Flying Photographer Game - Basic Version
This is a computer game designed to develop or test students' appreciation of the (relative) size of decimal numbers and their positions on a number line.
Students fly in an aeroplane over a national park and have to get photos of animals given a grid location. They score according to how many flights they need for each successful photograph (more flights gives a lower score). Inbuilt tolerances create an interval of acceptable answers around the correct point; so that players are encouraged to make approximations rather than attempt to measure exactly.
The mathematical content of being able to place a decimal number on a number line requires understanding of the relative size and position of decimal numbers and basic ideas of scale.
The screen above shows a game where the player is required to photograph a Narbalek at position 0.88426 and the endpoints are 0 and 1. Most students, experts and longer-is-larger thinkers, will correctly aim near 1. The shorter-is-longer thinkers, however, may think this is quite a small number and aim near zero.
The teacher can modify the input files to provide endpoints which are suitable for their students; for instance 0 to 100 may be more suitable for younger students. If students make errors, then the next stage of the game automatically supplies help. A number line marked in tenths, or hundredths etc (whatever is appropriate) appears on the screen. In this way students can see the 6.432, for example, is between 6.4 and 6.5.
The teacher can adjust the speed of the plane, and the tolerance around the correct answer. Do not set the tolerance too low; quick estimates are the essence of this game.