Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: Moonbase, Schools, Entropia
Perhaps in a bit, though. texchanchan writes: "From the BBC: 'China will not be launching a manned mission to the Moon in the foreseeable future, according to Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's Moon exploration programme... he said he wanted to clarify news reports in the Chinese media that Beijing would be putting a man on the Moon by 2010..."We will explore the Moon certainly," he said from his office in Beijing, "but with unmanned spacecraft."'"
Can I sign up to be a robot brain surgeon? ascii7 writes "Remember that story a while back about Project Entropia, the free MMRPG? Well, now it's in the commercial trial phase, and free for all to download. Get it at www.project-entropia.com"
Free Software Entrepreneurs, take note. llywrch writes with more information on the Microsoft effort to crack down on licensing in Northwest public school districts, as reported by Oregonian columnist Steve Duin, writing: "Most intriguingly, Microsoft's heavy-handed tactics have already started a backlash, with 16 school districts in central Iowa having 'completely dumped' Microsoft and migrated everything to Linux."
He sends some background details not in the column:
- This column generated the most feedback Duin has seen for any one of his columns to this time. (He has experienced the Slashdot effect first hand.)
- The Beaverton And Hillsboro school districts, two that have been targeted for the audit, apparently will comply quietly. Beaverton will because they have kept close enough tabs on software licenses to make it feasible (as well as officially banning all non Mac & MS Windows machines from their network). Hillsboro will because a certain microprocessor manufacturer based in that city can subsidise the costs of Microsoft software.
- Paul Nelson (one of the forces behind the Linux for public schools movement) has been urging more cooperation between public schools and local Linux user groups. ``My hope is that other LUGs out there would start hosting clinics. If you are from a school, contact your local user group and offer to host a clinic!" He is planning a demonstration of what Linux can do for schools this July 4, calling it Software Independence Day."
Apropos that, JDALaRose writes: "While it was discussed at some length in this Ask Slashdot, the Washington Post is running an article wherein a columnist gives his take on making the switch from Windows/MS Office to Linux/OpenOffice."
As a teacher, I can say with great sadness that database use is not a priority among most middle or high school classes. I can't think of any colleague who has used Access all year -- in fact, even the training inservices had trouble developing situations in which it would be useful in the classroom (due to time constraints on lab use and a the greater efficiency in using simpler textbook-based strategies to teach the same material).
Word processing is by far the most common use of technology, followed by the web browsing (for those deluded into thinking that reading a book is a waste of time and that the interent, home of frauds and nuts a-plenty, is the best possible source for valid information on any subject).
Giving schools tools liks scilab or mysql (or the internet) is easy. Training teachers to teach useful ways to implement the technology -- to use the right tools in the right way for the right job -- is harder. I know some who struggle to save their gradebook spreadsheet files in the right place or keep their printers running; these will never figure out how to teach children to use sql queries to track data.
PowerPoint is used often in classrooms as a way to produce projects for presentation to classes -- things that once were called "oral reports" or "posters." Even worse, children are encouraged to use as many sounds, animations and transitions as possible to "arouse interest." The lesson taught: bells, whistles and shiny baubles are interesting, not content. Again, the more fundamental problem is not finding a replacement for PowerPoint (KPresenter would do nicely), but finding the right way to use it (to present content).