Some culture for you !

This is from Madame Butterfly.

Puppet shows

This is a puppet show by edmontonpl. That is Edmonton Public Library, a puppet show by edmontonpl is usually pretty good. As a rule young children love puppet shows. Again this is low tech, however it opens the door to a range of activities, reading, acting the parts, drawing and painting. If a puppet show is performed by your students, maybe it could be uploaded to You Tube.



As you all know I am not one to gossip, but I did find this site and it looks great to me ! Puppet theatre Often children enjoy making things with their hands. Somehow it seems far more satisfying to them if they have made it themselves. Cardboard boxes are easily available and can be decorated to suit. Sometimes activities do not have to cost lots of money. Children can sometimes become great story tellers. If a puppet theatre was made classes could preform their own plays. Puppets can be made out of cardboard and painted. The tale of the gingerbread man could be retold. I am sure the younger students would enjoy this sort of activity. Scenery could be added to any play. This is where artistic students could play a role. These days the Internet is the way to search for material and ideas. Younger students might be able to find material, resources, and ideas. This would also improve their keyboard skills.

Nice music

Here is Black Velvet

The Dinosaur Song

This is the Dinosaur Song, great for kids !

Sooty and Sweep

When I was a young boy I used to watch this show on TV. Maybe I am exposing my Chinese peers to new ideas here. I have been thinking for years about starting a puppet show. Maybe a glove puppet show like this one is the way to go.
I am certain that something like this will captivate the younger learner. Puppets have been used for hundreds of years. In Indonesia children learn body language from the puppet shows. Sooty does not speak at all, he whispers into the ear of the presenter. Sweep talks by squeaking and the only puppet who can speak (In English naturally) is Soo, who is a sweet natured panda. I am sure that young learners will listen to the puppets rather than to their teacher. This is decidedly low tech, however that does not mean that it will not work.

Second Life

I suspect that Second Life could have been used instead of attending a lecture at CityU. This was a drama session where students sat around a table and did a skit. Most people on the course live close to the campus, it takes me at least an hour each way. When you factor time and transport costs into things SL might well have much wider applications. Years ago children in Australia would study by radio if they lived in the outback. Maybe much work or study could be done without leaving your keyboard. It is not quite the same as a face to face meeting but it could save time and money.

The Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism is a mysterious computer that was made about the time of Christ. Nobody knows who made it or what civilization made it. It was inscribed with Greek so maybe it was the Greeks who made it. This makes me wonder what else is out there that we don't know about. It is quite an astonishing bit of technology not repeated for 1400 years. Does anybody know of anything else like this ?




This is a very puzzling machine indeed. More information can be found here.