Archive for October, 2004
October 26, 2004
I just read this BBC article about computer games in schools: Computer games could enhance learning and have a legitimate place in the classroom, say researchers.
During my last interview for a maths teaching post, one of the first questions I was asked was how I used games in my teaching. Like most (all?) teachers, I have used games in a number of classroom situations:
to introduce concepts;
to motivate and challenge;
to encourage creative thinking;
to provoke discussion;
to create a meaningful context for skills;
to check understanding;
etc…
So far I have used games to assist in learning, but is there a case for games to be the focus of learning? Yes, I think the study and creation of computer games can and should be included in a modern curriculum. Other cultural forms are currently studied in schools, e.g. television and film in Media Studies and literature in English; the study of computer games could just as legitimately be included in ICT or Media Studies courses. It already is at sixth form level; see these articles about the OCR Media Studies AS-level, in which students will explore “conflict and competition in computer/video games”.
I am currently looking at the possibility of offering Edexcel’s new Diploma in Digital Applications for ICT Users (DiDA) at my school. New modules are currently being developed - the study and creation of computer games might be appropriate content for this ‘revolotionary new suite of ICT applications’.
Students completing this course may also gain a Macromedia Associate qualification. Students I teach seem to enjoy playing Flash games at every opportunity; I think many would also benefit from creating them (and picking up a couple of qualifications along the way).
October 26, 2004
Very sad. John Peel died of a heart attack today.
From BBC Radio 1: John Peel OBE, legendary Radio 1 and Radio 4 presenter, has died suddenly on holiday in Peru. “John Peel was a unique broadcaster whose influence on Radio 1 could be felt from its very first days. He nurtured musicians and listeners alike introducing them to new sounds.”
You can read and send tributes on this BBC page.
October 24, 2004
October 23, 2004
The Catfish clothing emporium in Cambridge
October 22, 2004
At the moment I like:
Marmite - a spread
Jorge Luis Borges - a writer
The Band - a band
Firefox - a web browser
Polidex - a political trading game
Tottenham Hotspur - a football club
Cancer Research UK - a charity
Cassowary - a bird
Mulholland Drive - a film
Brain of Britain - a radio programme
The Battle of Hastings - a conquest
Abandoned Love - a song
October 18, 2004
As the old joke goes: Comic Sans walks into a bar, and the barman says, “We don’t serve your type.”
General
I have recently been thinking about fonts - I normally use Verdana for written reports (memos, letters, etc.) and MS Trebuchet for the web (as you see here). Why? Because I like them and find them easy to read - but whether they work for my audience, or send out information about myself, I have not investigated. No one has moaned so far.
I do not use Verdana on the web, as I feel it is a bit too wide; similarly I do not use serif fonts as the serifs appear too thick on the screen.
I am currently trying to learn more about fonts - I have read A DISAGREEABLY FACETIOUS TYPE GLOSSARY; I am reading some stuff on thinking with type; I have found some interesting fonts on dafont.com, fontosaurus, fonts.tk and Letterhead Fonts, among others.
I have read The Scourge of Arial, learned the differences between Helvetica and Arial, and tried to help Helvetica beat Arial in this flash game.
Teaching
The only time I had an argument during a department meeting: we were deciding on a standard font to use for homework books. I was sure that a sans-serif font was easier to read - she was convinced that serif was the way to go. The discussion became quite heated 
- I think we decided to each use whichever font we wanted. (This report finds that there is little difference in children’s reading performance when serif is compared to sans-serif in books/ this one suggests sans-serif is preferred online.)
I recently asked five different year seven classes which fonts they had used previously, and knew the names of. There were four fonts whose names came up in each discussion - not what I had expected:
I am well into this - more on fonts later…
October 12, 2004
Ingredients
1 cup oats
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup plain flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons boiling water
Method
Preheat oven to 180C (not exact - just quite hot)
Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together.
Melt syrup and butter together, in a saucepan over a low heat.
Mix bicarb with boiling water and stir into melted butter and syrup.
Add to dry ingredients.
Place some small balls (a big marble or a small walnut) on a greased tray - leave space for spreading.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.
Cool on a wire rack.
(Many thanks to Geraint’s mum, via the Bowley family, for the recipe.)
October 7, 2004
Mr Payne is now Uncle Payne. Congratulations to my sister Helen, who had a baby boy (Charles James) about 3 o’clock this morning. He is sure to be gorgeous; Helen and I were cute little children:
October 3, 2004
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Bob Dylan’s long awaited (by me, at least) autobiography,
Chronicles: Volume One, is released tomorrow. You can hear Sean Penn read some excerpts here - scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Dylan’s poetic phrases permeate modern writing, or maybe people just nick them. Almost 40 years ago, Dylan sang about the ghost of ‘lectricity howling. In The Independent yesterday Will Self wrote:
I want Battersea to always be this great ruin around which the ghost of electricity howls, a dark castle keep, looming over the primitive little village of London.
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