Astro101:TILT

Lauren, one of my Astronomy students, came to class and asked if I had heard of a game called Heads Up. I had not, and after class she demonstrated how it worked. It's a simple concept, and it's analog form has been around for decades, but the convenience, and capability of a smart phone has brought it to the next generation. I watched the performance, and noticed that the entire class was engaged. As a teacher, I can tell you that engagement is key to learning. I figured that it might be possible to create something similar, but being more exclusive to my content area, and as always, free. The categories are the concepts contained in a basic Astro:101 class. Some of the words are more challenging than others, but most people will find they can score a few points. Having a knowledgeable partner is key to winning a competition using this app. I hope classes, and astronomy clubs give this game a good workout, and send me updates.
Unlike Heads Up, I do not use the camera feature since the audience is primarily made up of students. I also did not include a pass feature. There is a 10 second countdown to guess correctly. After that, a tilt sound effect from an old pinball machine will sound. The words are selected at random, and it is possible that the same word will appear twice. I'll consider that a mastery learning aspect of the game.
The goal is to earn the highest score possible. The game has some character, just realize that I am not a professional programmer. I teach science, love technology, and try to do all I can to engage my kids in the content. If you have suggestions, please let me know. I also posted the source code to my site. You can edit it to make it fit your content. I will also be adding to my site, links to crossword puzzles that can help with the vocab as well, and give you a well rounded package. Once that's all in place, I will update this page to reflect the changes

Thanks to Lauren for the inspiration, Pauline for the icon, design ideas, and continual encouragement, and to Freesound.org members: rjonesxlr8, davidbain, zagi2, and fins for their audio contributions, and Deleket at Deviant Art