One thing that I took from Martha Lane Fox’s speech at this year’s NAACE conference was the statistic that 40% of those people not online were from the most disadvantaged groups in society. Well actually, the statistic that struck me, was that this means that 60% of those not online are from groups other than the most disadvantaged.

My guess would be that these are people who could afford computers and internet access but, for some reason, have chosen not to have it. Maybe they live in a ‘notspot’ – an area where there is still not internet access for some reason. Maybe they do live in an area where there is internet access but for some reason have chosen not to have it; this could because they have not appreciated the value of internet access for learning,. perhaps they feel that no one in their family requires learning, perhaps they have religious or political reasons against internet or technology.

Whatever the reasons, if we are to close the digital divide  the question remains, how can we reach these people?

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Can playing Tetris really alter your brain?

I came across this article on the Wired UK website. It claims that playing Tetris can alter the structure of the brain; which is quite a bold, one might even say, alarming claim.

It appears that researchers have used brain scans to illustrate that playing the simple computer game had distinct effects upon the brain. It would appear that some areas showed greater ‘efficiency’ and other areas showed the development of more grey matter.

Unfortunately, the article does not really tell us what parts of the brain were found to be more efficient nor which ones developed more grey matter (or indeed whether there was any cognitive improvement as a result of having more grey matter).

Cynically, you notice that the research was funded by ‘Tetris’ makers, so I guess they had an interest in promoting potential positive benefits of using their game. The research also seems to have studied only the brains of adolescent girls, why not boys? Had the researchers assumed that boys might already have played or been exposed to such games and, therefore, were less likely to show any benefit?

Cynicism aside, the research would tend to add weight to the view that playing games is not just a mindless activity or distraction from real thinking. It does tend to show that playing games can act as a mental stimulant. Which may also lend weight to the view that playing games can have a beneficial education effect. Stimulating the brain, relieving boredom have been known for a log time to be of benefit in learning. So maybe, playing games such as Tetris can be beneficial. YOu do have to put this against the addictive nature of some games, however, and ask at which point does the positiove benefit of mental stimulation give way to the time-wasted element of addiction?

Finally, the article makes a claim that playing Tetris could help offset the effects of old age; another bold claim which may or may not be the case.

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The above is a video of the Balloons iphone app. I have had to put a video up because I cannot show it to you as it will not work on my ipod touch. Why do I ask, though, whether this is the worst iPhone app ever?

This app runs only on the iphone, not only that but it runs just on the iphone with the latest software update. It does not run on older iphones without the update and it does not run on the ipod touch (even if it does have the latest update). Needless to say, it does not run on any other OS such as Android or Windows Mobile. So much for interoperability, then! 

In a way, this app is elitist, only people prepared to spend money on the top of the range kit will have a chance to play with it. The fun, the experience and the educational potential of this app will be lost to the majority of people, who do not have access to such top of the range kit.

At this point, I shall reveal that my tongue is quite firmly in my cheek as I write this post. The app is really great; it is innovative, imaginative, fun and has great educational potential, if you have an iphone capable of running it, then I’d suggest getting it.

To me, though, this app illustrates where interoperability breaks down and that’s my point in this article. Interoperability will only work as far as common standards are in place. Yet, to differentiate their product from others, manufacturers are likely to add extras which make their product more ‘desireable’ in the marketplace. programmers and marketers are then likely to ‘exploit’ these desireable extras in order to sell the product and then it’s ‘goodbye interoperability’.

Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that interoperability is a bad thing, actually I think it is a good thing but the level of commonality and interoperability must be so high as to make additional extras either unnecessary or appear extravagant.

Oh, if you want to install the balloons app, you can find the home page here.

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