(Futurelab.co.uk) Computer games and learning handbook

• Aimed at teachers and those interested in using games with an educational intent, this handbook aims to provide some useful anchoring points for educators to make sense of the area and to develop practical approaches to the use of computer games as a medium for learning. 
• It is assumed by some that the models games employ lead to learning, as young people effectively learn how to play without necessarily being explicitly taught, doing vast amounts of reading or interacting with others; while others see games as boring, tedious, time-consuming, and repetitive. 

Computer Games and Learning

Logo, Logotron and progamming for children the old fashioned way.

Welcome to old Skool methodology. The good thing about Logo in this context (here at Softronix opens in new window) is that it's all text. In today's climate, though, with the kids using all manner of consoles the lesson wears pretty thin pretty quickly unless you have some recursion examples at the ready. The prospect of hand writing the code is laborious especially when mistakes inevitably happens.

The key element I find is patience. Teach that it doesn't always go to plan. Have a few simple examples gone wrong (repeat 3 [fd 100 rt 90] as an example) to read the code before going on to bigger a greater puzzles. 3 lessons max is all we do in this mode now because of greater, more colourful and time saving programs are available (Alice, Scratch etc).

The one thing I wish we could arrange is to run this on the monitors attached to an Amiga or an Atari and loading from a diskette. Now that would bring back a great historical element very alien to a 10 or 11year old kid! I am hatcheting a plan as we speak.

Logo, though, holds a great deal of value to younger children especially in the MyFirst LOGO mode (will modify the post when I can find the blessed link - do you know where it can be found?) This is in conjunction with the bee-bot software which offers the differentiation of instruction within 2-D and 3-D worlds.

For early KS2 and later to Year 5 - I use these links as a base and an introduction from these wonderful people: numeracysoftware.com

To save the file, right-click on the link and select 'Save Target As' from the pop-up menu.

logorace.lgo logorace.txt	A set of MSW Logo procedures which produce racetracks for the user to manoeuvre around. Instructions are in the accompanying text file.
2P-race.lgo 2P-race.txt	MSW Logo procedures which produce various racetracks for two pupils to manoeuvre around, taking turns to input logo commands. Instructions are in the text file.
random maze.lgo random maze.txt	A set of MSW Logo procedures which generate random mazes for you to find a path through. Instructions in the text file. Requires MSW Logo.
2-Player Random Maze.lgo 2-Player Random Maze.txt	A 2-player version of the download above. Players take turns to find a path through their own maze. Read the instructions in the text file. Requires MSW Logo.
Random Maze 2.lgo Random Maze 2.txt	A set of MSW Logo procedures which generate random mazes for you to find a path through. Instructions in the text file. Requires MSW Logo.
shoot-out.lgo shoot-out.txt	MSW Logo procedures which generate 'targets' for you to shoot at. Excellent for developing simple logo skills and for estimating practice involving angles and distances. Instructions in the text file. Requires MSW Logo.
2-Player Shoot-Out.lgo 2-Player Shoot-Out.txt	A 2-player version of the download above. Great for practising estimation skills for angles and distances. Requires MSW Logo.
grids.lgo grids.txt	Use these MSW Logo procedures to demonstrate and discuss grid references with your pupils. Instructions and suggestions can be found in the text file. Requires MSW Logo.
moregrids.lgo moregrids.txt	MSW Logo procedures similar to those above. These can be used to teach and discuss co-ordinates with your pupils. Instructions in the text file.
compass.lgo compass.txt	A set of logo procedures which can be used to demonstrate and discuss the points of the compass with your pupils. Instructions in the text file. Requires MSW Logo.
clocks.lgo clocks.pdf	A set of logo procedures which focus on a super investigative activity. Details can be found in the Adobe Acrobat pdf file. Requires MSW Logo.
spirals.lgo spirals.pdf	A set of logo procedures which enable pupils to carry out a piece of investigative shape and space work. Instructions and worksheets are in the Adobe Acrobat pdf file. Requires MSW Logo.
shapes.lgo shapes.txt	MSW Logo procedures that can be used with very young pupils to develop language associated with shape, size and colour. Read the text file for more details.
tessellate.lgo tessellate.txt	A set of MSW Logo procedures which enable the teacher to demonstrate various tessellations. Instructions are in the text file.
transform.lgo transform.txt	These MSW Logo procedures are a valuable teaching and learning aid when covering work on transformations. Instructions and teaching ideas are in the text file.
mazes.lgo maze1.bmp maze2.bmp maze3.bmp maze4.bmp mazes.txt	Four mazes in bitmap format which can be loaded into MSW Logo as backgrounds for pupils to manoeuvre around. The LGO file automatically positions the turtle at the entrance to each maze. Instructions in the text file.
pentominoes.pdf pentominoes.lgo	This pack of materials, in Adobe Acrobat format, contains teacher's notes and pupils' activity sheets for an excellent shape and space activity. The logo file contains MSW Logo procedures to support the activity.
7-pins.pdf 7-pins.lgo	This pack of materials, in Adobe Acrobat format, contains teacher's notes and pupils' activity sheets for an excellent shape and space activity. The logo file contains MSW Logo procedures to support the activity.