Educational Software

Introduction

This page is intended to organize the thinking on software that could be used in some fasshion by the OLPC project. Please use the discussion tab to add your own suggestions.

Programming for Kids

Programming for Kids refers to the constructionist practice of teaching kids thinking skills and mathematical skills by using a programming language environment such as LOGO or Squeak.

Software to Support Education

This refers to software that does not teach anything directly but is available to facilitate learning. Examples include wireless chat and dictionaries.

Unit Calculator

A calculator that takes into account the units of the numbers. Some tool to be able to make calculations like these.

Dictionary software

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, English/Spanish (or other language) translations, pronunciation

There are lots of dictionary programs available, defined file formats, and dictionaries. One of the formats is SDICT which is used by various client programs including various types of mobile phone. Because they have already done the work to make a small compressed format we should leverage that and use their dictionary files. Alexey Semenoff has a page discussing the work of the sdictionary project.

A Python client for Symbian S60 can be downloaded from this site. It shows how to read the sdict format (conv.py) and how the dictionary can be further compressed to use on a device like a mobile phone or OLPC (src/pydict.py).

In summary, Sdictionary is a dictionary that uses its own dictionary format. Unlike ptkdic or gtkdic, MySQL isn't needed; you can work with dictionary files directly. It uses Unicode, meaning that words and articles all are in UTF-8. There are two index levels, compression, and tools to convert from text files to .dct and vice versa.

Many dictionary databases are already available, some of them in target languages like Hindi, and Brazilian Portuguese. The fact that Python tools are available makes it easier for application and content developers to integrate this into their projects.

Software to enable Participatory Simulations

Participatory Simulations

http://ccl.northwestern.edu/ps/ps.shtml

Software to create System Dynamics models

Like predator/prey models, scarce resources, snow ball effect (reinforcing feedback), dynamics of drug addiction, growth of human populations, exponential spreading of deseases, conflict escalation, dynamic equilibrium. These are the current software implementations all of them are non-free software http://sysdyn.clexchange.org/links_software.html

Software to create Text Adventures

Also known as Interactive Fiction. MOOs are a bit more engaging but they need some sort of central server in which to create the world. A central server might not be available where these laptops will. See discussion.

Video-On-Demand Downloader/Player

Somekind of software as the http://getdemocracy.com which is a video channel RSS downloader, and it can also download using BitTorrent peer-to-peer.

There should be a user-friendly software which can progressively download video onto the student's laptop. A certain amount of Megabytes is automatically used for the videos. To free up space, videos which are mostly spread on the network already would automatically be deleted. The videos on students storage are synched with the videos at the school 100$ 200GB server, as well as the whole thing works in synch with video delivery RSS feeds provided on the internet, be it Google Video or otherwise, as the government can broadcast videos on the RSS feed as being the video curriculum.

I think video is going to be the best educational application, and so, it has got to work smoothly on the laptops. Every class will be filmed using a usb webcam connected to a laptop, the recording goes on the video server so students can consult passt classes at any time. Content of the teaching can also be uploaded to the internet, the teacher can download and view lectures by other teachers as inspiration for the lectures he should make himself in person with his students.. Students will enjoy Documentaries, Cartoons, Films, Debates and video-messages and video-conferencing. There should be a way to easilly use usb-webcams to record small clips, students can store them on the 100$ server and upload them, to thus send and receive video messages to and from people around the world.

Teaching Software

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.

Ebook Reader

This is teaching software that takes the rich and detailed content of textbooks and encyclopedias into the OLPC. Discussion of eBook feature set.

Virtual Manipulatives (for math learning)

One argument for the design of virtual manipulatives has been saving money (physical manipulatives can be expensive, can be lost, can come in limited quantities). There is a library of virtual manipulatives available online http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html that provides a variety of activities and manipulatives for learning different math concepts.

(Shameless plug) I am also working on creating a new kind of virtual manipulative - one that attempts to build a bridge between artistic design efforts and mathematical learning. My desire to do this partially stems form the fact that I think some learners are more comfortable in either art or math, and that through this bridge they can step a little bit outside their comfort zones into the realm with which they are less comfortable (but still in a context they like). So, if you are very excited about art, you can try some math through your design activities, and if you like math but don't feel like you are very good at art, you can create some neat patterns that solve challenges posed from the mathematical perspective. I am interested in working with this laptop project.

I think that whatever (virtual) math manipulatives are available should be considered for this project. I would also like to see more of these virtual manipulatives developed for general use, but it seems like instances where money matters so much, this solution does not add any cost and would be useful.

K.K. Lamberty

5 April 2006

Please, let's not forget that the OLPC is for the delivery of content as well as applications. It is not a tech toy. I agree that physical objects that can be manipulated will make it easer to teach maths. But they don't need to be virtual. Include material to teach the children how to make manipulatives out of scrap wood or palm leaves. Include measuring tools so the kids can check their dimensions by holding the objects up to the screen. Integrate the construction of manipulatives into the learning process.

Nelements

Nelements is a generic 3d knowledge representation system that can be used to represent knowledge in a language of thought.