Mailinglist Archive: opensuse-edu (243 mails)

[simon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Here ! Here !


Quoting Matt Johnson <johnsonmlw@xxxxxxxxx>:

> > 
> > Also the vast majority of games have little or no
> > place
> > in schools or offices...
> 
> Wow! I couldn't disagree more! I'm a teacher first,
> and a (primary) ICT coordinator second, and I really
> rate good quality strategy or simulation games for
> kids of all ages. I'm not talking about just teaching
> ICT here (although getting a game to work taught me
> about those ol' Windows files - config.sys etc). It
> inspires some (especailly boys, who are lagging behind
> Nationally) to read hefty manuals (it's what got me
> reading and I went on to study English Lit.). It gets
> them thinking about the problems in the game. It
> motivates them to do all sorts of cross-curricular
> work (writing their own manuals in a DTP, keeping
> spreadsheets of their results, writing up reviews).
> 
> I know games have a part to play in Education (Theme
> Park, SimCity (LinCity), Age of Empires are the
> obvious choices). We even use play stations here for
> the children's spare time. The conversation is
> stimulated for those who would normally prat around
> and get into trouble. It can give children with lower
> academic ability a chance to really know their stuff.
> There's loads of kudos in being the only one who knows
> how to complete level 5. You get the picture. Lower
> down the school, it helps to develop, among other
> things, fine motor skills.
> 
> I know these policies have bared fruit. Even if you're
> into measuring the success of a school by measuring
> how well it can get children to answer correctly in a
> test, then we have the proof. I teach a class of well
> motivated and enthusiatic 10 year olds. I like
> computing, but I'm a teacher at heart, and I can teach
> best when the kids really want to be there. I'm not a
> KS3 or 4 expert, but doesn't it apply right through?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> --
> Matt
> 
> 
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-------------------------------------
Simon Davies
System Manager
Queen Elizabeth Cambria School
Tel : 01267 236451 Fax : 01267 238224
www.satproj.org.uk/~cambria
-------------------------------------