Nubble! and Nubble! Express
By The Association of Teachers of Mathematics.

What fun! This program is easy to use and will engage even the most reticent thinker in manipulating numbers to get the best score. I have used it with students of different abilities in the classroom either as an interactive whiteboard activity, in small groups or individually. Every way has been a success. The Express version has allowed even those who find number work difficult to complete a game within a reasonable period of time so there is no chance to get bored. The Express version has also been used as a starter and plenary, students using the numbers to find what alternative answers there are and which would give the best score.

This is what one of my students has to say:

Name of game: Nubble Express.

My name is: Katie.

What I thought about the game: I found it really enjoyable to play, I mainly played against the computer, and won. It’s a really marvellous game to play.

How it has helped me: It helps me to use different multiplication (e.g 4 2 3, you could do 4+3=7+2=9 it is a great way to learn.) and made my brain develop a lot since I have played the game.

Katie is a Y9 special needs pupil who is operating at the age of a seven year old, she does not like working independently – except on Nubble! She asks for it every lesson.

What is the game and how do you get a Nubble? The Express game consist of up to four players rolling three five sided dice to generate whole numbers between 1 and 25 using all four operations and brackets with the aim to cross the board from bottom left to top right. (Other versions have four dice and numbers up to 100). Points for right answers are awarded according to the position of the chosen answer counter on the board. Points range from 10 for 1 to 6 up to 200 points for 23, 24 or 25. In addition there are 50 points for completing a triangle of numbers and this is doubled if the triangle with is completed with a prime number.

As players become more experienced they get more proficient at finding alternative combinations of numbers to make the higher scoring numbers or to block an opponent. Thinking skills are developed with respect to manipulating numbers and strategies, and, if used as a team game, cooperation. There is also the option to turn on the timer, so once the skills are mastered there is still a challenge to be met. There are three difficulty levels and the option to play solo or against the computer, making it ideal for a single user either at home or school.

Loading the program caused no problems and the instructions were easy to follow although, as a teacher, I would like to be able to print out a set of the rules to help users who find reading difficult. Also, students with vision problems would appreciate not having to read yellow text on a dark blue background. It is possible to make a copy using Print Screen, but this will have a blue background.

This is the only downside in what is a really good resource and the price represents really good value both for school and home use, even at the single user price.

Click here to see Nubble! and Nubble! Express.

Topologika *Words & Music* was short listed for a British Education Technology Teaching exhibition – BETT 2007 Award. BETT is the major exhibition in the UK promoting technology teaching resources to teachers and schools. Words & Music is now available to parents through keen2learn. Topologika is a brilliant, independent, Cornwall-based publisher with 20 years experience in developing educational software for children. Their renowned software titles challenge children to be creative and think differently, in this case not just encouraging them to write music but also to add lyrics (or do it the other way round). In fact we wrote a little ditty ourselves, that goes something like this: “If your kids are keen2learn, or if perhaps they’re not, buy some software from this site, it’ll save you quite a lot”.Keen2learn ditty

Back to news.

On the BBC Breakfast programme 15th March 2007, Alan Johnson, Education Secretary, spoke of the vital role that parents can play in actively supporting their children’s education. This is backed by compelling evidence showing the performance improvement of children reinforcing lessons at home.

Initially, parents of toddlers taught them to walk, talk and ride a bike. The process involved encouragement, perseverance and critically – continuing practice at the pace of the individual child. Studies in the USA by the National Training Laboratories show the learning retention rate associated with the “practice in doing” activity is a significant 75%, comparing favourably with the 5 – 50% retained from other classroom procedures.

The 1:1 relationship between parent and child during the early learning process is subsequently replaced with a 1: 30 ratio at school. The initial patience and perseverance of the parent being replaced by the inevitable world of averages. Whilst the teacher is constantly adapting to changes in the curriculum, teaching practices and government initiatives the opportunity to focus in class on the practice function of the lesson is understandably limited.

The primary role of the teacher is to effect and manage the educational journey of a child, but changes in the technology used in teaching aids over the past five years involving DVD’s and interactive CD ROM’s for example, has changed the face of the classroom process. Incorporating the subject matter in an enjoyable game format which stimulates interest and learning presents the opportunity for parents to once again take a more active role in helping their children by practicing the lesson content at home.

Keen2learn is a new award – winning online web site providing parental access to the teaching aids used in schools. Over 1000 products, covering all subjects from foundation through the 4 Keys Stages supporting the National curriculum are available. Just 8 months from launch Intel recognised the significance of the site with a national award.

A child spends just 15% of their time at school. The opportunity for teachers to mobilise parents towards utilising some of the remaining 85% in a fun way would do wonders to the educational output of the UK, and not involve a single change in government policy or teaching capacity.

We have just added more of the great range from Sherston. These fantastic interactive PC ROM’s are a favourite in school and cover a growing range of subjects. The various titles follow the national curriculum and bring the subject to life in a games format featuring some great characters and graphics. Learning has never been so much fun, and now the most popular titles are available to families at a very special price.

James Betts the UK Sales Manager at Sherston said ” We are delighted to be able to use the Keen2learn operation to promote the Sherston range to families at home. The growth opportunities for home support in a child’s learning programme is a hot topic. The easy navigation, sales support and product range from keen2learn is ideal for parents and teachers to make a real difference”

Stuart Owens, operations director at keen2learn explained ” We have been frequently asked for Sherston products, and now we can offer a comprehensive selection at a great home user price.”

Keen2learn is really pleased to announce the extension of the fantastic range of educational products from market leaders Learning Resources. The ingenuity and quality of the LER range has been established for many years in the USA and built a phenomenal reputation for these great fun based products in schools throughout the UK.

Parents wanting to support the learning of their children aged 2 to 12 years can now enjoy the wider selection through Keen2learn. Marie Barr, Sales UK Manager with Learning Resources, said “We have been extremely interested in the keen2learn operation as it offers a great new opportunity for parents to give real support to their children in school.”

Resulting from positive customer feedback we have re-emphasised the nature of the products on the site. An essential element of learning emerges when it is fun to do – a feature well known by educationalists. All our products have been developed by specialist educational suppliers to include a huge element of fun. They can be played with parents, grandparent’s, siblings, on their own or against the computer!

The product selection menu has been renamed to reflect this. You will now see Maths games, English games, Spelling games, Science games, Telling the time games and so on- as well as Puzzles and Teacher Resources. They are still arranged with the Key Stages to match them to the age of your kids so you can have hours of enjoyment whilst helping them practice what they learnt at school. “Learning in Disguise” isn’t our by-line for nothing!

The natural dread of an exam result is universal. Be it medical, academic or even the MOT, we all opt for omens of good luck to spur things along in our favour. But key to the result is that we had an element of material involvement in the result. Welcome then to the school lottery!

The vast majority of parents display a preference for their child to receive the best education possible. Most of this aspiration lies in the hands of third parties; schools, teachers, the National Curriculum and the DfES. Understandably, the thought of a place in the preferred local school being subject to a lottery is abhorrent to all parents.

Although the achievement of these key schools must be applauded, perhaps we should be asking more of the system by insisting that the majority of schools achieve this status rather offering lottery places to the few. History, however, would suggest that such utopian dreams take a few generations to achieve. What then is the alternative?

There are a finite number of schools and teachers, with an infinite range of achievement. Allowing for the massive “churn rate” of teachers leaving the profession after three years, the opportunity to establish skilled teachers occurs within a greatly reduced core sample. Add in the schools running without a Head teacher (some up to two years) and those facing a retiring Head in the next few years and the problem can only get worse in the short term.

The resultant high stress levels amongst teachers are well documented, but this situation is also endemic with parents. Ironically, the answer may lie more with the parents than the school.

Clearly the classroom teaching function is vital, but sadly the opportunity to practice the lesson content in a crowed classroom is generally very restricted. Compelling evidence shows that the largest learning retention rate of 75% is achieved by practice. In comparison the initial teaching lesson in class achieves around 5% retention.

The mobilisation of parents towards operating a lesson reinforcement programme at home would have a profound effect on the achievement of children. With 20% of parents supporting their child in this way represents a 300% increase in the teaching capacity of the UK. The development of modern teaching resources encompasses board games and teaching apparatus induces a huge element of fun and enjoyment into the lesson. That can be replicated at home. Computers alone have opened the door to a comprehensive range of resources unheard of 5-10 years ago.

These teaching resources are now available to the parent at home, where the active involvement of the parent in these educational games provides fantastic support for the child. Reinforcing the classroom lessons on a 1:1 relationship at the pace of the child pays dividends to the child and is welcomed by teachers at school. It also provides the parent with a dynamic involvement in the schooling progress of their child.

Witnessing a child struggling with conventional homework, yet unable to help, or hearing a subject described as boring because they don’t really understand can be a thing of the past. Alternatively we could leave it with to the odds of a school place lottery, or invest in a £60,000 premium on the house to move to an ideal catchment area or wait for a fundamental review of the educational system.

We are shortly to include an on-line facility that will help parents to monitor their child’s use of the internet. You will be able to block unwanted internet sites by category, set time limits for the daily use of chat rooms etc, and be able to discreetly monitor their overall usage on line remotely.

The service is operated by Netintelligence, experts in the field of computer filtering, with systems in extensive use in business and schools.

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