Archive for October, 2009

Learn Math Bingo Games

October 30th, 2009

Mathematics is that academic discipline that holds the most valuable place in our day to day lives be it organizing business or tax accounts or the mundane actives like managing the household finances. In a nutshell, teachers and parents are well aware of the value of mathematics in their child’s life. But to make the kids practice the same concepts of math again and again becomes a little taxing at times.

Thanks to math Bingo games, teaching math is no longer the difficult challenge it once used to be. There is an assorted range of math Bingo games on the Internet that covers all the concepts of this subject. The moment you key in the words ‘math Bingo games’ in any search engine, numerous Bingo sites will pop up offering math bingo games and facility to download it free without or with sign up.

Math Bingo games are very easy to play. Just click on any mathematical concept that you want to Bingo with. For instance, multiplication, addition, subtraction and division. You can also select math Bingo games according to the level of schooling of your child namely, kindergarten, first grade, second grade and so on.

Math Bingo games use regular cards for game play. But, instead of the random numbers on the card, there are numbers that are the result of various mathematical calculations. Let’s look at the Match Bingo game that shows a multiplication formula of 5X5=X. Your kid needs to calculate the value of ‘X’ and locate it on the card.

Teachers and parents can also create the cards for math Bingo games through the bingo card generator online  and distribute them among the students in the classroom, at the tutorials or at home. Isn’t this an excellent ‘play and learn’ method to teach kids the basics of mathematics?




By: Jeffrey Mcmahon

Why Humans Can Learn Almost Anything

October 29th, 2009

Humans are capable of doing many things at the same time. For example, we can talk on the phone and watch television, drink a cup of coffee while reading the morning papers or sing our favorite song while ironing clothes. These are simple tasks that we can do simultaneously without difficulty. But not everyone develop the ability to do many things simultaneously in the same way. For example, a person may be good at the drums and the trumpet, but to play the drum while blowing a trumpet and honking a horn is another matter. Of course there are people who can do that, making a living out of being a one-man band, but these are experts in their chosen profession . To attain this mastery takes constant practice and determination. However, the brain can quickly adjust and synchronise all these skills into a rhythmic display. The skill level changes from conscious incompetence to unconscious competence.

Take for example the first time you were riding a bicycle. You had to balance yourself, then you had to paddle with your two feet and at the same time ensure you do not run over the neighbor’s cat or crash into a tree. After a some time, you were so proud of your achievement, daring even to take your hands off the handle bar. A classic example of the progression from conscious incompetence to unconscious competence. And all it took was a few hours of practice.

Skills that we have practiced constantly and for a long time will be internalized and can be performed right into old age. Even if there is a period of non practice, it will usually take just a few minutes before the brain and the body “remembers” the skill.

Just like any skill that we have learned, the mastering of memory training or memory techniques follow the same rule of competency. It is no wonder that top practitioner of astounding memory feat practice their craft everyday. Able to remember long digits of numbers of hundreds or even thousands of digits long and to memories similar long list of unrelated words. The old tried and tested method of mastering any skill is practice.

There are many techniques that can help anyone with astounding memory feats. Some people use mnemonics will others use the loci method or associations. For example, you can use the familiarity of your house, the arrangement of furniture or the route you take to work to help you remember anything, like a grocery lists. With more imagination but basically using the same techniques can help you remember names to faces, mathematical formulas, scientific facts or historical dates.

Also, the training of the memory, like any physical exercise is good for the brain, it helps you stave off dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. John Preston, aged 78 can remember every verse of the bible of the new testament, a feat he attributed to a technique he learnt when he was 65-years old young! “Not a day goes by without me putting my brain into practice”, he smiles. And family and friends say he is one mean poker player too. So learn a new skill today and everyday for the rest of your life, it could be the fountain of youth that keeps us from losing the thing that makes us human-our memory, in old age.




By: Martin Mak

"n" Individuals Benefit With Ncomputing’s Learning Solutions

October 28th, 2009

NComputing is changing the educational computing world not one user at a time, not one computer at a time, but on a much broader scheme — in fact, entire school districts, corporations, international conferences, and Internet cafés are all reaping near-instantaneous benefits, in addition to new market segments that have been reached as a result of affordability. The key of the model is sharing, a simple concept that we are taught as toddlers, yet is rarely cultivated in our culture when it comes to technologies. If you are one of the 850 million people who owns a personal computer (and probably an iPod and mobile phone as well), you know exactly what I mean.

What became very clear with the One Laptop Per Child project and subsequent similar projects was that at 1:1 user/laptop ratio doesn’t work well. The main reason is cost, which includes hardware, software, and support. A computing initiative must offer superior quality in all of these areas otherwise it is bound for failure. Yet overall high quality and a 1:1 ratio, as we have learned, are opposing forces even with our current, cutting-edge computing options. It’s ironic because today it’s possible to build computers that are 1,000 times better than a decade ago that can be manufactured for less than half the price. Computers are now so powerful that a single user only uses a small fraction of the computer’s capabilities.

Stephen Dukker, the mastermind behind the first dramatic price reduction in computers, the eMachine, is currently working on another major breakthrough in his role as the CEO of NComputing: the multi-user, Virtual PC experience. As the founder and CEO of eMachines, Dukker learned an important lesson that he carried over to NComputing: You simply can’t build a computer for less than $400. So, instead of focusing his efforts on producing a cheaper computer, he looked for a way to harvest the possibilities of one computer and dared to defy the defining 1:1 ratio of U.S. technology culture.

The concept is refreshing, brilliant, and eco-friendly. With NComputing’s solutions, a single computer can act as a server to power between 7 to 30 virtual PC access terminals — in other words, multiple people can work off the same computer simultaneously running all types of applications. A server-class machine could support hundreds of users working from a single source. The greatest risk to this model is that if the mother computer goes out, so do the rest. In such a case, students working in a lab could temporarily look over the shoulders of their peers, or an instructor might hook up a backup computer. Still, two brand new computers plus NComputing’s superior technologies for as low as $70 a seat is much more cost-friendly than a 1:1 solution.

NComputing has already gained 4-5 percent of the educational computing market for K-12 schools, and is making a tremendous impact around the world. It will soon supply Macedonian schools with units to support 180,000 seats for less than half the cost of other bidders. In Mexico, 4,500 seats have already been deployed, and even in the most remote areas NComputing renders possible mobile Internet “cafés” that travel from village to village in the form of a large shipping container. About 50 percent of NComputing’s market is abroad, with Brazil being the largest international purchaser, and the rest of the sales split between places including Eastern Europe, Mexico, India, the Philippines, and Russia. NComputing has distribution centers in 80 countries and offices in 12.

NComputing’s ability to think beyond the 1:1 ratio of computer/user that is so prevalent in our culture has resulted in a unique and affordable solution that already boasts results. The Wall Street Journal noticed this and recognized NComputing with its 2007 Technology Innovation Award. NComputing lives up to its name, “n” being the mathematical sign that stands for any number. When asked what was in a name, Mr. Dukker replied that NComputing means removing the last barriers of computing so that everyone can have access.

WebEx Briefing and phone interview with Mr. Stephen Dukker, 1/16/2008.




By: Erica Nielsen