English spelling is probably the worst nightmare of anyone involved in adult literacy – teachers and learners. The biggest challenge for any learner is to find out how they can learn: which strategies might work for each individual. i like spelling games, but i’ve yet to find the perfect example. Recently
Recently, David was looking for networked games, to reward the students for doing their work effectively. He couldn’t install software directly, so we went looking for web-based “learning games”, and found this list from “mission to learn”. The hit of the day was the McDonalds Videogame. It’s challenging in its literacy and numeracy demands, as well as the ethical / critical literacy considerations. The goal is to boost company profits by razing rainforest, exploiting workers and corrupting officials. David came back in saying, “They’re all taking it seriously, i’m worried Read More …
Here’s an example of the world of technology emerging into the classroom. The BBC reports on a new game called “Keyboard Crazy”, which is a physical, on-the-table game, instructing people in the position of letters on a computer keyboard. Educators in Britain seem to be impressed by this commercial product, judging from a review from the Basic Skills Agency. One teacher claims it helps people learn “mental literacy” (as distinct from your physical, instinctive literacy?).
This year (’05) at PRACE, we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to research computer games in a learning environment. Our group of adults studying literacies with Margery seemed to enjoy playing games in their computer session, so we went off to discover what other games might be useful in a literacy-learning environment. My favourite game was AddemUp, from Blue Bug Games – a number game that really challenged people in the group. We found using the data projector very useful, for making this into a group activity. You Read More …