Teaching software: Difference between revisions

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Teaching Software refers to applications whose primary goal is to deliver educational content.
This page was created because I suspect that there will be a long list of such software.
[[External Developers|External developers]] are expected to produce the bulk of this software.
==Introduction==
Teaching Software refers to applications whose primary goal is to deliver educational content. In the western world this is often very poorly implemented in CBT (Computer Based Training) modules or tedious drill and practice software. These approaches will not work in the OLPC environment. Drill and practice would demotivate the kids and CBT does not have the depth of information needed. [[External Developers]] will produce the bulk of this software.


It is important that software be neither boring nor uneducational. As demonstrated by the awful educational software that is so common, it is easy to accidentally create software that is demotivating or merely entertainment.
CBT and D&P are not educational software. They are for "being taught". See also the concept of "learned helplessness" researched by [http://www.noogenesis.com/malama/discouragement/helplessness.html Martin Seligman and many others]

Tools are educational software. Tools are for doing. This is equally true whether the tool is a drawing program, a programming language interpreter or compiler, a program for creating documents or Web pages, a program for composing music, an accounting program, or a pure math program.


===General===
===General===
Line 12: Line 9:
teaches children how to solve detective mysteries.
teaches children how to solve detective mysteries.


[http://www.teach2000.memtrain.com/ Teach2000] is a freeware program which integrates images, words, and sound in a flash card based teaching system. It has a friendly import/export structure allowing for content development/sharing on a large scale. It also has the option to export the content into an html test structure. (HO-070602)
Word processing


In my experience, teaching Tibetan refugees and children in Nepal, Ethiopia, Pakistan and India it works very well to have '''flash based teaching modules''' which allow the child to progress at her/his own speed regardless of the availability of a teacher. These examples work indepdent of a specific operating system and do not require a fast processor. I have posted many examples in the forum section of [http://www.computer.help123.net/forum computer.help123.net/forum] (HO-070602)
Drawing


: note 1: the link returned Internal Server Error. Send an email as per Instructions to: webmaster@computer.help123.net --[[User:SvenAERTS|SvenAERTS]] 18:16, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
Image processing
: note 2: the email adress returned: Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently --[[User:SvenAERTS|SvenAERTS]] 18:16, 5 September 2015 (UTC)


Programming languages and tools


[http://www.drupal.org Drupal] is an open source content management system which can allow for easy deployment/maintenance of web content. This empowers the local people to develop their own websites and share with the world easily. It gives a method for direct interaction skipping all layers of beuarcracy and creating a means for project tracking/evaluation and financial transparency. With web based language translation tools such as the FoxLingo add-on, it provides a means of language independent communication. (HO-070602)
Music


[http://www.openoffice.org/ OpenOffice] is an open source solution compatible with MS Office which would provide the children with a free way to obtain skills for direct employment and integration with the developed world. This would allow for revenue generation and self sufficiency and sustainability. (HO-070602)
Financial analysis


[http://www.knoppix.org/ Knoppix] is a free open-source linux based operating system integrated with application software which is bootable from a CD. It provides many examples of software that could be useful-portable. It also provides a way to utilize older local PCs without needing technical expertise. It might also provide a bridge to those who wish to help but are trapped in the MS Windows world. (HO-070602)


====Programming languages and tools====
===Mathematics===
The OLPC includes [[Python]], [[Javascript]], [[Squeak]], and [[CSound]]. We still need applications that support and simplify learning with these tools. For instance, [http://www.logowiki.net LOGOWiki] is a set of web pages that guides children through using LOGO. Another example is [http://www.livewires.org.uk/python/ Livewires] which is a Python module and some course material that guides children through its use.


====Music====
Geometer's Sketchpad
The primary musical tool to be included is [[TamTam]] however some more guided explorations of music will also be useful. [[Squeak]] also includes musical capabilities.


====Finances====
Macsyma and its derivatives, such as Maxima
Children in the third world live in an environment where finance and business is more important to their daily lives than in the developed world. They do not have a lot of money but the family needs to wisely manage and invest the money that they do have. This means that the family is often more like a business than a Western family. Software targeted towards helping teach children the basics of finance and investment will be very useful to both the children and their families.


Ideally we would see something that teaches double-entry bookkeeping in a way that children can understand. Also simulations of investment, interest, profit, etc. The focus must be on using language that a child can understand in order to communicate the fundamental concepts. Most current texts and software does not meet this need because it is filled with confusing jargon and targetted at adult learners.
APL


On [http://all-technology.com/eigenpolls/fiqgames/] there is a list of financial IQ games.
LISP
A good place to get ideas if someone like to write a computer game.


===Mathematics===
StatGraphics


The ideal software in this category will not use any language at all, and therefore will instantly be usable in all countries. The application should allow a specific font to be configured so that countries with non-arabic numeral glyphs can change the font to be instantly compatible. Numerals should be non-kerned in a monospace font.
Crystallography software

Finite group software

Linear programming software

Operations research software

Games (see Conway's On Numbers and Games and the rest of the literature and software that has followed)

Semi-automated construction of formal proofs


===Science===
===Science===


====Data Collection and Analysis====
The journals are online! You can operate a real telescope over the Web! Scientists are willing to talk to you personally and answer questions!
The OLPC audio input port can be used with sensors that provide inputs in the range from 0 to 1 VDC. We need software that supports calibration of sensors, data collection, and graphing. In addition, software that guides children through a progressive series of experiments that they can do will be useful. You need to think like [[George Washington Carver]] in order to create software that is useful in the developing world.


===Geography===
===Geography===
In addition to any [[DJVU]] maps that country teams will assemble, it will be good to include some basic world and regional maps. Ideally this would be in the form of a GIS application that allows selection of various overlays, i.e. demographic, economic, etc.


Since the OLPC could be used with a USB [[GPS]] (or Bluetooth GPS using a [[USB peripherals|USB-Bluetooth module]]), we need an application that supports map creation using [[SVG]] format and the [[SQLite]] database for data storage.
Google Earth

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Mailing lists

Penpals


===Language Skills===
===Language Skills===
This is the kid's native language.


Programs to promote language skills must be adaptable to multiple languages with varying scripts. They must also have easily adaptable graphical material. For instance, an image of an apple is meaningless to children in tropical countries and the word ''apple'' will never be used in conversation there. However, ''fruit'' as a topic is relevant everywhere. If an application shows pictures of fruits with the names under them it must allow local people to easily change the images and names. Ideally, this information will be held in an XML file with all the words and names of [[SVG]] and [[PNG]] image files.
Free collections of literature along the lines of Project Gutenberg in dozens of languages.


===Foreign Languages===
===Foreign Languages===
These are languages like English, Japanese, etc.

Free literature as above.

Online dictionaries

Podcasts and downloadable audio with online text or glossaries (see for example Deutsche Welle's Nachrichten, on their Audio on Demand page, accessible from http://www.dw-world.de/dw/. They provide versions in 30 languages.

===Software===
The English word for a person who speaks more than one language is 'polyglot'.

The English word for a person who speaks only one language is 'American'.


Learning a foreign language can be made easier with support of well-designed application software.
But it is not only in America that one can become a "software engineer" knowing only one computer language. This writer considers the minimum for genuine computer literacy to be five languages: LISP (or SCHEME), APL (or better still, J), FORTH, Smalltalk (well, Java), and your choice of sequential scalar language (C, Pascal, Python, anything like that, but not BASIC, FORTRAN, or COBOL). Mathematicians know well that the choice of notation or syntax strongly affects what you can think, even though linguists still hotly debate the notion (the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis).


One application would display written text synchronised with audio. There are many websites that offer audio and accompanying text such as
Daniel P. Friedman & Matthias Felleisen, The Little Lisper or the Little Schemer, followed by The Seasoned Schemer (This writer reviewed the first edition of The Little Lisper in Byte Magazine in 1978, calling it the best first textbook on programming in any language. It has gotten better.)
Deutsche Welle's Nachrichten, on their Audio on Demand page, accessible from http://www.dw-world.de/dw/. They provide versions in 30 languages.


Online dictionaries are not only useful standalone but can be integrated into other applications. To that end an application that uses[http://sdict.axmasoft.com/en/ sdictionary format] and integrates with [[D-BUS]] will enable other applications to do lookups.
Gerald Weinberg, The Psychology of Computer Programming


More generally, helping students learn foreign languages through the use of technology has been explored, and web searches on keywords like CALL (computer assisted language learning) will yield interesting results.
Fred Brooks, The Mythical Man-Month


==Classroom software==
Agile programming, including Extreme Programming


Basically chat (text and/or video) software with a "whiteboard area" for drawing pictures/pasting text, etc. that can then be manipulated by relevant people. This is useful when one student/teacher wants to share with/tutor another student, or when the teacher wants to write on a blackboard and have students interact with the blackboard. It allows this process to occur remotely e.g. a teacher could tutor all the students in their homes after hours, or students could collaborate together remotely.
Edsger Dijkstra, A Discipline of Programming


[[Category:Software ideas]]
[[Category:Software ideas]]

Latest revision as of 18:16, 5 September 2015

Teaching Software refers to applications whose primary goal is to deliver educational content. External developers are expected to produce the bulk of this software.

It is important that software be neither boring nor uneducational. As demonstrated by the awful educational software that is so common, it is easy to accidentally create software that is demotivating or merely entertainment.

General

Software that does not fit into a single subject area, for instance an application that teaches children how to solve detective mysteries.

Teach2000 is a freeware program which integrates images, words, and sound in a flash card based teaching system. It has a friendly import/export structure allowing for content development/sharing on a large scale. It also has the option to export the content into an html test structure. (HO-070602)

In my experience, teaching Tibetan refugees and children in Nepal, Ethiopia, Pakistan and India it works very well to have flash based teaching modules which allow the child to progress at her/his own speed regardless of the availability of a teacher. These examples work indepdent of a specific operating system and do not require a fast processor. I have posted many examples in the forum section of computer.help123.net/forum (HO-070602)

note 1: the link returned Internal Server Error. Send an email as per Instructions to: webmaster@computer.help123.net --SvenAERTS 18:16, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
note 2: the email adress returned: Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently --SvenAERTS 18:16, 5 September 2015 (UTC)


Drupal is an open source content management system which can allow for easy deployment/maintenance of web content. This empowers the local people to develop their own websites and share with the world easily. It gives a method for direct interaction skipping all layers of beuarcracy and creating a means for project tracking/evaluation and financial transparency. With web based language translation tools such as the FoxLingo add-on, it provides a means of language independent communication. (HO-070602)

OpenOffice is an open source solution compatible with MS Office which would provide the children with a free way to obtain skills for direct employment and integration with the developed world. This would allow for revenue generation and self sufficiency and sustainability. (HO-070602)

Knoppix is a free open-source linux based operating system integrated with application software which is bootable from a CD. It provides many examples of software that could be useful-portable. It also provides a way to utilize older local PCs without needing technical expertise. It might also provide a bridge to those who wish to help but are trapped in the MS Windows world. (HO-070602)

Programming languages and tools

The OLPC includes Python, Javascript, Squeak, and CSound. We still need applications that support and simplify learning with these tools. For instance, LOGOWiki is a set of web pages that guides children through using LOGO. Another example is Livewires which is a Python module and some course material that guides children through its use.

Music

The primary musical tool to be included is TamTam however some more guided explorations of music will also be useful. Squeak also includes musical capabilities.

Finances

Children in the third world live in an environment where finance and business is more important to their daily lives than in the developed world. They do not have a lot of money but the family needs to wisely manage and invest the money that they do have. This means that the family is often more like a business than a Western family. Software targeted towards helping teach children the basics of finance and investment will be very useful to both the children and their families.

Ideally we would see something that teaches double-entry bookkeeping in a way that children can understand. Also simulations of investment, interest, profit, etc. The focus must be on using language that a child can understand in order to communicate the fundamental concepts. Most current texts and software does not meet this need because it is filled with confusing jargon and targetted at adult learners.

On [1] there is a list of financial IQ games. A good place to get ideas if someone like to write a computer game.

Mathematics

The ideal software in this category will not use any language at all, and therefore will instantly be usable in all countries. The application should allow a specific font to be configured so that countries with non-arabic numeral glyphs can change the font to be instantly compatible. Numerals should be non-kerned in a monospace font.

Science

Data Collection and Analysis

The OLPC audio input port can be used with sensors that provide inputs in the range from 0 to 1 VDC. We need software that supports calibration of sensors, data collection, and graphing. In addition, software that guides children through a progressive series of experiments that they can do will be useful. You need to think like George Washington Carver in order to create software that is useful in the developing world.

Geography

In addition to any DJVU maps that country teams will assemble, it will be good to include some basic world and regional maps. Ideally this would be in the form of a GIS application that allows selection of various overlays, i.e. demographic, economic, etc.

Since the OLPC could be used with a USB GPS (or Bluetooth GPS using a USB-Bluetooth module), we need an application that supports map creation using SVG format and the SQLite database for data storage.

Language Skills

Programs to promote language skills must be adaptable to multiple languages with varying scripts. They must also have easily adaptable graphical material. For instance, an image of an apple is meaningless to children in tropical countries and the word apple will never be used in conversation there. However, fruit as a topic is relevant everywhere. If an application shows pictures of fruits with the names under them it must allow local people to easily change the images and names. Ideally, this information will be held in an XML file with all the words and names of SVG and PNG image files.

Foreign Languages

Learning a foreign language can be made easier with support of well-designed application software.

One application would display written text synchronised with audio. There are many websites that offer audio and accompanying text such as Deutsche Welle's Nachrichten, on their Audio on Demand page, accessible from http://www.dw-world.de/dw/. They provide versions in 30 languages.

Online dictionaries are not only useful standalone but can be integrated into other applications. To that end an application that usessdictionary format and integrates with D-BUS will enable other applications to do lookups.

More generally, helping students learn foreign languages through the use of technology has been explored, and web searches on keywords like CALL (computer assisted language learning) will yield interesting results.

Classroom software

Basically chat (text and/or video) software with a "whiteboard area" for drawing pictures/pasting text, etc. that can then be manipulated by relevant people. This is useful when one student/teacher wants to share with/tutor another student, or when the teacher wants to write on a blackboard and have students interact with the blackboard. It allows this process to occur remotely e.g. a teacher could tutor all the students in their homes after hours, or students could collaborate together remotely.