Re: EDU How-Tos

[Doug Loss <dloss@csrlink.net>]

Bill Tihen wrote:
> 
> To address the Title Issue -- why don't we start the title of all of them
> with EDU HowTo -- has a nice rhyme anyway.
> 
That could work. :-)

> I am not completely sure I see the differences between what you would write
> and what I would write.
> [...]
> What would you write about.
> 
You are much further along than I am.  I'm trying to get the first
evaluation unit into the technical resource person's office.  Once he
sees it and plays with it I hope to pursuade him to let me help him
implement a test server in one of his Mac labs and perhaps set up a Mac
or two as LinuxPPC/MacOS dual boot systems.

What I would write would probably be useful as annotations or additions
to what you write rather than as a stand-alone document covering similar
ground.

> As much as someone said that it is a terrible program it is not my place to
> decide how the math department wants to teach.  I need the program Derive
> (or a replacement).  The math department is also looking for a geometry
> program -- you know the sketch pad thing.
> 
That's going to be one of the biggest problems with getting Linux into
the schools--educators who insist they need PhotoShop, or Office 97, or
Derive, rather than an image manipulation program, an office suite, or a
mathematics program.  As for a geometry program, how about our own
Hilaire Fernandes's Dr. Geo?  It runs on Linux, DOS, and Windows.  Take
a look at:

<http://members.xoom.com/FeYiLai/dr_geo/doctor_geo.html>

I think Hilaire will be posting something in a little bit, but I just
have to mention it here.  Hilaire would like some help in writing
documentation for Dr. Geo, using the GNOME documentation standard.  It
would also be nice if someone (or someones) could design exercises with
the associated worksheets to use Dr. Geo.

In the meantime, does anyone know of a Linux program with functionality
similar to Derive?  I'll take a look, but I'm probably not the person
best suited to the search as I don't really know just what Derive does.

> For the English department I need an appropriate word processor.

You've mentioned most that I know about.  There's also XAllWrite from
Axene <http://www.axene.com> and AbiWord (not ready yet) from AbiSource
<http://www.abisource.com>

-- 
Doug Loss                 A life spent making mistakes is not only
Data Network Coordinator  more honorable, but more useful than a
Bloomsburg University     life spent doing nothing.
dloss@bloomu.edu                G. B. Shaw