Re: [seul-edu] Phase 1 Science Evaluation

[Charlie Cosse <ccosse@asymptopia.com>]

Manuel Gutierrez Algaba wrote:
> El Jue 06 Feb 2003 00:28, escribió:

> We, developers, forget very often users... But sometimes we get very little 
> feedback (even when the idea is admitedly a good idea)  and frankly speaking 
> I'd like to DO apps which people ARE looking for. But  there's no such 
> "desired apps specifications of useful software". 
My favorite approach to solving problems is to close all books and any 
material that cause prejudice and come-up with as complete-a-plan as 
possible, however incorrect. Then you have a roadmap, and you confront 
your misconceptions and understand where/how you maybe went wrong. So,
let's not look at the contents of the science section yet, but start 
over by asking: "what would we expect to find in a complete and useful
science-software category?"

1. Some sort of science games that make you _think_ and cause you to 
      learn something useful, painlessly.

2. A really easy-to-use function plotting package with a specific focus
(as opposed to Matlab-like stuff that "does everythin" -- the more 
things do the less well they do each of them, IMHO).

3. A way to access the encyclopedias that people already have for their
Windows platforms.

4. Anything Windows has that teachers like -- ported to Linux.

5. Hardware drivers and applications for all those School-Supply 
packages -- Boreal Scientific, Pasco, Sergent-Welch...anyone who has
equipment like that (that needs to interface with software) will likely
have whole laboratories full of windows machines that talk to windows 
print servers etc etc...

6. An American Institute of Physics (or other) sanctioned curriculum, 
complete with lesson plans and supplementary notes and exercise ideas --
but rubber-stamped "approved" by a reputable institution.

7. Other "partnership" software with well known scientific supply 
places...I know it's not there, maybe they should be approached; five 
years ago they might have been less interested, but the time for Linux 
is now, and they probably all know it.






> Anyway, it's healthy an extremist opinion from time to time,... life may not 
> be black or white but different grays,... but watching pure black or pure 
> white helps a lot to qualify the grays. 
What, me..an extramist? I don't believe "computers for computers' sake" 
is a good thing. They have the potential to do good things for 
education, but mostly I see wasted hours and kids believing that 
computers are an end in themselves. Imagine if everyone had velcro shoes
and nobody could tie a shoe anymore! Whoops -- my beer's empty! gotta 
go. Thanks for disagreeing, anyone who disagrees,
Charlie Cosse