Researching Dylan

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The title of our humble website  obviously has a focus on a variety of issues,  or if you wanted to be pedantic perhaps just two – literacy and research.  Both seem very difficult concepts to pass on to our latest generation of media buzzed youngsters, and it’s not surprising really – books, music and plays versus multimedia madness and YouTube comedy clips.  I know which one I would have chosen when I was young if the choice was available.

But let’s backtrack a little, educators today are not limited to stepping through Pride and Prejudice. Well of course, we have to follow the curriculum so maybe that’s not completely true – but we do have some leeway? Well I think I have. How much more fun would it be to analyse this with a group of teenagers.

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They’re drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you’d better lift your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can’t refuse
When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You’re invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

It’s hip and cool and to some extent just as difficult to decipher as the Canterbury Tales or Jane Austen, but of course it isn’t.  Although its nearly 50 years old, the song means a lot to so many people, but if you search for definitions and meanings – it’s not easy to find.   The words ooze meaning, in a contemporary sense they mean so much more to today’s youth. Why not base our curriculum on texts like this – in case you haven’t guessed it’s from “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan recently voted by Rolling Stone as the ‘Best Song of All Time” – sorry Wolfgang but I think they may be right.

And if that’s little hard to decipher, think of how many anti-war and peace songs there are.  Another song from the list is ‘Imagine’ it’s certainly much easier to understand but just as profound and more accessible than the Canterbury Tales.

Shouts to : my friend on this article.

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Children

Literacy Can Be Fun

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Now I don’t know about your kids but mine learn a lot better with a little fun included.  This is one of the real problems I’ve found with teaching my children to read, until they get to a certain stage the available books are just too dull for words.  However fortunately we live in a world of interactive media, the internet and some genuinely quality educational resources and TV programmes.  There are of course loads of resources available online, but I’d like to point you at one site that has just about everything you’ll need to help your kids at the earlier stages of their reading development.

The site is none other than The BBC and it contains a huge section of pages designed specifically to improve literacy.  The site is called Bitesize and is split into three sections – science, maths and literacy.  Here’s a screenshot from one of the literacy games -

All the lessons are interactive and can be replayed over and over again.  This game helps with simple words and sounds that rhyme, most children really enjoy the cartoon type graphics and interactive elements.

But these are more than just a selection of fun flash games to sit your children down in front of.  If you look in the site you’ll find much more there is even a teachers/parents section with suggested lesson plans.  These incorporate the games and then expand on them with class based activities and tasks which the children can play without access to a computer.

Of course the BBC are primarily known for their world class programmes and the childrens channels are focussed in two specific  channels – CBBC and CBeebies for younger children.  All these programmes are available online using their custom video player called BBC Iplayer.  Unfortunately access to BBC IPlayer is blocked outside the UK however there is a workaround – if you visit this page - http://www.proxyusa.com/bbciplayerabroad2012 you’ll see the solution.  It’s not very difficult, you just basically have to surf via a UK based server to make it look like you’re based in Britain, it’s quick and easy to do.

 

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Children