The art of reading a story to children has met with severe competition. Technology has deflected attention to Gameboy, Nintentdo, Wii, mobile phones and computers. Parents, seeing their child so occupied have little chance to infiltrate their busy schedule. Probably, as parents, they also lead a similar hectic lifestyle, at work and home. The story […]

Am I alone in marvelling at the forces of biology, physics and maths. When all three coincide the synergy of  science games becomes more apparent. With this in mind perhaps you could answer the following conundrum.

Biology: Yoghurt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of the milk sugar (lactose) produces lactic […]

Matt Damon is getting involved in a $25m Massachusetts Institute of Technology project to establish a laboratory to save the story.
Clearly seen as a concern that the old fashioned story is under threat, the project is to bring the latest technology to the fore. Reading resources could take on a whole new dimension in the […]

One of the greatest skills developed by children in school is the inventive excuse for not doing homework. Teachers have heard them all, and no doubt give marks for the most creative. Trends come and go, and the latest excuse seems to be all the fault of technology.
Schools and teachers hear 6.5 million excuses per […]

Seems outdoor games  and fun in the playground are the latest activities to be curtailed by the solicitors. Although the government is investing 235 million pounds over the next three years it appears that the focus on health and safety has diluted the fun and thrill of some of the games.
Unsupervised games are perhaps the […]

A recent report by Civitas  warns that Ofsted reports are becoming superficial. The detail is sparse and may not be representative of the true facts.
The time scale now allowed for Ofsted assessments has been cut to one or two days every three years. This has prompted fears the reports could miss weaknesses in teaching standards. […]

At the age of 16 the learning curve is steep, often the point where theory and practice start to combine to set the scene for a lifetime. What better way to prepare for adulthood than set sail solo around the world.
Michael Perham left Portsmouth yesterday on an attempt to sail around the world single handed. […]

There perhaps two grades of educational toys and games. Those sold direct to Mum’s and Dad’s in toy shops mostly as presents, and those designed for use in school that, developed by educationalists and teachers, are tuned to the curriculum.
The first category is uncategorised and aimed at the mass retail market where anybody can claim […]

Educational games are normally associated with learning. But  teachers who used to be respected pinnacles of society, with whom you did not argue have to play a new form of Educational game. Their position, possibly the first entity to introduce children to the discipline standards expected in society, has been horrendously eroded by the rules.
If […]

Education develops our intelligence, so why as adults are treated as children by the European parliament?  With children learning about plant growth through science games they have shrewd idea that plants do not grow in perfect moulds or extruded to precision standards. They tend to have the odd lump and bump and grow in a […]

Education and science games are all about preparation for adult life. Whilst at school I, like most children, believed most of what we learned would never get of the box again. But learning about Archimedes in physics and his theory of displacement took on a highly practical application for me.
As a lad I had the […]

Probably the greatest challenge for a teacher is gaining the involvement of parents in the schooling process. A heart rending tale from the USA reported in the Starexponent by Melanie Mervis published on  November 9th  2008 shows just how frustrating the life of teacher can be. But the support at home through educational games can […]

The pace of technology is accelerating, but can conventional learning be augmented with elements incorporated in educational toys? The opportunity of providing children with some of the skills they need in school presents a conundrum for designers. How to design in features required by the National Curriculum when it is constantly modified? The latest changes […]

The Early Years Learned supremo, Ruth Pimentel, National Director and responsible for the strategy felt it time to move on. The new Early Years foundation stage in the National Curriculum was only introduced in September 2008. Attracting some criticism of the 69 literacy, numeracy and problem solving targets (see our blog on 9th October ) […]

Shock horror, we are playing games with education again. Somehow we believed that if schools were set targets they would rise to the challenge and improve their teaching resources and exam achievement. How often have we heard of some form of manipulation of the system to maximise the result. And why not? If, as with […]