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Educational Software To Donate With Laptop?
SlartibartfastJunior writes "I will be sending my four-year-old laptop to a school in Uganda this fall. I plan to load up an older version of Windows (or something free), and I need suggestions - what should I load on it? I need suggestions for educational games, educational software, etc. that won't drain my battery too much (since the computer will only be able to recharge at night), won't require a CD (since my drive doesn't work 80% of the time), and won't be too America-centered (most of these children have never been more than ten miles out of their own villages, and wouldn't understand "Oregon Trail"). Also, any great ideas on where I can acquire copies of this software?"
Are not free. Do not commit software piracy.
Arrrrrr.
Real Lives 2004, as previously mentioned on Slashdot. Oh, and Starcraft.
OpenOffice or something of the sort would be nice. An office package is always useful.
Give them a couple old versions of Civ and Sim City.
Those are educational and addictive enough. And are not American centric.
Ted
Fantasy remains a human right; we make in our measure and in our derivative mode... -- JRR Tolkien
Years ago I set up a punch-card scanner for a correspondence school in Kumasi, Ghana. The staff had never really worked with a computer much; I was suprised at their level of interest in the computer itself (just a P3).
I had loaded a copy of Microsoft Encarta on the PC and they absolutlely loved that!
Sigs cause cancer.
...replace the CD drive.
Mike van Lammeren
It will challenge your head, your brain, and your mind.
I think they have multilingual games... Or maybe it's just their website.
This user account is inactive account replaced by the PDA
Celestia rocks. It's a free (GPL program/public domain data) program where you fly arond space and see stars and planets and stuff. Educational, fun, and free!
samrolken
The OpenCD is the obvious choice. Mod this down if it's already been listed.
CB
free ipod and free gmail!
Since they will know what they want on the laptop, whether they can source it locally, or even if they want a laptop.
I'm not saying they won't want computers, but you shouldn't assume that they might not be better off with the money you get selling it on ebay. Even a 100 bucks / euros / whatever could buy a lot of other teaching materials that may be more needed.
no taxation without representation!
If I were an IT person (even in Uganda), I would clean the drives and install a vanilla/standard set of software. If you have commercial software include the licenses (and media if possible), so that they aren't forced to clean the drive because they don't want to pirate. To repeat, I guess, I wouldn't be worried about having them prove they have the software licenses, I worry more about having someone there remove the software because they couldn't prove it.
Laboratree - Scientific collaboration based on OpenSocial.
I will be sending my four-year-old laptop to a school in Uganda this fall
Dear Sir,
I am Umbumbo Bumbalilo of Uganda. PLease send your Laptop.
Thank you.
Umbumbo Bumbalilo
You might spend all your time creating a nice load, but if they can't speak english youre probably wasting your time. Are you sure they don't have any IT people over there that will put a base set of apps on the machine? They might just format it and start from scratch.
--
Only 5 Gmail invitations left!
HAMURABI: I BEG TO REPORT TO YOU.
IN YEAR 1997, 97,234 PEOPLE STARVED, 0 CAME TO THE CITY.
POPULATION IS NOW 2,123,872
THE CITY NOW OWNS 543,213 ACRES
RATS ATE 1,234,612 BUSHELS
YOU NOW HAVE 5,190,212 BUSHELS IN STORE
YOU WERE DONATED 1 LAPTOP
YOU STARVED 97,234 PEOPLE IN ONE YEAR!!!!
DUE TO THIS EXTREME MANAGEMENT YOU HAVE NOT ONLY
BEEN IMPEACHED AND THROWN OUT OF OFFICE BUT YOU
HAVE ALSO BEEN DECLARED A NATIONAL FINK!!!!
SO LONG FOR NOW
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
Depending on the grade level of the kids, go with something like number crunchers.
... and of course good old tux typing
Childsplay
OFSET
Tux Typing
and that was just in 5 minutes on Source Forge
"He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction here and merely hoped.
Granted, I don't know if they speak english or not, but putting on classic literature (and possibly including a cheap printer) might be a good idea.
I would include a compiler or interpreter so the kids can learn how to do some programming. That way, they are actually learning to use the computer "as a computer" and not just for running apps. For example, the qbasic interpreter is a lot of fun to play with and you can write some neat little programs with it.
They're not, but most laptops came with windows, so I'd say it's probably licensed for at least 95 (supposing that the license wasn't therafter used on another PC).
I am not sure how useful an old laptop with a defective cdrom drive will be, but here it is. If it can be plugged in at night, it seems it can plugged in at day and just used as a small desktop, btw, so I don't really focus on power.
;) This allows them to use Gimp, sound editing, video editing, web design, etc. or anything else and you don't have to know what their needs are in advance (which you probably can't do anyway).
;)
Linux as the OS (there are tons of language options), Open Office for docs, ALL the standard Linux games that come with typical distros to first expose the kids to computing and get them used to using a computer. Most dont use text, so language is irrelevant, and they teach basic thought skills. (Tux Racer may seem weird to them, watching a penguin belly flop on snow trying to catch herring is not a typical scene in Africa
Suse 9.1 (you can buy a home rolled copy on ebay for $10, shipping and all) is an EXCELLENT distro. 5 CDs and unreal amounts of software. Fedora is a decent choice as well. Choose to install all the extra games with Gnome as well.
One of the biggest advantages of using Linux instead of Windows is that they can copy it to other computers they get without breaking any laws, so everyone can use the same platform, making training and maintenance easier, and support is available in many languages from many people. Another advantage is the ability to have true multiple users on the system without the threat of screwing up someone elses files, and you can't delete the system files by accident if you are not root. (win9x is dangerous for newbs in that way).
The average win9x system comes with less than 300mb of software (200mb of it bloat), but you can install up to 4+ gigs of software from a good Linux distro, so its easier to prep the box and make it useful, using all Free software. Or you can install much less and still have a great system.
Also, using Linux, your gift is less likely to become a source of trojaned spam in the future
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
I've been donating 3-5 year old equipment for years. Usually it all has come with OEM copies of Microsoft software so licensing isn't an issue, and even if we may not consider software to be "educational" (such as word processors, spreadsheets, etc.) any software is helpful.
My parents are currently in Ethiopia where they run a library for students to study for their high school graduation exams. The tests are required to pass high school and get into college, and the books are in such short supply that they can't even let them out of the library. Just having computers with basic software could dramatically change things in that part of Africa.
But when people donate stuff, they always make sure it is absolutely worthless to themselves first. Why don't you get together with a group of friends and buy a new laptop that the school will get some decent use out of? I have been on the recieving end of such charity, so I speak from experience. While I was a missionary someone sent us 10 P I's. Out of those 10 we actually got 2 of them to work by skavaging the lot. And the donators thought they were doing us a favor...
Project gutenberg makes there collection available as isos. Burn a couple copies of each and bundle with the laptop.
Bang: you've just donated a library not an obsolet laptop!
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Yet again, Gupta, you need to go crawl in a hole and die. You're not even bothering to disguise or justify the fact that you're reposting your old trolls now.
Anyone who doesn't know this idiot yet, read his post history or check here. Known troll from the semi-olden days of Usenet that always falsely claims to be working at Nintendo, Sega, etc.
In all seriousness,
put 1 Gigabyte of JPG files of pretty California girls engaged in sexual activity.
They can erase it if they like with a simple:
Format c:\
Or, they can copy them to CDs and sell them. That way they can get enough money to buy several good PCs to go with the end-of-its-life donated PC that is being sent to them.
Label the files: 0001xyz.jpg; 0002xyz.jpg, ect...
I know it sounds silly, but you should ask the people you are donating to what specifically they need. It is much better for them if they get something they don't need to make any modifications to whatsoever. They will have some experience in the field and will have dealt with many people like you. Maybe they are more concerned about the shape of the hardware (perhaps they will format it as soon as they get it and put their own stuff on it).
So ask. :)
Slashdot in 5 Paragraphs
best matlab clone out there
I am very familiar with Uganda b'se it my mother country. One thing to note is depending on the location of the school and what type of school it is the software needs will be totally different. If you can give more info like the name of the school and where it is located in Uganda i can give u more useful data about the major requirements of different schools.
If you go the windows route (which frankly I don't recommend) I'd go with OpenOffice, TheOpenCD and Gnuwin II for lots of free software.
Dave.
Hey, don't they say math is the universal language?
I work for a school district, so we are in the position to accept donated gear, and we have been around and around with donated Microsoft OS's. If there is a Windows OS sticker on the unit, you can send the laptop with that OS intact and it will be legal! That is, of course, unless you purchased the LT without an OS and bought a retail OS off the shelf, in which case you still would own the OS, or actually just have the rights to borrow it from MS since that is the way most licenses are worded anyway.
Keep passing the open windows...
(( That's not Super Mario brothers, you idiots, it's super MARX brothers! sheeh. ))
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
Depending on the target age; give them some appropriate programing tools like MSWLogo or UCB Logo. Let's make hackers of them all!
Things fall apart, it's scientific.
Every processor for at least the last 5 years goes into a low-power mode when idle. That "do-nothing" command is actually a HLT instruction, which freezes all CPU activity except for refreshing the on-chip registers, thus saving a certainly non-negligible amount of power.
Karma: Segmentation fault (tried to dereference a null post)
It's nice that you are sending your laptop away to help someone else. Quite a commendable act.
My question is, why in the world are you sending it to another country? There are plenty of students right here in the U.S. that could use this hardware. I am all for helping out other countries, but I feel that we should take care of our own first. When all of our students have laptops, then we should consider sending them to other contries.
go there.. get the ISO's...
let 'em have fun...put it in their language...
all jazzy and juicy!!! They'll love it!!
Especially the educational games!
--Huck
"Just Smile and Nod." --Huck
I heartily recommend Rise of the Triad.
It is very imporant for all of the children of the world to learn of the dangers of The Triad.
I need suggestions for educational games
I taught computer literacy in Ghana, West Africa (see my site), and I didn't find much use for games, educational or otherwise. For one, such software usually assumes a native-level English language ability, which I doubt any student in Uganda will have. Also, you have to keep in mind that most students there may never have even seen a computer before. They will likely be intimidated even by the most basic educational software.
You know what program my students really loved? Notepad! None of them had ever used a computer, so the chance just to type their names was a huge thrill. It helped them overcome their fear of the computer and move on to more advanced programs...such as Minesweeper. (Seriously! They loved it.) They also loved Paint for similar reasons; it was a great way for them to learn how to use the mouse. So, instead of fancy games or educational software, I recommend supplying a simple typing tutor with your laptop. The students will likely benefit from and enjoy it far more than any game.
However, I did find that certain educational titles such as The Way Things Work are helpful as visual aids for science lessons. They do not provide much benefit when used by students alone (again, because of the language barrier and intimidation), but when used by a teacher as part of a group lesson, they can be quite useful.
any great ideas on where I can acquire copies of this software?
Half.com has lots of stuff available second-hand. I've picked up software there for one or two dollars per title.my drive doesn't work 80% of the time
Then perhaps there is no point donating this laptop. Without a CD-ROM, it will be nearly impossible for the recipient to add new software, upgrade the OS, etc. And I doubt they will have the ability to fix or replace what is likely a proprietary part. I strongly suggest getting the drive replaced before sending it, or at least providing an external one as an alternative. (You can get second-hand ones pretty cheap.) Otherwise, the gift you are sending could be just a liability.
TrevorYou can try to find a lot of great and classic applications that are not the size of a full length movie. Check out Abandonware.
Tux Paint isn't a teaching tool, but it contains educational aspects. It's already been translated into 40+ languages, and we're always happy to accept more!
:^)
Other stuff from Tux4Kids would be good, as well. All/most of it is cross-platform and, of course, open source.
-bill!
After spending some time in Eastern Africa, at times dealing with technology concerns, most villages don't have the resources to take advantage of software applications in reality. For example, what good is OpenOffice if they don't have a printer, toner cartridges, and paper? Also, climate control might be difficult for them, so just keeping any of this stuff operational is going to be a huge undertaking.
Maybe give them an archive of Wikipedia or HowStuffWorks would even be better! What good is Celestia when they need to learn how to fix a motorbike or a radio? Or health information?
Especially if the equipment isn't being sent to a *large* city, then the dust, humidity, shipment, and general treatment is going to send the equipment to the graveyard pretty soon anyways.
Similarly there are open source content sites like planetmath.org. I think there are similar sites in other discplines worth sending along.
I'd also think about toolsets that might be of use in the third world like cad software and the like.
If you have disk space (or get the CD working), collections of art and photographs would be good too. Toss in a copy of the Gimp.
Finally, music generation software would probably be very popular.
I'm currently doing a volunteer IT gig in the South Pacific. I'm not saying it will be the same in Uganda, but in my experience, when computers go to schools, they go to administrators and teachers first. Consider putting straightforward office software on it, as well as educational goodies.
And... DO NOT put Microsoft anything on, if you can avoid it. Even trivial bugs can make a computer useless if it's unsupported. Spend some time configuring a bullet-proof installation of Linux with OO.o, and everything will be fine.
And before anyone moans about lack of training/experience with Linux. People generally don't have ANY training in ANYTHING, anyway. They can learn to navigate GNOME or KDE just as easily as Windows, and with far fewer hassles. I've watched people with little or no experience pick up and use OO.o productively within a day.
One of the biggest problems I run into is getting computers to play nice with printers. Nobody knows how to make these things work. In fact, I've seen printers put onto planes and shipped off for service because the driver wasn't installed correctly. If you could pick up one of those older portable inkjets, a bunch of cartridges, and send them along with the (preconfigured) laptop, you'd be rendering a significant service.
Yeah, it's probably more time, money and effort than you might have intended. But you DO want to help, don't you? 8^)
One more thing: A friend of mine from Kenya (who's worked in Uganda) tells me that in urban areas, computer usage is fairly high. In rural areas, it's almost nil, due to lack of power. Do you know where your laptop is going? You might want to send an extra battery, and/or consider sending a solar charger to accompany it. We use a LOT of them here.
Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
If you're going to donate software, just remember that most people in Africa do not speak English.
1. Outlook and a browser would be first on the list. Congolese want to explore and the most impotant thing for them is exploring the world through WWW and keeping in touch with loved ones.
2. Second on the list is antivirus and anti-spyware. After various worms like Blaster receed here, they persist for months in the RDC because no one protect their computers. I often hear about the crippling effect viruses have on computers there.
3. With few printers and no projectors, Powerpoint, Excel, and Word are possibly over the top.
4. RPGs, Strategy game would just not make sense . Sport, Racing, and first person shooter would be a better choice.
She says that the situation there is dire. The school system is rudimentary and most have never seen or touched a computer. The average person there finishes school before 6th grade to work. Most work laborful jobs, the lucky ones work as maids, sentinels, chauffers, and other service jobs making $30-$50 a month.
With computers costing twice as much there than here and Cybercafes charging several dollars an hours, very little of the population can afford computing of any kind. FYI, With almost no phones lines, everyone uses cellular phones and to connect to an ISP, you need to buy a $1000 transmitter that gives you about 6 Kilobytes max a second. The monthly charge is > $100 a month.
In 2003 and then in 2004, They had an Internet Festival aka "Fête de l'Internet" . The most popular booth was by far the President's booth. He had some computers with free internet access and there was apparently a line around the corner to use this access.
A craigslist for RDC called infoCongo was started and this is one of the most popular sites there. Unfortunatley, with a small amount of user base, what's popular there looks quite void to US Standards.
I have several good friends who have been to Uganda on a number of occasion, and have done extensive service work there. (One of them, in fact, earned a Rhodes partly because of his efforts). At one time I was considering setting up a Ugandan-American service organization, and I picked their brains about what is and is not needed in general. This may come as a surprise, but computers (especially junky ones) are firmly in the NOT NEEDED list.
Many American charities and organizations send used equipment to Africa. One of the principle functions to the giant tax write-off foundation that Bill Gates created years ago was to send brand new computers to African schools. The net effect is that computers are not difficult to acquire and your laptop, although probably still appreciated, would be less useful than many other things you could send.
What they really need, as I understand it, are plan, old everyday books. The student-to-textbook ration in most schools is 20 to 1 or greater, and many libraries are downright pathetic. What books they have are arcane, products of the 1950's and 1960's. Since they speak (British) English in Uganda, why don't you do them a favor and ship some of your old textbooks, or some good children's stories instead. These will probably go a lot farther than a half-useable laptop.
...En að Besta Sem Guð Hefur Skapað Er Nýr Dagur
Because to someone with *no* computer, a four year old laptop is better than nothing. Myself, I think your "its four years old.. its USELESS!" attitude is worse. I use a four year old computer daily.. its not my main machine, but its still useful.
As long as the thing works, there's nothing wrong with donating it. Although, I would suggest he replace the finicky cd-rom before sending it off. It may not be any use to him (having been replaced by newer hardware) but that doesnt make it useless. The fact that he *could* sell it on e-bay and send them the money pretty much proves that its useful to someone, now doesn't it??
Sure, buying a new laptop and donating it would be even better, but even in the US not everyone can afford to donate a brand new laptop...
It just so happens that LWN.Net talked about this recently.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
has plenty of great freeware games and educational programs for kids.
I've been loading these onto Primary School computers that I administer, and it's been great. The kids and teachers love them, and it keep them OFF the internet, wasting time and bandwidth on crappy flash games.
--- RB
Microsoft has a program called FreshStart where they provide an OS, license and documentation, free of charge, to K-12 schools for donated computers.
Microsoft FreshStart