Re: Tux the Tutor; was: Re: Site update

[Christian Reiniger <warewolf@mayn.de>]

Jeff Read wrote:

>nifty new technology at our disposal, what about some open source
>educational software for kids? We have to start out those little tykes

We'd need help from professionals (teachers etc) for that. But otherwise
it's simply a great idea!

>right. This has been a thought running through my head. Something like
>"Tux Teaches" or "Tux the Tutor" or something. Everyone's favorite
>penguin would instruct youngsters about reading, math, spelling, etc.

IMHO Tux is near perfect as tutor...

>now choose a Windows PC for their kids. We could get some educators on
>board about this.

Linux is gaining popularity in schools. While that's mainly targeted at
higher grades (is that the right word? we say "Klassen"(classes) in
Germany), we propably really could get some educators to team up with us
here.

>Along similar likes would be a kid's shell and a kid's desktop that
>would make working under Linux fun and easy and quell the complaints
>from Windows weenies about how "you can't expect little kids to learn
>all those 'cryptic' Unix commands!" despite the fact that little fingers

"How does this thingy work, uncle Tux?" - a virtual travel through the
computer (basic understanding about how the machine "thinks", how the parts
interact with each other, learning the difference between RAM and HDD
etcetc)

"The Second Extended Maze" - Finding your way around in the filesystem,
assisted by RainbowBash, the colorful speaking shell

"Butler McTux - at your service" - how to control the computer with typed
language (Un*x commands)

to be continued...

>(And because Linux is the internet's operating system, we could also
>have "Tux Teaches about the Internet", with special guest Mozilla, who's
>way cuter than Barney! ^_^)

"Painting with the Computer" with guest star Wilbur The Gimp


Strange - I never noticed that the free software world has so many
child-appealing mascots...
Perhaps that's because we geeks still have many of these "childish" traits



Cu
	Christian
--

Troi, report to my room. Clothing optional