Just when you thought it was safe and had come to terms with PC’s, Mac, Vista, networks and miniBooks the world is shortly to start turning the other way. Welcome to the wonderful world of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). We asked Brian Kerslake, Managing Director of Toplogika Software Ltd, one of the ‘oldest’ educational games […]

Teaching four-year-old children to write is nonsense says literacy consultant Sue Palmer. “As useful as teaching a dog to walk on its hind legs.” So why has the National Curriculum in the UK adopted new assessments to measure handwriting skills in the first year at school?
Concerned opinion asks why the government introduced a scheme which […]

Recent trials of a Nintendo maths games in Scotland have proved to be very successful. The key benefit is the format is seen as an educational game by children that is fun. This invokes a natural element of practice to improve the score or move to a new platform. It also allows peer assistance ( […]

The world is smaller than we think. Apart from the financial crisis that has become global, the issues concerning education seem remarkably common between the UK USA and Australia. Barack Obama made the following comments yeserday on his education policy.
In a major policy address and later in an interview with the editor of The Toledo […]

Educational games, toys and puzzles are being used to overcome one of the biggest drawbacks of teaching; how to quickly grab the attention of the class at the start of the lesson. Boys tend to take much longer to settle down and some children are notoriously late. Ten minutes of the class can be lost […]

Our modern lifestyle can sometimes mean that children at school lack the self confidence which comes from positive self esteem. Now there are educational games  and a government initiative that can turn building self esteem into a fun exercise that parents can join in. But how do children lack this self confidence in the first […]

The ability to read is the single most important factor in a child’s education. It is one of the easiest areas in which a parent can help at home using one of the reading games now available to help. Yet 67% of all parents don’t bother reading aloud with their children. Only 33% read with […]

The Exams That Need To Be Examined
The last thing any child wants, after the trauma of completing an exam, is to find out that the SAT assessment against the UK Key Stage 3 in the National Curriculum itself has failed.
The SAT key stage 3 system recently imploded in a spectacular fashion taking the hopes of […]

To broaden our education we have a new unit measure of force. The Times announced that the protons that are to collide in the new CERN facility will do so with the force of two aircraft carriers colliding head on at 11 knots. This possibly explains  the MOD’s recent announcement why they are to buy […]

Wise words from President Bush;
” One reason I like to highlight reading is, reading is the beginnings of the ability to be a good student. And if you can’t read, it’s going to be hard to realise dreams; it’s going to be hard to go to college. So when your teachers say, read- you ought […]

They say change is here to stay. Therefore the announcement by Ed Balls that the Department of Children, Schools and Families are to change the assessment of children by replacing the current form of SAT’s should not come as a surprise. Operationally is a huge change and not without some peril.
Teaching resources in the UK […]

In a unique collaboration, educational publisher Ransom has teamed up with Portsmouth FC and ChildLine to launch Goal! – a series of 48 football-themed books especially written for high interest age, low reading age students., now availiabe from Keen2learn.
The series desinged for priamry schools children who are reluctant or struggling with reading which launched at […]

In the space of 10 years the world as we know it can change dramatically. The schooling content seen as essential at the start of a decade can be almost irrelevant at the end. So are we programming the right curriculum for our children as they start their 10 year schooling journey and making the […]

Back to school! A fearsome thought for teachers, children and parents. The start of a new academic year, new class, new school, new teaching resources. Welcome back, the educational games have just started.
If you’ve been anywhere near the shops over the summer you couldn’t fail to notice the constant “back to school” promotions. They seem […]

The flood of joy, tears and recrimination has emerged with the GCSE level results. This annual trauma generates a philosophical dilemma as we seem to fail to learn from previous results.
Targets and points appear as the driving force. Concern  that too many easy subjects are pursued to gain points that universities discount; that languages are […]

The assiduous onset of global warming, reducing oil stocks conspire to threaten the world that will ultimately pass to future generations to resolve. Our school children need teaching resources to be groomed on the significance of alternative energy sources, and receive our apologies for getting it so wrong.
The International Energy Agency projects that the world’s […]

August is a crazy month. The outcome of years of blood sweat and tears of schooling are revealed in the exam results that tumble through the letter box. But it’s not just the kids that are on the receiving end, teachers, schools and the entire educational system are judged by the verdict.
Our teaching resources, education […]

Over the past 15 years, we have raised the question, “Why do you use educational games?” to our clients and workshop participants. From their feedback we have constructed a list of the ten very best reasons for using learning games. We hope these 10 descriptions will remind and stimulate you to consider learning games as […]

The SAT’s are out along with the knives. If you listen to teachers, as I do, you hear frustration, concern and despair. These are the voices of the professionals at the sharp end dealing with systems and procedures that don’t have their full support. The teach to test syndrome is leaving children beached as they […]

The cry of anguish from a Mother. “My daughter hates homework and it’s a struggle every week to get her to do it. I work 4 nights a week so I am limited to how much I can help in the evening. My husband has to be forced  to help her when I am at […]

There is an army of five million adults in the UK that can’t read or write properly and of critical concern is this alarming number is growing. Children continue to finish their primary or secondary education unable to read or write.
The new TV documentary highlights the dilemma. Accepting the inevitable slant TV puts on many […]

The parent homework help dilemma; do you intervene with too much help or just make sure they do it?  What sort of help is best for the children and the school?  Why the worst option is to do nothing and how fun homework can using maths games and other  educational games can come […]

A growing concern voiced by many teachers is the level of disruption occurring in the average class. Ranging from the severe to a simple case of horseplay at the start of the lesson it has a dramatic effect in draining the teaching resources  as well as impacting on the development of children in the class […]

‘Research has shown that the effect of parents and what they do at home to support learning can account for 80% of a child’s academic success. This compares to school being directly responsible for around 20% of factors leading to academic achievement’. ( PTA magazine Summer 07)
The learning triangle is carefully balanced with three equal […]

The UK government is championing what teachers have always said –children learn more and have greater fun in learning when they are taken outside the classroom and allowed to explore the practical application of the theory. It gives relevance to the text book and entices children to seek solutions.
The learning time in a classroom is […]

School days are becoming a daily grind.  The curriculum and performance targets conspire to narrow the scope of our children’s learning in preference of techniques that lead to better results. Whilst the measure of success is all that is subsequently recognised there is a downside. Bernice McCabe, head of North London collegiate school, said recently […]

Dads are abandoning the essential task of reading to their children. Seven steps to overcome the fear of most Dads in a simple guide to encourage them to read bedtime stories to their children and turn story reading into an educational game. Recognised as a key ingredient to a child’s reading development this enjoyable task […]

Paddington bear popped home yesterday, not to Peru but keen2learn.  Bet you thought he was born in Peru and resides in Paddington.  Well he does, but the bedrooms at Home Farm in Burghwallis, now the base for keen to learn, echo to bedtime stories read many years ago by Shirley and Eddie Clarkson.  […]

The Ice Journey book is an interesting blend of fact and fiction, which could be used effectively in several different ways. One of the stated aims for the author is to encourage and enable grandparents to participate in their grandchildren’s education. Many grandparents have an active part in caring for grandchildren today and this book […]

My daughter is 9 and has been home educated from the age of 4. Throughout this time, I have tried to make learning fun. I not only think that this is best way to learn but also makes learning memorable. We all remember the things we enjoyed doing. Consequently I have always looked […]