The Pre-Service Teacher Blog: Freeware Math Game: Magic Numbers

I'm using this site to gain competence with technologies that I intend to utilize in the classroom. My college is doing a pretty good job teaching traditional methods, however, I only have one instructional media class and I believe that 21st century students should learn with 21st century technology. When I begin my teaching career, I want to integrate technology starting on the first day, and the only way I'll be able to do that is to start practicing now. I'll use blogs in the classroom for communicating with parents and daily roving reporting by students. Students will also have the option to write on their own blog. Over the next couple of years I'll model how I'll use use blogging in the classroom on this site. Please check out my other sites concerning Handhelds and Podcasting.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Freeware Math Game: Magic Numbers

Magic Numbers is a "basic operations" math game in which the student has to decide which basic operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) is needed to solve the expression. There are 3 levels of difficulty for the expression. The easy level expressions have 2 numbers while the hard level expressions have 4 numbers. There is a "training mode" in which the student is only trying to complete the expression and a "race mode" in which the student is trying to complete the expression while racing a handheld to the finish line. The game claims that you can adjust the speed at which the handheld finishes the race, but even at the lowest settings the race is challenging. The game will use negative numbers in the answer, and I'm not sure when that concept is usually introduced to students.