Kids love playing computer games, so why not put a mathematics competition online and let students from across the U.S. play against each other? That’s pretty much the savvy concept behind the web-based, real-time American Math Challenge, set for October 26 and 27. This second year of the Challenge is cosponsored by the nonprofit MATHCOUNTS Foundation along with education consultants Voyager. Last year’s event saw 68,578 students from 1,329 schools join in the fun and games.

The Challenge is an outgrowth of Math Mania, a series of statewide and regional online math competitions that began in 2007. It’s also a lead-up event to the international World Math Day on March 1, 2011. The 2010 World Math Day games were also impressive — students from 235 countries competed, and the event claimed the Guinness world record for the largest online math competition.

The American Math Challenge is open to either individual students or entire schools and classes, and it’s for all K-12 students. Students from schools where at least 20 pupils are registered are eligible for prizes. The top prize, for the highest scorer, is a gold medal and an iPad. And, other top scorers can win iPod Nanos and iPod Shuffles. Organizers say it’s an “ideal way to inspire your students by doing something different with math.”

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Tags: Competitions for Students, Mathematics, Outreach for Schools