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Christmas Gifts And Word Games
Monday, October 29, 2007
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It's almost November! Which means, of course, that Christmas is right around the corner. I know, it's tough for a lot of people to think about Christmas before Halloween is over, but Quote Puzzler is already starting to get in the Christmas Spirit.
There are two ways in which that Christmas Spirit is expressing itself. Are you ready?
#1: Between now and December 25th, you can get a Full Access subscription to the site for only $9.95. Throughout the rest of the year this is the price of a Limited Access subscription. It is 33% Off our regular price for a year's subscription to the site. So if you were planning to subscribe to the site, now is the time to do it. And if you weren't planning to subscribe, now is the time to change your mind!
#2: Between now and December 25th, Quote Puzzler will help you out with your Christmas Shopping. If you have a friend who enjoys word games, instead of buying them a book of crossword puzzles and word searches, you can get them a Gift Subscription to Quote Puzzler...for $7.45, which is 50% Off our regular Gift Subscription price.
To subscribe yourself, or to buy a gift subscription for someone else, just create an account at Quote Puzzler and once you've logged in, click the "Subscribe" link (it'll be easy to find, because it's BRIGHT RED!)
A Merry Christmas to everyone!Labels: christmas, quote-puzzler
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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One To Ten, In And Out
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
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The new Flash version of the old game "One To Ten" is now online at The Problem Site. When you click "One To Ten" in the game menus, you get this version instead of the old one.
The old version hasn't been removed from the site, so you can still try it out by going to the game page and clicking the link for the old version.
Speaking of new Flash versions of old games, if you haven't noticed it yet, in the discussion forum at Quote Puzzler, we're talking about a new version of the old game In And Out
The only way you can access this game is by creating a membership account at Quote Puzzler and visiting the discussion forum.
Hope you enjoy both of these updated games!Labels: in and out, one to ten, quote-puzzler, theproblemsite
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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Rotating Block Puzzle
Friday, October 12, 2007
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First, if you missed yesterday's post, be sure to check out the new version of One To Ten which is being tested out. I'd love to hear feedback on the new version.
Today, I'd like to point out a brand new game on The Problem Site. It's called The Rotating Block Puzzle.
This is kind of like a two-dimensional Rubiks Cube. You have 16 squares in a four by four array, and you rearrange them by rotating three by three squares. You'll see what I mean when you try it out.Labels: one to ten, rotating block, theproblemsite
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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Order Of Operations Game - New Version
Thursday, October 11, 2007
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In my previous post I was talking about Order Of Operations (PEMDAS), and I mentioned the "One To Ten" game, which is currently the featured game on The Problem Site.
As I was looking at the game, however, I realized that this was one of my very first games created for the site, and it had some serious shortcomings.
The primary one is that it gives you no feedback about how you're doing. You enter 10 expressions, and when you're done you click submit...
...and the computer tells you which ones you have wrong, and never gives you the opportunity to fix your mistakes.
I decided to reprogram this as a Flash game. The new format lets you get more immediate feedback. You can enter an expression, click "Calculate", and if your expression evaluates to a number between 1 and 10 inclusive, that number lights up. This way you get immediate feedback, you get to fix your mistakes, and you can also see your progress through the game.
Want to try the new version? It's still being tested, so if you find any bugs, please send me feedback (dtwitchell@virtu-software.com). Actually, now that I think about it, I'd love to have feedback even if you DON'T find any bugs!
Anyway, here's the new version of the game: One To Ten - Flash VersionLabels: one to ten, theproblemsite
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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Order Of Operations, One To Ten Game
Friday, October 5, 2007
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I recently had an email conversation with an elementary math teacher which reminded me of something very important. The mnemonic we use to help us remember order of operations is often misunderstood. And not just by students; many teachers misunderstand "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" (Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction). And since many teachers misunderstand it, that means they don't teach it correctly.
Here's a test for you: Evaluate: 8 / 4 x 2
Was your answer "one"? If so, you realy need to keep reading, because you have misunderstood PEMDAS. The correct answer is "four".
The thing many people don't realize about Order Of Operations is that Multiplication and Division are at the same priority level, and Addition and Subtraction are at the same priority level.
In other words, if you have both multiplication and division in the same expression, you do not evaluate all the multiplication first, and then all the divion...you evaluate it from left to right.
So in the example above, since the division is to the left of the multiplication, we do it first. 8 / 4 = 2. Then we multiply by 2, giving us 4.
Similarly, how would you evalute this expression:
10 - 5 + 2
Addition and Subtraction are at the same priority level, so, since the subtraction comes first in the expression, you do it first: 10 - 5 = 5. Now you add 2 and get 7.
Someone who misunderstands PEMDAS will add 5 + 2 first, and then subtract that from 10, arriving at the incorrect answer of 3.
In order to help people out with this common confusion, I have now made the game One To Ten the featured game at The Problem Site.
This was one of the very first games on the site, and it has been used in many classrooms as part of the Order Of Operations Curriculum activities.
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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Language Arts Teachers - A New Writing Adventure
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
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I realize that this blog is designed for information about the Puzzler Sites, and I apologize for breaking out of that design.
I know that many teachers check in here, and I'm looking for language arts teachers who would be interested in testing out an online writing website feature.
The Fifteen Minutes Of Fiction website has a weekly writing prompt (This week's writing prompt involves writing a Fibonacci Poem). Students can join the site and create a piece of writing for the prompt.
However, there is an extra special feature for teachers (which is not yet visible to the public) which allows you to create your own writing prompt for your students.
When you create a writing prompt on the FMOF website, you get a code, which you give to your students. Your students then use that code to access your writing prompt, and when they are done writing, all their posts are visible to you in a single list.
The great news is that your students can create a member account without supplying any personally identifible information, so you don't even have to worry about whether they have an email address to use when creating an account.
If you are a langauge arts teacher, and are interested in trying out this new feature, please send me an email: dtwitchell@virtu-software.com. I'll reply with instructions on using this new feature.
By the way, when you visit the FMOF site, be sure to check out the Featured Gallery - this is some of the best writing that has been submitted on the site, including both humorous (like this: A Chicken, A Dog, and A Cow) and serious (like this: Synchronized Swinging).Labels: writing
posted by Douglas Twitchell at
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