Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Math and Mythology

So do you like math puzzles? Want to try a team puzzle which combines Math and Mythology? Try the thinking puzzle game "Lure of the Labyrinth" - I'm still trying to get my head around these crazy puzzles... 






http://labyrinth.thinkport.org/www/


I've created an id for each one of you... it's pretty simple..


LOGIN: YourfirstnameDeshaye
PASSWORD: grade8


example... 
LOGIN: SallyDeshaye    (note where I put the capitals)
PASSWORD: grade 8


I have administrator status so I can change passwords later and monitor your account.


I put you on mixed teams of guys and girls... math geniuses with everyone else... so all the teams are even.... However honestly, it will take a creative, critical thinker to get some of these crazy puzzles!



QUICK PLAY OF LURE OF THE LABYRINTH... AT BRAINPOP
LURE OF THE LABYRINTH: EMPLOYEE CAFETERIA
Hungry monsters come to feed here. Your mission: Figure out what they want to eat using ratios, multiplication, division, and factoring!

http://www.brainpop.com/games/lureofthelabyrinthemployeecafeteria/


GETTING STARTED...
http://labyrinth.thinkport.org/www/educators/gamebasics/teachertips/firststeps.php


1. You'll navigate to Lure of the Labyrinth URL 

2. Enter your user name and password (which will have been assigned to you by Ms. SM)




3. Choose your game pet and confirm that you will adopt the animal.





4. Start the game story by reading Lure of the Labyrinth's first graphic-novel sequence, "Into the Pipe." Students can navigate through the graphic-novel sequences by using the arrows that appear halfway down the left and right sides of the screen while rolling over those areas with the mouse.



5. Customize your game avatar by giving it a name, mask, and color from a set of pre-selected options.





6. Read the next graphic-novel sequence, "Enter the Factory."



7. You'll arrive in the Tasti Pet Factory Waiting Room. As in the other areas of the game, students will be able to move their avatars here by clicking on the various parts of the screen. The avatars will follow the clicks.



8.You'll have to figure out how to get out of the Tasti Pet Waiting Room. Students will need to do some experimentation to make it happen, but the process will ultimately go like this - you'll click on the skeleton to get the correct badge number; they'll then click on Funzlebubb (the big guy blocking the door) and be headed out of the Waiting Room.



9. You'll arrive in the Foyer of the Tasti Pet Factory. You'll also receive their first message in their TPC (Tasti Pet Communicator) at this point. This message will include a map with clues on how to get to their first puzzle room (and the content of the clues will relate to the wing where the room is; i.e., if the room is in the Proportions wing, students will have to use their understanding of proportions to decipher the clues).



10. You'll have to figure out how to get out of the Foyer before they can use the map to find that first puzzle room. Again, this will be a case of trial and error, but the ultimate process will go like this - you'll move your avatars toward the top of the Foyer; you'll then move across one of the bridges and click on one of the three doors to enter a corresponding wing of the Tasti Pet Factory (at this point, they'll only be able to use the Proportions wing, the door for which is on the upper left part of the screen).





11. You'll now be in the corridors of the wing that they've entered. You can again access their first map via their TPC (always available in the top right-hand corner of the screen) and use the clues to find their first puzzle room. (You can also randomly click on all the puzzle rooms in the wing until you find the one to which they have access; we think, however, that most students would see that as a very tedious process and that they'll prefer to use the maps.)





12. You'll navigate the corridors and click on what they believe to be their first puzzle room (based on their map). The door for that room will appear along with a list including the name of that first puzzle room. Students will click on the name of the puzzle room. If you've chosen the right room, you'll be led to a graphic-novel sequence about that room and then to the room itself to play the puzzle. If you haven't chosen the right room, you'll have to return to the corridors until you do eventually find the right room.






From this point forward, students will be able to use information from your TPCs, the graphic-novel sequences, and your own experimentation to move through the game, score points and succeed in Lure of the Labyrinth.

For more information on these beginning sections of Lure of the Labyrinth, check out our Quick Start Guide and Hints for Playing the Game



MORE HINTS FOR THE GAME... OR BASIC GAMER STUFF...
*Remember I'm not a "gamer" so you will need to also walk me through this!


http://labyrinth.thinkport.org/www/educators/gamebasics/hints.php


Avatar
Players' avatars are their representatives in the world of Lure of the Labyrinth. Players customize (and disguise) their avatars at the beginning of game play by choosing their masks, uniform colors and aliases. Avatars also have distinctive smells that are part of their disguises (these smells, unlike the other avatar characteristics, can change during the course of a game). Players move their avatars by clicking on the part of the screen where they'd like them to go; when players click, the avatar follows.




Foyer
Players enter the foyer of the Tasti Pet Factory after they've figured out how to get out of the waiting room. The foyer contains the doors that lead to the four wings of the factory. The foyer also includes the Tasti Pet Factory SHOP. 



Global User Interface
The global user interface helps players know where they are - in terms of location and progress - in the world of Lure of the Labyrinth. When players are in puzzle rooms, the global user interface includes the token counter, round counter, room name, replay button, done button and TPC button. When players are anywhere other than the puzzle rooms, the global user interface includes the token counter, pets-freed counter and TPC button.



Graphic-Novel Sequences
Lure of the Labyrinth's graphic-novel sequences are shown to players when they first enter and exit puzzle rooms and at other points during their game play. These sequences give players context and directions and tell the story of the Tasti Pet Factory and its denizens.



RESEARCH ON THE GAME... FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS...
http://lynettebarr.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/lotlvittaconfpres/


http://danielmaak.edublogs.org/2011/12/11/lure-of-the-labyrinth/

http://gamingandlearning.wikispaces.com/Lure+of+the+Labyrinth


http://www.scoop.it/t/lure-of-the-labyrinth-challenge








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