New Tool in School

I've developed a new tool that presents the user with 9 letter tiles on screen. Any list of words (8 letters or less, preferably 7 or less) can be used.

On startup the program will choose 9 tiles offering the user as least 10-15 possible words hidden within. When the user finds a word the program will replace ONLY the used tiles and will replace them in such a way as to maintain around 10 possible words hidden within. 

The first version of the game is already on the site and contains a list of animals. There are around 245 animals in the list and the list is all the program requires. It can even work with as little as 35 words in the original list.

In the current version there are 4 360° backdrops featuring the four seasons and some ambient animal sounds. Even so, the game is around 10 megabytes.

With a simple change of the backdrop and word list we would have a completely new game.

I am working on improving the algorithm and extending it to 4*3 and 4*4 tiles to allow for longer words in the near future. However as this version was aimed at the younger kiddies I kept it as simple as possible. 

In school the results so far have been positive with the kids playing in small groups with little or no prodding or instruction.

Here you can see 'under the hood'. The possible answers are listed on the left.

Programming Playground

Apple App Teaches Kids to Code, And It's Free

futurism.com · June 15, 2016

In Brief

Apple has announced that the new iOS 10 will come with Swift Playgrounds, a platform that will teach kids the basics of coding "in a seriously fun way."

Apple announced that the new iOS 10 will come with Swift Playgrounds, which would teach kids to code “in a seriously fun way.”

Apple believes that coding is an essential skill, with their slogan “Everyone Can Code,” they think…well, that everyone can learn the basics of coding—and that everyone should.

Swift Playgrounds introduces kids to coding using a graphical and playful interface that challenges the user with puzzles and goals to keep it entertaining, much like a game. A special keyboard with shortcuts and features will aid in making it as easy as it is fun.

Learn more about how it works in the video below:

Pre-made templates are available to demonstrate advanced codes, and an additional feature allows sharing and editing projects through Mail, Messages, or Airdrop. You can also import and export between Mac toolkit and Playgrounds.

Swift Playground is now open source, with the developer preview already out and the final version that comes with the new iOS 10 free of charge.

References: TechCrunch

Written By

Cecille De Jesus June 15, 2016

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Written By

Cecille De Jesus June 15, 2016