Windosill

Windosill is an app for the iPad for $2.99.  A free version is also available online.  I have to admit, though, that I am glad I purchased the app.

It is difficult to describe this mysterious, whimsical game, so I will quote the iTunes summary, “Explore a dream-like world of eleven beautifully-constructed environments in this iPad adaptation of the classic desktop adventure. Equal parts puzzle game, playful toy, and living picture-book, Windosill rewards playful investigation with mysterious and beautiful surprises.”

My nine year old daughter saw me trying to solve a level, and soon we were both deeply engrossed in finding the solution.  We completed the game together, and then she wanted to start it over again from the beginning.  Her perseverance in trying to puzzle out each level was admirable.

Vectorpark, the company responsible for this game, also has other iOS apps, which you can view here.

Speed Booking

Ever heard of Speed Dating?  The concept is to meet with a person for a few minutes, chat, and then move on to another person.  The short discussion with the potential date allows each participant to determine if he or she thinks it is worth pursuing the relationship any further.

The other day, I saw a variation on this idea that, believe it or not, is perfect for education.  It is called Speed Booking, and the students are given the opportunity to learn a little about a group of books so they can decide which ones pique their interest.  If this post piques your interest, check out the details at iLearn Technology!

The Synergy Challenge

Although I have not participated in these Synergy challenges before, the e-mail from them in my mailbox the other day intrigued me.  I think that students would be excited by the Winter Challenge, which is to design and produce a game. The deadline is April 1, 2012.  There is no entry fee.  See the website for the rules and a great rubric that you might want to download even if you aren’t planning to enter the contest!

Valentine Heart Painting

Jim Dine, one of the artists responsible for the Pop Art movement, was the inspiration behind this project posted by Kathy Barbro on her blog, Art Projects for Kids.  With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, this would be a wonderful art lesson that will result in beautiful classroom decor!  Kathy gives detailed instructions and a template to download.

Bridge Builder

I have never been good at building things, or at solving spatial puzzles, for that matter.  But Bridge Builder is an intriguing problem-solving game that your students will enjoy.  The object is to use the provided triangles to create a bridge for the motorcycle.  You can rotate the triangles and change their size, if you wish.  This game, though internet based, reminds me of the Bubble Ball app for iDevices I have reviewed in the past.  Bridge Builder is part of the website called Toy Theater, which offers many learning activities for younger students in several different subjects.

Piece of Mind

Following along with yesterday’s post on Brain Games, KB Connected brought another site to my attention that allows you learn more about the way the mind works.  This one, Piece of Mind, uses flash-based games in order to help you “train your brain” in the areas of Memory, Attention, Executive Function, Logic & Reasoning, and Visual Perception.  My favorite game was “Triplets”, which is similar to the card game, “Set.”  I did horribly on “Face It” – mostly because it took me a few minutes to figure out what I was doing.

The site appears to be a work in progress, as some of the links do not lead to anything, and it advertises that more games will be “coming soon.”  It will be interesting to see what is added in the coming months.

Brain Games

One of my colleagues, Ginny Daniels, mentioned this fascinating show on National Geographic, and I had to look it up for myself.  Apparently, I missed the airing of the episodes, but National Geographic has video clips available online, as well as some games and other resources to challenge your own perceptions.  One of the fascinating episodes has a clip involving “fooling your brain” using a rubber hand.  If nothing else, this site shows how important it is for us to think about our thinking.

Word Search Creator, Jr.

Word Search Creator, Jr. is one of the many interactives available on ABCya.com.  This particular game allows the user to type in ten words that are eight letters or less.  It then generates one-line horizontal word searches for each word.  This would be a great way to differentiate for those younger students who know their spelling words backwards and forwards, or who might want to do a little independent research and create a list of their own.  This game has a dragon, who guides the user through the steps, including the creation step which allows the student to decide if the activity will be done on the computer or printed out.

While you are visiting Word Search Creator, Jr., check out the other activities available on ABCya.com.  They offer fun, educational games for K-5, and they even have apps for iDevices.

Interactive Bulletin Board

Interactive QR Code Bulletin Board (QR Codes are in the bottom right corners of each picture.)

Inspired by a post that I referenced last November regarding transliterate QR codes, I decided to experiment with the idea myself.  My GT 4th graders were working on poetry, and they are always glad to incorporate art into their projects.  They created pictures to represent their poems, and I recorded them narrating their poetry.  After posting the narrations on my website, I created a QR code for the unique URL for each narration.  On our hallway bulletin board, I posted their art and poetry.  However, I did not match them together.  I challenged viewers to try to figure out which art accompanied each poem.  They could then check their answers by scanning the QR codes in the corner of each artwork to hear the correct poem being narrated.  In addition, I created two online polls, which also had QR codes posted on the board, so participants could vote on their favorite artwork and poetry.

As not every classroom has a device for scanning QR codes, I invited the other teachers in my wing to borrow our iPads so their students could participate.  Today was the first day, and the students seemed to be enthusiastically scanning the board.  My 4th graders are excited that others are taking such note of their work, and can’t wait to find out the results of the polls.

The one glitch we have encountered so far is that a teacher was using a community area for testing, and the noise of the narrations was distracting.  A quick addition of headphones to the iPad fixed that, though.

I have many other ideas for extending this that I hope to try out during the rest of the school year.  I will report back periodically with our progress.

You Can Do the Rubik’s Cube

You Can Do the Rubik’s Cube has a surprising number of resources for using this “toy” for learning. Frustrated by this endless cube of fun?  There are downloadable teacher resources that integrate math, as well as solution manuals. There are activities for all ages, including The Candy Game for ages 7-17.  In addition to the free materials, there is an education kit available, a t-shirt, and links to competitions for schools and youth groups.