, duration, and length (the route you need to walk).

To ensure this trail is available later in your saved trails, click “Download Trail.”

Further Tutorials

Browse Trails

App

Level 1
Download and Start a Trail

App

Level 1
Walk a Trail

App

Level 1