My
nephew, Neel had nudged me towards some links on game-based education recently. With trepidation I discovered that these ‘game-based education’ tools were primarily on Mathematics! Oh, dear! My nemesis….. Even now, distanced from the
torture, I still feel a shiver down my spine when I think of Maths! This atavism had finally led me to write my school-leaving examination with
Home-science, Economics (sans, you know what)…J
Anyway,
with circumspect and a little bit of hesitation, as I started looking at the
links one by one, I got hooked on, not least because of the total absence of
mathematical numbers and symbols, but it actually set me thinking….one of the ‘crowning’
ideas behind most of what we did in school was spending many years of memorizing a lot of
dull facts. Most children got so fed up that they quit maths before they could
do anything interesting with them and I was a pioneer in that endeavor.
Mathematics
is not only learning from books, memorizing some facts, but it is learning to
think clearly. Getting into the depths of the mind-blowing numbers/figures can get
very engaging and insightful with simple, straightforward learning processes,
if used consistently. ….
Fear is what prevents the flowering of
the mind, and then the flowering of knowledge. 'Mango Game'-based mobile learning tries to
address this particular area. It attempts to sharpen the ‘basics’ and apply
these for problem solving through spontaneous recall. What could be more simple
and straightforward than having fun while learning?
We
are lucky to have unlimited supports available online in the modern era. …
How I wish, such learning methods were available in our days. Alas, there were
nothing like i-pads, tablet, mobile, android, Google et all when we grew up…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mangolearning/game-based-immersive-math-learning-on-tablets-smar
Although
I have not used the module, but, I would like to thank ‘Mango’ for the gifts their
wise and sagacious learning is going to bequeath children in the long run. And by giving myself to this column, I hope I have carried part of the torch by showcasing a bit of what Mango Learning is all
about for the present mothers and teachers. I share this material with an
earnest hope that this project would facilitate a layer of
love for maths to kids and young people.
Check the following links for details....
http://www.mangolearning.com/
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MANGO MANIA
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| I saw a poster in 'Giggles' shop in Park Street with the following caption.... 'Please excuse the mess, my children are busy learning' |
Recently I was reading an interesting article written by Ben Johnson, an education consultant, online teacher and learning coach. The word, 'Mango-learning' triggered me to write on this alternate version of ‘ mango- learning’(though, this has nothing to do with the above module). Teachers
use various strategies to assist kids in the act of learning. According to Ben Johnson, 'learning with a mess is a great sign...". He writes, "learning with fun' is like eating delicious mangoes...as you eat the mangoes, you cannot help but become irrevocably invested in the mango-eating process because it gets all over your face and it drips all over your hands and clothes. Though messy, yet each bite is heavenly, and certainly worth it..."
Grasping
concepts, when it can be tied around something that is fascinating for a child, makes
learning definitely fun and playful.
This results in better retention, positive reinforcement, and a love of
learning.
