Little Web Games

Some of the little web games I play, collected in one place for convenience:
Gyroball
Road Blocks
Rotation
Nucleus!
Reverse
Squares 2
The Invisibility Game!
Battleships – General Quarters II
Gyroball
YETISPORTS: a selection of Pingu and other Yeti games
TROGDOR!!!
Tresurebox
Ultimate Flash Sonic
Weboggle

Computer games at school

I just read this BBC article about computer games in schools: Computer games could enhance learning and have a legitimate place in the classroom, say researchers.

During my last interview for a maths teaching post, one of the first questions I was asked was how I used games in my teaching. Like most (all?) teachers, I have used games in a number of classroom situations:
to introduce concepts;
to motivate and challenge;
to encourage creative thinking;
to provoke discussion;
to create a meaningful context for skills;
to check understanding;
etc…

So far I have used games to assist in learning, but is there a case for games to be the focus of learning? Yes, I think the study and creation of computer games can and should be included in a modern curriculum. Other cultural forms are currently studied in schools, e.g. television and film in Media Studies and literature in English; the study of computer games could just as legitimately be included in ICT or Media Studies courses. It already is at sixth form level; see these articles about the OCR Media Studies AS-level, in which students will explore “conflict and competition in computer/video games”.

I am currently looking at the possibility of offering Edexcel’s new Diploma in Digital Applications for ICT Users (DiDA) at my school. New modules are currently being developed – the study and creation of computer games might be appropriate content for this ‘revolotionary new suite of ICT applications’.
Students completing this course may also gain a Macromedia Associate qualification. Students I teach seem to enjoy playing Flash games at every opportunity; I think many would also benefit from creating them (and picking up a couple of qualifications along the way).

Petals Around The Rose

I was pointed in the direction of a little game called Petals Around The Rose. Apparently, the smarter you are, the longer it takes to figure out. I figured it out on the second round!

The computer will roll five dice and ask you to guess the score for the roll. The score will always be zero or an even number. Your mission is to work out how the computer calculates the score.

Play it here or here.