Re: Word processor - AbiWord (and LyX)

["Ian Bicking" <bickiia@earlham.edu>]

> By the way... LyX is in 1.0 version.  Not really aimed at children,
> but as a teacher I can se that it could be even better for children
> than for a normal adult user.  The normal user is used to changing
> fonts, making layout by hand etc.  In LyX, you CAN'T (easily) do that
> by hand, you'll just have to use the definitions of "title",
> "paragraph", "emphasis" etc.  I think that's a great program for
> children from, say, 10 years..  KLyX is graphically nicer, but
> requires kde-libs..

I think a normal word processor would be easier for a young user.  
A structured word processor, like LyX, requires thinking about 
writing in an abstract way -- paragraphs, titles, etc. -- while a 
normal word processor is much more concrete -- an enter makes a 
verticle space, two of them make two verticle spaces, etc.  The 
interaction (keys, fonts, etc) have a direct relation to the visual 
output.

Now, there is something to learn from thinking abstractly about a 
document.  But I expect that LyX will not be much easier for 
younger kids to use even though they haven't become accustomed 
to traditional word processors.


--
Ian Bicking <bickiia@earlham.edu>