The Logic for Fun web site, (http://logic4fun.rsise.anu.edu.au/) is a new tool developed at the Australian National University for teaching elementary logic. It provides a range of problems, some easy, some challenging, most amusing, which students must express in a gentle but rigorous formal language. They check each answer by running it through a solver, and then re-work the encoding until they get it right. Answers may be saved as text for assessment or any other purposes.

• Simple idea. Does it work?

  Emphatically: yes. Software-based instruction is the technique of choice for teaching formalization skills, as it gives unlimited real-time feedback and forces precision. Basing the exercises on puzzles and other meaningful problems rather than contrived assertions or three-line arguments adds greatly to the interest and enjoyment of learning logic.

• Can this really replace existing teaching methods?

  Well, it won't remove hard work from your life for ever, but it forms a very useful supplement to more traditional teaching and will make the latter more effective.

• Is it ideal for every student?

  Of course not! There is no magic bullet for logic teaching any more than for any other teaching. Most students learn from it, however, and some get into it to the extent that they run the solver 50 times a day until they exhaust their quota! These are people who will feel positive about logic for the rest of their lives.

• Is it compatible with ... ?

  Absolutely. The formal notation contains hardly any special symbols, because it emphasises mathematical modelling - extracting the logic of a problem and expressing it clearly and exactly - rather than surface details like mysterious hooks, wedges and reversed letters. No matter what textbook, other software, programming language or anything else you use, the skills learnt on this site are compatible with it and relevant to what you want students to learn from it.

• How is "Logic for Fun" different from other software?

  That depends on what kind of other software you have in mind. The main differences from most logic teaching software are:

  • It is notation-neutral, so it won't lead to any confusing "clash of symbols".
  • The exercises are meaningful.
  • As the name suggests, it is fun.
  • At about $5 (US) it is priced well below most comparable tools, making it much more cost-effective than buying a textbook.

• How do I get to use it?

  Just go to the site (spam-free, so you will not get any junk mail from visiting) and register a group. You do not need to know the names of the students at this point. You can add names to the list of group members later, and we'll bill you (after the event) only for those group members who actually use the site.

  You risk nothing by registering your group now - it costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. Registration is just an expression of interest. We'll take it from there.

Dr John K. Slaney   (John.Slaney@anu.edu.au)

Automated Reasoning Group
Computer Sciences Laboratory
The Australian National University
Canberra, ACT 0200, AUSTRALIA

Tel: +61 [0]2 6125 8678
Fax: +61 [0]2 6125 8651