Angry Doctor

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Microbes - the Gathering

Sometimes truth is stranger than Bonus Bogus Stories.

Beats micro-bee lectures, I guess...

Students learn about diseases through card game



SINGAPORE : Secondary school students may in the near future learn about diseases through a card game.

Players say this game tests their wit and knowledge of diseases.

Called Battle Cells Game Cards, it consists of two decks of cards - the pathogens or diseases, and the immune system.

It is modelled after how the body battles with deadly infectious diseases.

Players will have to reduce the health marks of the other players.

The player with the most marks wins. Initially developed by life sciences educational services and kit provider Genecet Biotechnologies, the task of modifying the cards was given to four Secondary 3 students from Raffles Institution as part of a research project.

"We wanted to create a card game that can cater to all types of learners. We want to get rid of outdated teaching methods such as textbooks which are no longer suited for children these days. We need more creative methods," said Tan Ee Kuan, a student at Raffles Institution.

Genecet says the card game is a suitable tool for students to learn about immunology and microbiology, and plans to market it.

It is hoped that with the element of fun and play, students will be motivated to learn more about diseases. "It will work well as a supplementary tool in the classroom. We feel that it serves the slogan "teach less, learn more" and bring fun to the classroom," said Jeffrey Lee at Genecet Biotechnologies.

So far about 10 schools have shown interest in buying the product.

Genecet says it plans to sell the cards at $20 each.

There are two decks of cards for each game but discounts will be given to students.

Raffles Institution will get a cut from the sale of the cards which will be ploughed back into the school fund.

There are also plans to develop a teacher's guide to facilitate teaching through the cards and expand these cards to include modules like ecology and even traditional Chinese medicine.

(source)

Now where's my SARS card?

Labels:

4 Comments:

  • Well... the 7-eleven store in TTSH has gummy sweets in the shape of skeleton.

    Btw, any thoughts on issue of advertising medical services? The latest Sensodyne toothpaste tv ad's hilarious.

    By Blogger ckyh, At October 06, 2005 12:11 pm  

  • Yes... I too wonder what qualifications that 'dental care consultant' has...

    I don't suppose I have any firm opinion on advertisement of medical services. It's an issue that is a lot less 'moral' than others which the medical circle must address. I suppose I will stick with the SMC position for now.

    Patients and consumers, however, should always remember that the people putting up the advertisements expect to get returns on their investment somehow...

    By Blogger angry doc, At October 06, 2005 12:49 pm  

  • ok im a student and nothing gets me more excited then studying and studying with cards !!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At October 06, 2005 2:19 pm  

  • I'm a RI student, I saw the presentation for those cards, and they were damn gay. Report said something like 80% of students want to study this way. I mean duh right, 80% of students are slackers who wants to play cards and learn nothing!

    By Blogger Wei Jie, At October 07, 2005 8:59 pm  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]



<< Home