Atari 2600 Redux -. The Atari 2600 redux This time Jakks TV Games has put 10 old Atari games into the old Atari joystick form factor fo $20US. That's $2 a game. Sure, they're not all terrific games, but hey it's easier than trying to do this yourself. Don't like the 2600? It's OK, they also make Activision and Namco versions. [MetaFilter]

Study Says Boys Do Read, They Just Don't Read Books

"Teachers should allow boys to bring Pokémon trading cards into the classroom, let them go on Internet chat rooms and encourage them to relate school texts to television shows such as the Simpsons, the author of a new study on boys and literacy says.

Boys have traditionally performed more poorly than girls in reading and writing tests, but researchers who tracked boys in six elementary classrooms in Alberta over two years say such tests may not reflect the level of literacy boys reach through non-traditional means.

The problem may be that they are simply bored with the conventional curriculum, says the study, titled Morphing Literacy: Boys Reshaping Their Literacy.

The study found it is a myth that boys do not read.

While they are less interested in fiction or traditional literature than girls are, they read more on the Internet and memorize vast amounts of detailed material from games or stories they read in the newspaper, the research showed....

Teachers should not drop the traditional reading materials but should allow students to be exposed to more popular culture, she said....

They found boys spend large amounts of time on chat sites and Web sites to get tips on how to 'cheat' or compete at video games, read books about animals, sports and fantasy, and will pick up magazines and newspapers to read hockey scores, entertainment stories or news about things relevant to their lives, such as the death of Napster. One boy told the researchers: 'We have Napster on our computer, so that really got me.' " [The National Post, via LISNews]

I find this interesting because just last week, I was noting that Brent's main motivation for learning to read seems to be so he can read the screens of video and web games, as well as his Yu-Gi-Oh cards. I actually think he enjoys reading more than most of the other boys in his class (two librarians in the house, don't you know), but his popular culture is clearly the main catalyst for him.