One of the best educational teaching resources to hit the market in recent years – is also one of the simplest.
Developed by a teacher, Thinking Dice are a set of six coloured foam cubes where each face has asks a different question to develop a student’s and adult reasoning skills.
The question areas are
Yellow; remembering,
Orange; understanding,
Red; applying,
Green; analysing,
Blue; educating,
Purple; creating.
Designed to get the student to think about the answer(s) in a highly way constructive way. Ideal to get things started as a lesson ice breaker or the start of a structured answer. The question can be in any subject; science, history English literacy even maths. Their application is phenomenal and seen as a great asset by teachers and students from primary school to university.
Colour coded Thinking Dice
Available in single packs of 6 dice for £12.49 (+VAT) or a super saver class pack of 30 packs of 6 dice for £263.75 (+VAT)
Each of the coloured dice asks a question in ascending order of thinking using Blooms revised taxonomy of thinking levels.
What is the Theory behind Thinking Dice?
Higher order Thinking:
Lower order thinking:
Benjamin Bloom was an educational theorist and teacher who studied the nature of thinking. His taxonomy has been widely used in the field of education since the 1950s. Bloom’s Taxonomy was revised in the 1990’s by a group led by Lorin Anderson, one of Bloom’s former students. The revised version is a more useful tool for teaching thinking skills. “Taxonomy” simply means “classification”. Bloom’s revised Taxonomy is a multi-tiered model of classifying thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity.
The lowest three levels of Blooms revised taxonomy are: remembering, understanding, and applying. The highest three levels are: analysing, evaluating and creating. “The taxonomy is hierarchical in the lower levels, in other words, a pupil functioning at the ‘applying’ level has also mastered the material at the ‘remembering’ and ‘understanding’ levels. It is suggested that one cannot effectively address higher levels until those below them have been covered. It is thus effectively serial in structure, until the higher levels are achieved.
Thinking Dice use the following elements of Blooms taxonomy.
Remembering Dice (Yellow) This is Bloom’s lowest level of thinking. Enables recall of information.
Understanding Dice (Orange) Bloom’s second level of lower order thinking. Promotes explanation of ideas or concepts.
Applying Dice (Red) Transition level from lower order thinking to higher order thinking Engages students in using information in another situation.
Analysing Dice (Green) Higher order thinking. Encourages the student to break information into parts to explore understanding and relationships.
Evaluating Dice (Blue) Higher order thinking. Guides the student to justify a decision or course of action.
Creating Dice (Purple) Higher order thinking. Challenges the student to generate new ideas, products or ways of doing things.
A new educational game helps children learn the periodic table. This essential area of knowledge, critical in understanding chemistry in science has always been a chore to learn. ElemensusTM is a new science game teaching resource available from keen2learn that turns the learning process into fun in the classroom and at home with the family.
The elements are the building blocks of everything in the Universe which makes them rather useful to know! Playing the game is not only great fun it helps children, and parents, to learn and remember the Periodic Table of Elements. The science game uses a letter and word format in a tile board game. The game features 162 double-sided tiles, an “Orion nebula game board” with word-star starting points, element tile racks, rules, dice, and a complete Periodic Table. The completed game using all 162 tiles shows a complete Periodic Table plus some extra elements such as Oxygen (O), Thorium (Th), Einsteinium (Es). Each of the game tiles shows the element’s group in colour, name, atomic number and abbreviation. If the element can’t be used in a word the flip-side of the tile shows a full A-Z of Dark Matter – all that stuff that scientists are still looking for but haven’t quite found yet.
The fun content provides a huge benefit in the learning process. The often dull slog of learning the periodic table is transposed into a fun activity which is both enjoyable, competitive and provides greater retention in learning. Learning in Disguise as keen2learn describes it. Elemensus was designed by Tony Davis with astrophysical help from Dr. Edward Gomez.
The Geniass educational game was developed by an ex teacher who saw a great way to enthrall children whilst they revise for GCSE’s. As a teaching resource in the classroom it is ideal for tutorial time as suggested by Ofsted for KS3 and KS4. At home with parents Geniass can be used help students learn and prove to parents how much they have forgotten.
Aimed at 11 – 16 year olds
2-6 players or teams
5 subjects included in the game – Physics, Biology, Maths, Chemistry and Religious Studies
100 question cards for each subject included in the game
By linking the game to the national curriculum children learn whilst having fun improving their grade, social skills and confidence. It is ideal for lunch time and after school revision clubs. The integral fun and learning retention makes Geniass ideal for home use SENCO’s, home tutoring and hospital schools. The flexibility of the educational game allows it to be played by 2 – 6 players or in teams. It can be used for personilised learning where the game length cab be easily adjusted to suit the time available.
Geniass is VAK learning in a box
Improve your student’s grades, social skills and confidence
Can be used as part of personalised learning
Game length can be tailored to the time available
Perfect for lunch time and after school revision clubs
Brilliant tool for SENCOs, Home Tutors, Students Teachers and Hospital Schools
Ideal learning resource for one to one support
Can be played with individual players or teams
Can be played as a single or multi subject game
Witness the rapid improvement in your child’s knowledge and self-esteem through playing Geniass. It’s the cost effective way to improve your child’s grades and confidence and nuture the a learning relationship with your child.
Best value resource for Home Study
A multi-sensory learning game and revision flashcards in one!
A family game where the children are always the winners
Play your kids to see how much you’ve forgotten and they actually know – you’ll be surprised
Some of the best early learning toys are still made in wood. The texture, feel and touch is one thing but importantly a wooden educational toy enriches the sound they produce. This is especially relevant in the new Sound and Sight drum launched by keen2learn. Designed to stimulate children in early years learning the drum produces a different noise from the six sound tubes as the child spins the drum. The effect is enhanced by the materials that reflect light in different patterns as the drum turns.
Children can also learn early motor skills playing with wooden threading rattlesnakes. Children pass the stout threading sleeve through the holes in body sections and head to form a colourful bendy rattlesnake. This educational toy teaches children fine motor skills and hours of fun. The alternate colours can be used in the body helps to develop sequencing skills.
The threading motor and sequencing skills these new toys provide comes with the fun practice the children will get by playing with the toys in the nursery school and foundation class in infants school.
The importance of renewable energy in the national curriculum can now be strengthened with the new Clean Energy Trainer teaching resources from Heliocentris and keen2learn. Exploring the benefits of wind, solar and fuel cell technology this classroom resource helps children explore the components of the energy chain including, generation, conversion, storage and supply.
The learning objective of this comprehensive approach to modern science in school allows children to understand the scientific processes involved in power conversion. The physical, chemical, biological and environmental concepts and processes are explored through practical experiments to heighten awareness. The Clean Energy Trainer reinforces the lesson content within the curriculum in a series of enjoyable and memorable hands on practical exercises.
The equipment and lesson plans allow each area to be explored in isolation before being merged to capture and distribute energy. The wind generator allows the number of blades and angle of attack to be adjusted to explore and plot efficiency curves. Wind speed is measured by the anemometer supplied as part of the kit. The solar panels power the electrolysis process allowing students to measure efficiencies and produce hydrogen as a key process in power storage. Variable fuel cell stacks generate electricity from the stored hydrogen and oxygen and allow power characteristics of fuel cell to be observed.
The Clean Energy Trainer is supplied with a comprehensive series of experiments and lesson plans to meet with the curriculum. Students will have great fun exploring the interrelating source of green energy whilst measuring the performance of the processes through experiments that controlled and recorder on a data logging computer program.
The great teaching resource can be used with the supplied software-based simulation of different weather conditions and load profiles. The program also allows manual and automatic generation of characteristic curves and supports measurement and experimentation based on the extensive lesson support and experiment instructions.
See a demonsration of the Clean Energy Trainer:
Green renewable energy is becoming a crucial feature in our daily lives. The concepts may have been around for decades but the commitment to its use is growing and children in school will have the task of making renewable energy ever more efficient. And the Clean energy trainer is just the start to whet their appetite.
Seeing a gap in many students’ education one of the world’s leading accountancy software devlopers has developed Sage At School a student’s educational programme in business finance. A recent commercial agreement means this significant educational programme is now available from www.keen2learn.co.uk Despite modern teaching resources many senior executives from employers and universities comment on the poor standard of numeracy and commercial awareness in job and degree applicants. School leavers and graduates are facing a tougher employment market where the quality of many recruits is falling behind employer expectations.
Sage at School is a combination of teaching resource and student’s packs. Developed by Sage UK, a market leader in accountacy software, it is a real opportunity for children in secondary school to enhance their CV with a foundation qualification in business finance and book keeping. Aimed at Head Teachers, business curriculum and maths leaders in school there are no reasons to stop parents providing the same tuition at home. Alistair Owens, managing director at keen2learn explained “In addition to children and graduates wanting to get a good job – around 77 per cent dream of running their own business.” He added “In this increasingly competitive world giving young people a head start is foremost in the minds of most educational leaders and parents. A sound knowledge in business finance is crucial to help those dreams become a reality.”
Keen2learn have been promoting educational games and teaching resource to parents, schools, colleges and universities since 2006. The recent tie up with Sage is a very natural development. “When we set up the award winning keen2learn website getting the finance right was vital. We used a Sage accountancy program which gave us a clear insight in handling the cash for the company,” said Alistair Owens. “The current economy has meant money is becoming ever tighter and a young person’s understanding of finance in business –whatever their job description will be a real asset to their employer and themselves. Sage at School will be a tremendous start.”
Although the Sage at School certificate was originally designed as a teaching resource in schools any parent with an understanding of numeracy will be able to support their child at home. Holding the Sage at home certificate could make the world of difference in their future career.
After a multitude of delays due to the relocation of manufacture Thinking Dice are due in stock from 16th May 2012. These much sought after educational games get children to think laterally and develop a higher order evaluation and creative thinking through their use as an English game teaching resource.
The dice are 5cm foam cubes with a different question on each face. The set comprises of six dice in three colours to break the question into areas of higher thinking to let children develop ideas on the following topics:
Remembering and recalling information,
Understanding ideas and concepts,
Applying information in order to explore and understand relationships
Evaluating situations and creativity.
The dice can be used in a huge range of subject areas and age ranges. They can be used in the classroom as a teaching resource or at home at any point in a lesson to get students to use their thinking skills:
Introduction of lessons.
Throughout an entire lesson.
Plenary and reflection of learning.
Managing differentiation of thinking skills.
Circle Time and Hot seating
Assessment of thinking skills (Informal teacher assessment)
The popularity of the games has been huge with many teachers seeing the benefits of the fun approach to learning paying dividends in a short space of time. The students look forward to “playing the game” which is helping them delve into greater depths in understanding a subject area. Educational games are after all “Learning in Disguise” – the adopted theme of www.keen2learn.co.uk which follows the advice of Plato 2000 year ago ”
“Do not, my friend, keep children to their studies by compulsion, but by play.”
In a move to capture the vast educational market for computer teaching resources, Intel has launched its latest classroom resource at a very competitive price. Inevitably the design will be branded by computer giants as a way of offering fun educational games into the classroom as well as a prime teaching aid. The design, running on the well-proven Intel Atom chip and priced at around $100, will be a significant competitor to the iPad. The $400 lower price tag of the Intel tablet to the iPad will be very attractive to school budgets. And the sturdy design of the Intel offering could be far more attractive in a school environment. More………
Many children enjoy the outside classroom and learning experience from the likes of biology field games. But it can be a nuisance to wash all those young hands afterwards. Luckily an inventive supplier has come up with a great solution; a portable hand wash unit. The Kidiwash is available as a compact fold down wash basin with its own supply tank. Once filled with warm water the tank will keep it warm for several hours and is capable of providing a warm water wash for 10 children.
For larger groups there is a hand wash station. the Kiddisynk. This free standing unit can be wheeled to the site and provide warm wash for 40 children. The brightly coloured units attract children and provide fun in the hand washing process. The units can also feature a soap and hand towels dispensers that clip to the side.
Waste water runs down to a container in the base of the sink to be wheeled to the disposal area.
Kiddiwash and kiddisynk is available from keen2learn
Letter cubes is a new teaching resource pocket word dice that helps with English literacy in an educational game that can be played by any number of players or teams. It consists of 12 letter dice, each with a score value. Each player takes a turn to throw the 12 dice then composes one or two words from the letters on the upturned faces. The score is added up from the points on the letters used. For the more advanced game points can be taken away from unused letters.
The class-pack is supplied as 6 packs of 12 dice and has the advantage of variations on the game that allow you to choose to allow players to compose words crosswords-style, by crossing words. When adding points, letters used twice are counted twice. OR After throwing the dice, each player writes a list of words using the letters. The player with the longest list wins the round. OR having chosen a topic such as animals, countries, makes of cars, roll one die or several dice. The first player to call out a word starting with the letter or one of the letters on the dice gets a point. OR after throwing the dice, each player composes a sentence or poem using words starting with the letters available. All letters must be used.
The list is growing and can be extended with your own ideas. The fun helps stimulate children to learn.
The ever popular Talking Dice series from keen2learn has been extended to include a new selection pack. This range of teaching resources is designed to stimulate talking, discussion and story writing in children and adults. A real benefit is this can be achieved in any language.
Developed by teachers as a quick and enjoyable way to get students practicing their language skills. A simple throw of the picture-based dice gets your students instantly speaking, thinking and listening. You can add more dice based on the ability of the group. The dice can be used to teach any first or second language in a variety of ways. The range extends across a wide selection of curriculum based topics. Students roll the dice and say what they see in the target language. There is no other product that matches Talking Dice’s Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic properties. Talking Dice are used by thousands of language teachers, primary school teachers and speech therapists worldwide. Talking Dice can fit into your current lessons plan in minutes and the variations are almost endless.
Young children often struggle to understand their feelings and insecurities when dealing with other children. A key is to encourage them through educational Feel Good Board games which open up with a chance to express themselves and see they are not that different from other children. This reassurance and encouragement is an important part of PSHE teaching resources for younger children.
The games have been developed to make learning easy. With a little patience and practice by parents and teachers the involvement and confidence of children is easily achieved. The Feel Good board game is a non-competitive team game for use as a PSHE teaching resource in the classroom or at home. By helping children become familiar with different feelings and emotions and ways of expressing them they will learn to be sharing, caring, laughing and smiling whilst focusing on their own and others unique qualities. A fun way for children to gain confidence and boost their self-esteem.
The popular BBC science clips TV series of simulations has been turned into eductaional software allowing it to be used as very effective teaching resources. Teachers can include the series as art of their lesson plans to present science experiments in biology, chemistry and physics to children aged five – 16 years old. The three CD ROMs each contain seven areas of science activity aimed at five to seven year old’s, seven to eleven and 14- 16 year old children. The beauty of these fun educational games is they can effectively simulate the outcome of an experiment without the need for apparatus. The animations are highly effective in putting the subject across and can be shown on whiteboards and PC’s.
There are several license version available including a home version that allows parents to get involved in the science learning games with their children.
Some great new teaching resources have been added to the keen2learn range. Omingraph is the highly successful maths graphing software designed to let children see the graphical results of maths equations. There are over 150 starting points that have been developed by teachers who see the educational software as a huge benefit in letting children see graphs of their results. There are three versions of the software license. The single user license is designed for home use and for a small group in school. The other licenses are for primary schools and secondary school. Both of these are for unlimited use.
Omingraph is a learning game that is a huge benefit in the maths lesson plans – perhaps why it is in such wide use.
This year educational toys are being closely reviewed as many parents look at Christmas in a different light. Young children, blissfully unaware of the meaning of recession, are looking forward to receiving presents but instead of buying the latest plastic craze many parents are thinking of fewer but more worthwhile gifts.
The Keen2learn website is full of educational games, toys and puzzles designed to provide fun learning that follows the National Curriculum. Our theme of “Learning in Disguise” reiterates the advice given by Plato over two thousand years ago; “Do not, my friend, keep children to their studies by compulsion, but by play.” Turning learning into fun is hugely attractive to children who learn the rules of the game then play it repeatedly gaining confidence and speed. This self assurance leads to exploration and as the keen2learn teaching resources cover a huge range of subjects there are plenty to chose from that can help with performance back in school. One of the more inventive Christmas presents are in electronics and there are some great ICT games (information communications technology) which introduce children to electronics and computer control.
LogiRobot can be used in simple play or used in more complex and engaging projects that help children understand the principles of control, automation and robotics. But watch out as LogiRobot has a mind of its own that you need to control.
Keen2learn has just added some great new Numenko educational games for maths to their range. Coinciding with the news that children are still reluctant to learn maths these fun games can be played in school and at home by two – six players. A sound foundation in numeracy is essential to allow children to progress in maths and if this learning can be made to be fun the desire to learn can be accelerated through practice.
The UK is still failing in maths. Although the recent round of improved GCSE results were an improvement on last year there is a hidden concern. Maths, science and engineering are in decline replaced by a trend for children to take easier subjects in order to gain a better score and exam points. Our heritage is at stake, as our inventiveness will decline without a sound grounding in maths and more children than ever are dropping maths after they are 16 years old.
Many children find maths difficult because they can’t see the fun that can be had by playing maths games. Numenko is a board game using wooden tile to form maths answers in a crossword fashion similar to Scrabble. Addition, subtraction, division and multiplication form the answers on the board with the score being the answer to the statement. 6 x 2 =12 gives the player a score of twelve. The simplicity of the game makes it possible to for children of different ages to play. A second version of the game –Numenko in a Bag does away with the board to let children play anywhere – the winner is the first to use all their tiles.
Seeing how easy maths can become through playing Numenko will help children to break down any fear about maths which helps to build their confidence and develop a deep seated interest in numeracy.
One of the best ways for children to learn is through trial and error, the hands on approach that boosts learning retention. And the best way to entice attention and involvement is through educational games that bring fun into learning. Keen2learn has just launched a great new teaching resource that has application in the classroom but be just as easily be used at home.
Click a Tronic is a great new way for children to learn about electronic circuits. It has easily clip-together printed circuit links that build up into an electronic circuit. Clip in the sensors, motors, fans and repays supplied with the game to turn the circuit into an operational unit. The Click a Tronic is an ideal teaching resource that covers the ICT, science, Design and Technology (D&T) elements of the national curriculum in fun exercises. Described by children as “the best lesson ever” the range of design experiments is enormous limited only by their imagination.
Already in use around the world it is a huge hit with teachers who use it in class. Importantly the Click a Tronic can be un-clipped and stored in the box provided and reused over and again. It comes with lesson plans, worksheets and instructions in a picture book with illustrations. Importantly it covers 200 learning projects in the principles and application of parallel and series circuits, electric motors and sensors. Projects can be a combination of techniques and how a project can be made to react to light, sound and moisture to activate a circuit.
Designed for children of five years old and upward the Click a Tronic is a hit in the class and at home where parents can support the projects and also see how a circuit is designed with application around the home. Probably the best present parents and relative can buy at the moment.
Keen2learn’s range of PSHE educational games has been joined by a great new front of class teaching resource. The My BodyBoard series of health and nutrition teaching aids comprise of a cartoon drawing of the body or food – mounted in a sturdy aluminium frame. The board is magnetic to allow the class to place a combination of magnetic text and pictures onto the image of the human body or “eatwell” plate. The teacher can then highlight the dangers of alcohol and smoking by showing the effects on organs of the body.
The “bodyboards” were developed by an ex teacher who used his experience in class linked with the graphics skill of his wife to launch these great new learning games. Allowing children to see the adverse effects on the organs of the body and place the images correctly on the body is a significant ways of getting the point across. Keen2learn will adding extensions to this exciting range as they become available.
The boards can be easily displayed on a an easel or flip chart easel and stored with the magnetic images in place in an optional storage bag.
We recently published some news on a great new range of music ICT games. A series of online educational games now fill a gap in a key area of learning music. Keen2learn now offer some learning resources to help students learn music by ear. The good news is the games are fun and each one is developed for anyone even those who can’t read music or have had any training in music theory. You will need to have some understanding of musical notation and be ready to learn the fundamentals of music theory. All of the games start at the beginner level and progress gradually to more difficult levels.
Basic Ear Training: Kickstart your ear training practice with this foundational set of workouts! Basic Ear Training gives you a thorough, well-balanced grounding in the four core areas of musicianship: melody, harmony, rhythm and sound. Regardless of your current level or instrument, this 30-day training program will sharpen your musical ear and mind!
Music is all about sound, and the most valuable asset a musician can have is a well-developed ear. Developed for the student, musician wanting to practice and as a teaching resource for music teachers these games provide a fun way to daily practice routines.
Steve Myers, MD at Theta Music explained “A musician with a good ear can play tunes quickly after hearing them, write down melodies and chords he hears in his head, or imagine a melodic phrase and play it instantly on his instrument. To the uninitiated, these feats appear magical – as if the player has some kind of divine gift. In reality, though, they rest upon a set of specific, concrete skills that can be developed through practice and training.”
Ear training develops and ties together all the skills that allow musicians to play, improvise and compose music by ear. It is the key to becoming not just good, but great. The ear training games on Theta Music Trainer will give you the practice you need without becoming monotonous or academic. Games inject an element of variety and fun into your practice routine and help boost your motivation. Basic musicianship skills are often best developed by working away from your instrument initially, in short bursts of concentrated practice. The games on this site are perfect for developing these skills, and are designed to provide a total workout of your musical ear and mind with as little as 10-15 minutes per day of regular playing.
Each game in the Theta Music Trainer is meant to train you in a specific area of musicianship.
Since keen2learn began five years ago as a web trading operation we’ve had a huge advantage over the conventional printed catalogue sales outlets. Our dynamic web site means we can adjust the range of educational games, toys and teaching resources to feature new products coming onto the market in the space of a few hours. A process that can take up to a year before they appear in a printed catalogue.
This means you get to see the latest products – sometimes within a few days of them being launched. We also pride ourselves in being able to support the smaller supplier. Whilst the larger organisation has to analyse the sales potential before adopting a product we can work closely with a supplier without placing all sorts of demands and restrictions on them. It’s like the friendly corner shop versus the supermarket chain.
This gives many small suppliers with some brilliant products the change to promote their educational games without having to meet the supply and demand restrictions of the big boys. This is especially relevant to the many ex teachers who have a great idea and want a route to market that doesn’t place a huge financial burden on them.
So if you want to some great products that you might not find elsewhere – as well as some of the most popular games from the larger manufacturers – take a look at Keen2learn. Our range is continually being adjusted as we like to make room for new products. Sometimes this means we ditch products where the margin has been eroded through over supply, or through pricing shenanigans introduced by the suppliers. And remember the keen2learn price you see is the final price you pay. There are absolutely no hidden extras that emerge when you get to the checkout. (* unfortunately we do have to make apply a small charge for deliveries to non UK mainland and overseas). And if you are a small supplier who wants to get to the educational market give us a call – we may be able to help.
One of the greatest problems to face a parent, teacher or youth worker is being able to form an effective line of communication with a child, teenager or young adult. Often worried about serious issues in their life many young people are unable to find the way to discuss an issue that concern them. A new range of educational games, Choice Discussion Cards, developed by a specialist with 25 years experience in this sensitive area have opened the door for young people to start effective discussions with adults.
Communication is one of the most pressing concerns in the education of young people. The Communications Trust are running the ‘Hello, Talk-Listen-Take part’ campaign to make 2011 a national year of communication. The aim to drive awareness of how important it is for children and young people to develop effective communications skills with their peers, parents, carers and society.
The Choice Discussion Card range is designed to help the development of effective communication on subjects of greatest concern to children and young people. Expressing their thoughts and emotions on social and challenging issues is a huge challenge for many children. Using these new PSHE teaching resources in a place and environment that is good to talk without interruptions from phones or TV’s and having a snack and a drink ready will ease the tensions that are often present at the start of conversations. This is especially relevant if you are tackling bullying, drugs, bereavement, gang culture, relationships, school work or any other issue that could be an ongoing or a new problem.
Let’s Get Talking Choice Discussion card sets are designed to get the exchange going but preparation on the subject area is important to steer the flow of conversation. Covering many subjects including Health, Crime and Personal development they have been developed specifically to handle issues that are tricky and challenging for parents and carers to open a conversation with young people. The cards are both intervention and prevention tools that unpick and drill down through key issues. The flow of conversation will allow adults to understand the underlying problems concerning the child or teenager.
Prepare yourself for any ‘truths’ to emerge; you may be surprised at just what is revealed. Preparation and knowledge of the issue is essential as nothing will hit you as hard as the truth.
Each set of Choice Discussion Cards gives a selection of topic cards for the child to choose. They are then asked to discuss why they chose that card. Patience is a virtue whilst using the cards. Adults need to be non-judgemental and open minded otherwise the child will close down. Designed as educational games to empower the child, which in turn will allow adults to discuss a satisfied solution together! Do not feel guilty about your parenting or teaching skills. These communication cards are here to help improve a child’s life and well-being.
Social and challenging issues are something all parents, teachers and carers face with children reaching adolescence. Suddenly the sweet young child has turned into a greasy, green spotted monster that just grunts. Now you can reach out for support which can otherwise be a hard and tough time for all. Award-Winning Let’s Get Talking discussion cards cover: Depression,Alcohol, Drugs, Hygiene, Anger, Friends, Knives, Guns and Gangs, Life, Love, Money and Being Bullied. And the range is expanding.
A week is long time in politics and educational matters. The games played with the schooling process seems boundless. Whilst Michael Gove, the educational secretary, is raking over the fire at primary and secondary level, his counterpart in the coalition Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader and Coalition education spokesman, has decided he might not support cutting the education maintenance allowance (EMA), money paid to encourage children to stay at school after 16. This fairly definite possibility, this is a politicians view remember, may take effect or like the many positioning statements on education Simon Hughes might just back down at the eleventh hour. If only politicians could think on about the confusion such stances have with children who stand to gain or loose from the outcome..…more Daily Telegraph.
The Counter Challenge maths board games has been around for the past 10 years. Already a firm favourite in schools it has just been relaunched as a on line teaching resource for use in school or at home.
The new on line version has all the interactive features oyu would expect but the original board game version is still available. Ann Douglas, maths specialist & P/T teacher at St Luke’s primary school in Redditch, has been using the original version which has proved to be a firm hit in numeracy games.
“Our more able eight-to nine year olds used the resource. I introduced times tables with quick response questions and explained that these skills will be needed. I handed out a selection of counters and scrap paper and explained the calculations/scoring method. The children then recorded the scores they could make using different counter combinations.
We discussed who could score more than100, how they did it and which counters were the most useful to get a high score. The children loved it!
They learned a new scoring method as well as improving their logical thinking, planning/estimating and number skills.
I can imagine schools developing Counter Challenge tournaments. The game is more versatile and challenging than other maths games I’ve seen. The one limitation is that it is only suitable for small groups at a time.
A fun, challenging game, which is excellent value for money.”
The on-line new version is available by subscription from http://www.keen2learn.co.uk and provides hours of fun for any children and parents whilst learning maths in disguise.
Based on a combination of chess and draughts a new on-line maths game has received some rave reviews. Keen2learn have just added the new game of Counter Challenge to their selection of educational games and teaching resources. The game allows different skills and age levels to be set to offers a maths challenge from one to four players. To take an opponents piece from the board you have to correctly answer a couple of questions in a pop up box.
The questions involve addition, subtraction, division and multiplication selected before the game starts. The bigger scoring counters have the trickiest questions. The winner does not necessarily take the greatest number of opponent’s counters but achieves the higest score.
The game was reviewed in the September 2010 Maths In School Journal, “Pupils will pick this up very quickly and the competitive element will provide a stimulus. The calculations will be carried out without pupils really noticing they are doing them and it is easy to see some becoming addicted to the game.”
Keen2learn, the well known on-line shop for educational games and teaching resources has expanded its popular range of educational construction toys. “Education has to be fun to compete for a child’s time” said Alistair Owens managing director at www.keen2learn.co.uk.
Although the market is awash with so called ‘educational toys’ Owens claims many have dubious educational value. “The term has been misapplied by marketing operations wanting to make their products sound more appealing to parents” he added.
The keen2learn team spent some time scouring the market to find a product range that provides practical interest, fun and learning. They found the ideal in the Kiditec construction range. “These toys have real educational merit and meet the keen2learn mission of ‘learning in disguise’ said Owens. Designed and manufactured in Switzerland, quality is a key feature and the range is set to sell well to discerning parents in the UK. The constructor kits are extremely sturdy and the large components make it easy for small children to assembly. The parts interconnect to form a variety of different animals, cars, aeroplanes and cranes depending on which kit is used. The robust design allows children to play safely and even ride on certain finished toys. Although full assembly instructions are provided and Mum and Dad can help, most children quickly learn how the models are assembled and make them into another animal, their imagination is all that is required. The parts are all interchangeable between the other kits, making the range a huge source of practical enjoyment.
The most popular education toy from the Kiditec range is the Multicar. The kit allows the child to build a ride-on car that can be changed into a scooter or a truck, it just depends on their imagination. Learning in disguise is the sales slogan for keen2learn and certainly the new range of educational toys fits the bill precisely.
A New saver selection pack lets customer choose 10 individual educational choice discussion card games and save £20. Designed to support one of the most difficult areas of education – to get shy or troubled children to open up to discuss their feelings! These popular Choice discussion cards tackle a growing number of issues in the form of educational PSHE games.
Originally keen2learn sold these popular games in single packs, or as a saver pack of 10 titles from each series. Designed for use by parents, teachers and youth workers they have proven extremely popular and achieved a breakthrough with many children who have been previously reluctant to discuss key issues. Their format as educational games breaks the ice and comes from 25 years of experience by the designer of the games. Their popularity has now been increased through the introduction of a user-chooser selection option. The games can be bought individually, in series saver pack of 10 titles or now in the new self -select pack where the customer selects the 10 titles they want from the whole range.
The usual predicament for grandparents, uncles and aunts is what present to buy grandchildren nieces and nephews who has a birthday – or Christmas looming up. You want to buy a sensible present that helps at school and does not comprise of four kgs of home assembly plastic. You want it to last, have educational benefits and fun. Start by taking a look at the range of educational games used by teachers in class.
Research shows around 50 per cent of learning is retained from listening to the teacher and this can be increased to 75 per cent through practising what the teacher is saying. Unfortunately lessons in a busy classroom leave very little time where children can actually practice what they are learning. To offset this deficiency children are set homework, but using conventional text and exercise books for homework can be very one dimensional and often frustrates both child and parent. Name any child that actually likes homework! But there is a great solution that supports learning and involves parents in fun educational activities with their children.
As time is short in class teachers use a range of educational games and toys to encourage children to have fun and start to practice the lesson. Now these same teaching resources are available for use at home. www.keen2learn.co.uk is dedicated to providing educational games to schools and parents. The range covers essential learning support in numeracy, literacy, maths, science, and ICT. Alistair Owens managing director at keen2learn explained “We launched the site four years ago to provide a fun way for children to learn in school and at home. The games are all matched to the National Curriculum and ideal for children aged 3 – 15 years.”
Keen2learn soon caught the eye of Intel who gave a national award for their entrepreneurial learning approach. A year later the site won a design council award. The product range is continually expanding and used by schools and now parents throughout the UK and overseas. The teaching resources come in the form of board games, bingo games, educational software and puzzles. “As the whole family can join in the games they are providing a great interface with parents and siblings at home. This new form of homework is welcomed by teachers who see the benefits to the child back in school” said Alistair Owens.
Technology is helping to extend the scope of educational games and whilst many manufacturers claim some educational content the best recommendation of quality is whether the product is used by teachers. Online games have huge potential to use technology to support children. “Our latest addition to the keen2learn range is an on-line revision system called Pagabo. For an annual subscription of £29.99 children can revise any subject in key stages 1- 4 and GCSE at any time online. The educational games format of Pagabo makes the experience hugely enjoyable” explained Alistair Owens.
The Pagabo package also lets parents see how their child is progressing and where further help may be needed. Children suddenly are looking forward to homework and equally parents and teachers see positive results from the increased practical learning support from parents. Educational games at home and hands on parents can prove vastly more productive that the end of term report – where help may be a little late.
Pagabo the home educational revision system is seen as a real alternative to traditional print based revision guides. Stuffed full of educational games this on-line system learning platform provides children with a stimulating and challenging way to learn and revise. The single subscription fee of £29.99 allows access by the whole family for a year. Already used by over 700 schools to support children the comprehensive programme includes access to over 30,000 curricular questions and a multitude of games.
Pagabo operates on a reward interface whereby answering the questions correctly unlocks new games with results being displayed at the end of the session. It entices children to learn by having fun. Purchased by parents for the whole family, Pagabo will help families learn together and inspire learners’ performance.
The range of subjects is growing and is fully accessible to all using the system. The range of revision games cover key stage 1, Key stage 2, key stage 3, key stage 4 and Diploma
For some time educational games website www.keen2learn.co.uk have offered educational software to help children understand and compose music. These music games are now joined by a range of musical instruments to help children in school, nursery and at home learn how to make and enjoy music.
Our budding composers and musicians of tomorrow are in school at the moment. The idea way to nurture and stimulate an interest in music is to introduce the delights of sound from carefully selected musical instruments. The new selection is from various parts of the world to bring geography into the learning programme.
It would have been easy to bring musical instruments earlier into the range but we found most were just toys, said Alistair Owens MD at keen2learn. “The new instruments we have selected are robust, designed for school use and made from materials matched to give the ideal sound.” For example just take a look at the Glokenspiel and Mini Steel drum
Steel drum for school children
Glokenspiel
The
y have been develop
ed for the early learner but have application over a wide age range.
Getting children to think and develop their reasoning skills is sometimes like climbing a mountain – where do you start. Keen2learn have introduced a great new educational product designed as literacy games to help children, parents and teachers tackle new concepts in a range of subjects.
Thinking Dice is a brand new fun product to encourage pupils to develop higher order thinking and questioning skills. Research has shown teaching children effective thinking skills can make a world of difference in their effective learning.
Each set of the dice comprise six large 5cm cube colour coded foam dice that have a question structure printed on each face. They are specifically designed to promote questioning and higher order thinking at a specific level of Bloom’s revised taxonomy of thinking. In case these have slipped your mind they are: remembering and recalling information; understanding ideas and concepts; applying information; analysing information in order to explore and understand relationships; evaluating ideas, concepts, situations and creativity; and making something new with the knowledge. See it all floods back!
Thinking Dice can be easily adapted for a wide age range and can be applied to a huge selection of topics in many subject areas. They are a boon to a teacher who can use the application of the questions to help in the lesson plan.
The possibilities of developing children’s higher order thinking are endless!
