HOLES
SCRAMBLE A vocabulary card game using scrabble tiles and a deck of "task" cards. The goal...
To win a round of Scramble, you must score the most points. If a player wins, they become the Task Master for the next round.
How to start each round...
1. Task cards are shuffled and placed in the middle. If this is the first round, players draw one tile. The tile that comes first in alphabet gets to be the "Task Master" for the first round.
2. Each player draws until they have 8 tiles
3. The Task Master begins the round and play moves clockwise.
4. For the first round of play, each player adds a letter to make a word. They earn the sum of all the points from their word.
player 1: adds an "a" to make the word "a" for 1 pt.
player 2: adds a "t" to make the word "at" for 2 pts.
player 3: adds an "r" to make the word "art" for 3 pts.
player 4: adds a "p" to make the word "part" for 6 pts.
If a player is unable to play, they must draw a tile and lose their turn.
Rules... (after the first round)
5. A player starts their turn by drawing a task card.
6. If a player is able to complete the task they score the points for the word showing at the end of their turn.
8. If a player is unable to complete the task they must draw a tile and score no points. 9. The task card is discarded at the end of the turn whether it is completed or not.
10. Letters that are "taken away" or "replaced" from the word are put into the graveyard.
11. When a player draws the "Task Master" card, they must complete a task given to them by the task master or draw a tile.
12. If the Task Master draws the "Task Master" card, ??
Ending a Round... When any player runs out of tiles, the round is over. Points on the remaining players tiles are deducted from their final score.
The player with the highest score wins the round and becomes the Task Master for the next round.
Cards... (there are 4 or each of the following cards)
* Add a letter
* Take away a letter
* Replace a letter
* Add a vowel
* Take away a vowel
* Replace a vowel with another vowel
* Add a consanent
* Take away a consanent
* Replace a consanent with another consanent
* Replace one letter with two consecutive letters
* Replace two consecutive letters with one letter
* Complete a task from the task master
* SCRAMBLE... mix up the letters to create a new word (bonus 10 pts added to the value of the word)
Suggestions for the Task Master...
The task master must tell a player what to do if they draw the "Task Master" card. They are not allowed to make the player draw, give, or take tiles. For example, the task master may require another player to sing "Happy Birthday" to another player, do jumping jacks, or play the rest of the game with their tiles showing. If the player is not able to follow the Task Master's directions, they must draw a tile.
I actually created a paper prototype of this game and played it. Even after some major changes to the design, the game has some major flaws. Then I discovered a similar game, QUIDDLER, and had a great time playing this.
ICI (INTERACTIVE CONVERSATIONAL INTERFACE)
Jellyvision, the creators of "You Don't Know Jack", are now taking their idea of ICI's in new directions. Here are a few ideas on how ICI's could be used.
#1... Tell a story through multiple perspectives. The story could be helpful in teaching history. Imagine talking to a slave, a slave owner, Abraham Lincoln, a general, a confederate soldier, et.. to get a full view of the civil war. The interactiveness of these characters could really emerge students into the story. For a game twist, the ICI personalities could give the player info and virtual artifacts that would help them get through the game. For example, to talk to a slave you may need to get the key for the slave quarters from the slave owner.
#2... Give multiple viewpoints of a topic. Should the US regulate public health care? Again, multiple personality ICI's could give information about the topic while giving their own viewpoint. I wonder what poor, middle class, and wealthy Americans think about our current non-goverment regulated system? What do Canadians think about their government regulated system? What about other countries? What do those in the medical field think?
#3... Let's move away from multiple ICI's. What an ICI that helps you invest money. Stocks, bonds, real estate, land, mutual funds... there are so many choices and it probably depends on a lot of personal factors. Who to trust? An ICI, that's who. A FRACTION OF A CARD GAME
After spending way too much time solving puzzles at the Lilly Library, I began thinking of fractions as a puzzle. I have had many a math student struggle with not only the operations of fractions (1/3 + 1/2 = ?) but with the actual meaning of fractions (what is 2/3 of something). Students all the way up to the middle school level still could not fill a cup 1/4 full... they did not have the understanding of what fractions really meant.
Could a card game help people understand fractions. Imagine Rummy except that each card has a fraction and you can only lay down a set that is equal to one whole. Each turn players may pick up a card from the discard pile or draw a card. During their turn, a player may lay down any whole set. For example you could lay down 1/4, 1/4, and 1/2. Of course the goal is to run out of cards first and gain a point for each "whole" that you made. The next player may have a 1/2 card and a 3/4 card. They may pick up both of your 1/4 cards and replace them with their 1/2 card... just as long as it is still a whole (this is somewhat like Rumicub).. and then play the 3/4 card with one of the 1/4 cards they picked up. Just as in Rummy, a player can pick up part of the discard pile as long as they are able to play the last card picked up to make a whole. Also, just as in Rummy, if there are cards in the discard pile that add up to a whole, any player can announce "Rummy" (or something else) and take those cards directly from the pile and play them. The round is scored after one of the players runs out of cards. Each player gets a point for each whole they played but loses a point for each card in their hand.
Because this is a learning game, players will also have a pie container with fractional wedges that can be used to fill the pie. Does 1/3 + 1/2 + 1/5 = a whole... well just lay the pie wedges in the pie and see if they fit. As players begin to understand what fractions represent and once they learn the rules for adding fractions, the pie manipulative can be taken away and replaced with scratch paper for students to work out the math. At other times, players may use calculators to add fractions.
Variations on the game...
1. Another deck of cards could be used with percents.
2. Another deck of cards could be used with decimals.
3. The fractions, percents, and decimals cards could be mixed together for an advanced game. 1/4 + 50% + 0.25 = whole!
A CARD GAME OF FRACTIONAL GRAMMAR
Could a fraction card game include grammar?
The first 1/3 of far + the last 3/5 of giant + the second 1/3 of blasts + the first 1/2 of ticket.
The answer for this is f+ant+as+tic, or "fantastic". As students completed a list of these instructions they would discover a message. Many students learned to divide the word up into parts by drawing boxes around them... the number of boxes is given by the denominator. So to find the second 1/3 of blasts the would draw three boxes so that the same number of letters are in each box... [bl][as][ts]. Ok, so how can this be made into a game? I haven't worked that out yet but I think there is something there. STAY IN CHARACTER (ARG)
The number #1 rule for this game is to stay in character! My idea for an alternative reality game involves becoming a character in a story that unravels in real life. Basically, go to the website and enter your zip code and email to play. Once x number (depending on the story) sign up, they are sent an email which assigns them a link which brings them to a web page with media that describes the role they are playing, what they know of the situation, and any info/artifacts that they possess, and what their goal for the game is. Depending on the story, players may have to complete the a goal before other players, work together to complete a goal, work in a team to beat another team, or work on a goal that is in opposition with other players goals. I see this game as something that can be fun to play but also a way to meet people in a fun way... you get to role play with people that do not know who you really are. Depending on the story, games could take place in a day or over a period of time through encounters. After the game is finished, players can all meet to discuss the game from their own perspectives.
First story line (needs 20 characters signed up before game begins and will take place one night a week for a month or two)...
Battle of the Bands
* 3 characters are in band #1. Their goal is to make good music and increase their fan base (more groupies the better).
* 3 characters are in band #2. Their goal is to make good music and increase their fan base (more groupies the better).
* 6 characters are groupies. They love music but must decide which band they are going to be groupies of. Once decided, they hang out with the band as much as they can!
* 2 Band managers... Their goal is to promote their band and get them paying gigs at the places that will give them exposure.
* 2 owners of the semi cool bar. This bar will be an actual meeting place for the game encounters. It has a very limmited budget.
* 3 owners of the really cool bar. This bar will be an actual meeting place for the game encounters.
* 1 other character.
The twist... the actual game...
* The 3 owners of the really cool bar are vampires.
Their goal is to strenthen their vampire numbers. A civilian that is fed on by a vampire will turn into a vampire at midnight. Vampires are servants to their masters (the vampires that fed turned them).
* One of the groupies just witnessed (without the vampire knowing) their significant other killed by the vampire.
* The "other character" is a friend of this character and has been a vampire slayer for years, having rid the city of vampires. This character is unaware that 3 vampires remain. This character recruits the other player to be a slayer.
* As a new team, their goal is to kill all the vampires. The vampires know of only one one of these slayers (the one that has killed all but three of their kind).
Only the vampires and slayers know that vampires exist exist.
The game is over once all vampires are dead or all civilians are dead.
Rules of play...
Only the vampire that was witnessed by the new slayer is known at the beginning of the game.
A vampire can only feed on one civilian a night to turn them into vampires. If a vampire tries to feed on a slayer, dice are rolled to see who wins.. and who dies. The new slayer is not as experienced. The consequences of the a slayer/vampire encounter depend on the situation accordning to the table below.
A slayer kills a vampire by handing them a card with a picture of a stake that says they are dead. A slayer who kills a civilian is imprisoned (out of the game).
Even after death or imprisonment you cannot break character. You will have the chance to break character after the game is over when the players meet to talk about the game.
Other story lines that could be developed...
1. Murder Mystery... one character is the murderer and does not want to be caught... one character
2. Infiltration... some of players are spies.
3. Party time... convert players to a political party
ED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM for the INFORMATION AGE
Education in America is a very controversial subject. Most agree that our elementary and secondary schools are not keep up with other countries and are failing our children. Our schools have kept the industrial age model of education instead of creating a new model for the information age we are now in. Key elements of our education system need to chang to better suit the needs of the information age while using the new technologies that are available. Customized learning and teachers as guides are just a couple of the mindset changes that our politicians and educators need to make.
Having studied basic ideas of systemic change and taught in mulitple middle and secondary classrooms over the past 10 years, I envision an Education Management System that could be used by a school that wants to implement an information age school. The Education Management System is more than a Learning Management System (LMS) as it manages the social management system, the behavior management system, and the learning management system.
The social management system has a look and feel very similar to "MySpace". Because I envision a school in which students do not attend classes period after period but rather take responsibility for their own learning using resources provided by the school, each student would be given an advisor. Each advisor (a teacher with interests that are similar to the students interests) is responsible for 20 to 30 students and are responsible for working with their students and parents to help the students succeed. They are also responsible for monitoring the profiles of students. Messages between student that are flagged (words such as "fuck" or "kill") could be automatically forwarded to the guides for review. The social management system also allows students to form social groups that will facilitate the learning experience.
The behavior management system makes it simple to look at a students behavior as a whole (students can no longer get in trouble multiple times a day with different teachers without consequence) and allows parents to check on how their child is doing. The management system allows teachers to enter demerits for negative behaviors as well as merits for positive behaviors. A student therefor has a demerit score (demerits can be "resolved" but not removed) which results in consequences, a merit score which results in rewards, and a total score (merits - demerits) which results in priveleges being given or taken away. When teachers enter a merit or demerit, parents recieve automatic email updates. Teachers and administrators could do queries on the behavior management database to decide what students will receive a given reward or which students will be allowed a given privelege. The focus of the behavior management system should be on positive behaviors.
The learning management system should be designed so that students can work at their own pace to complete the academic standards required for the subjects they need or want to understand through a variety of projects and activities. Teachers can add projects specifying all the content standards for all subjects that the project addresses. A student can then look at any standard they need to attain and select from all of the possible projects and activities listed. Once a project is competed, the students advisor can review the project and ask students questions to verify understanding before entering credit for the project into the system. Once credit has been entered, the system will automatically validate that the students have completed the standards related to that project. Depending on the standard, the validation could expire after a given amount of time, forcing the student to complete a new task to revalidate the standard. For example, basic skills like multiplication of whole numbers (such as this) could be assessed and validated through an online quiz that pops up when a student logs in and could be need to be revalidated every month (or less depending on the students previous performance). These assessments would not need to be verified by the advisors, but instead automated through the system.
Currently, the social management system and the behavior management system are operational and can be viewed at www.enfieldschool.com/aaa by logging in as a student or teacher.
Student Login Info: login id = "1", password = "test".
Staff Login Info: login id = "enfield", password = "test".
MINI MOVIE - ADVERTISEMENT
Using Adobe Flash, I created an online software application called Mucho Math to help English Language Learners build their math skills and math vocabulary. This software uses mini games to reward student progress and further increase learning. I would like to create an entertaining video to post on youtube and teachertube that would promote the software.
RAT RACE
I am still looking to create two more mini-educational math games to include in the Mucho Math described above. My idea for Rat Race stems from my experience using Logo with math students to help them learn about angles. I imagine students navigating through an environment full of mousetraps to collect cheese. A student must enter a dual command such as "Turn left 45 degrees" and "move forward 6 inches". This makes the student think about the angles as it relates to the direction they are facing. The tools for entering the movement commands must be as transparent as possible. As students advance through levels, more mouse traps will appear and you will have less time to collect all the cheese before the cat comes after you. Making a time challenge is a way to get students to think quickly, increase fun, and keep their engagement. TRUST NO ONE
Pier's Anthony introduced the magical world of Xanth to the mundanes (humans) through a computer game in Demons Don't Dream. In this book, Dug and Kim must select a guide from one of three Xanth characters. The guide will help them safely navigate through the magical world. Dug and Kim are forewarned that one of these characters does not want them to be successful and is secretly attempting to misguide them. Actually creating a game like this sounds like alot of fun. Giving the guides deep personalities could make each adventure pretty fun.
So imagine a game in which the guide you choose will always be "helping" you navigate through a magical world to complete missions. Each mission that is completed results in a reward. For example, if you complete a task for the Zombie King, he may reward you with one of his zombies that you can summons whenever needed. After each mission, the player must select a new guide or continue with the same guide (though the guides intentions may change from mission to mission). Much of the entertainment from the book is based on magical world itself, which could be replicated in a 3D virutal environment.
If this game was developed as a multiplayer online game (meaning 2). The 'adventurer' would have to select a 'guide' that is a real person. The guide would be given the task of helping the adventurer suceed or leading them astray. The guide would be rewarded if the task is completed successfully and the adventurer would be rewarded if they complete the mission. The underlying idea is that a player is put into a situation in which they are relying on a person without full trust.
LET'S GET SERIOUS
The idea of guides is interesting for serious games (games for learning). I imagine a world in which the player must navigate through the ancient civilizations to get artifacts from particular people. (think Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure). Why do we need the artifacts (think National Treasure)? Our character finds a small golden sphere deep in the forest and realizes that it is a map of the world with an engraving of "2008" and a titanium ring around the middle for the equator. Our character is suprised to realize the equator ring can be turned and amazed to see the date transform. The further the equator ring is twisted the further back in time the date goes.
The character hears a noise and looks up to see a monkey approaching. The monkey begins to speak! He is one of the last of his kind :( He tells the character that this is the "Golden Compass" and that it is a magical artifact. The Golden Compass makes it possible to teleport to any location on earth... at in any time! The Golden Compass is the only magical artifact from the ancient civilizations that has not been lost or destroyed over time. The monkey explains that each artifacts all has a unique magical power and that they must all be gathered for the magical monkeys to continue to exist. The artifacts need to be collected by going back in time to the ancient civilazations.
The audience for this game would be 5th graders (ancient civilizations is a 5th grade curriculum). The reading level for all parts of the game should be at the 5th grade level or lower. The game should be developed on a PC platform (schools are much more likely to have computers than game systems). Using the time machine will familiarize students with when each civilization existed in comparison to the others. Other 5th grade standards could be addressed.
Need to work out the Artifacts - their magical power - and the civilization where the artifact can be found - and the date
TAKING PICTURES AND USING PHOTOSHOP TO CREATE A CARTOON  |
