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?"

Celestia

[samrolken]

Celestia [shatters.net] 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!

The OpenCD!

[Chuck Bucket]

The OpenCD [theopencd.org] is the obvious choice. Mod this down if it's already been listed.

CB

Why don't you ask the recipients?

[kraut]

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.

Send licenses

[PrvtBurrito]

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.

Re:Civ and SimCity type games

[SIGALRM]

old versions of Civ and Sim City ... are not American centric

In Uganda "Sim City" would be an extremely unfamiliar game, completely out-of-step with the realities of life even in Kampala.

There is no concept of "urban planning" in most African countries; it might not be "American-centric" but the game is highly prejudiced toward a western mindset.

What level are the kids at?

[wellwatch]

Depending on the grade level of the kids, go with something like number crunchers.

Childsplay [sourceforge.net]
OFSET [sourceforge.net]
... and of course good old tux typing
Tux Typing [sourceforge.net]
and that was just in 5 minutes on Source Forge [sf.net]

Include a compiler or interpreter

[Nakito]

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.

Burn project gutenberg CDs

[hey!]

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!

Re:Why a laptop?

[PhoenixFlare]

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 [slashdot.org] now.

Anyone who doesn't know this idiot yet, read his post history or check here [google.com]. Known troll from the semi-olden days of Usenet that always falsely claims to be working at Nintendo, Sega, etc.

octave

[brysnot]

best matlab clone out there

Which part of Uganda is the school?

[has2k1]

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.

Freeduc

[Anonymous Coward]

Try Freeduc [ofset.org]. It's a linux based distribution especially designed for education. So you get both a free operating system and lots of educational software. I think it was financed by UNESCO or some similar organisation.

If you go the windows route (which frankly I don't recommend) I'd go with OpenOffice [openoffice.org], TheOpenCD [theopencd.org] and Gnuwin II [gnuwin.epfl.ch] for lots of free software.

Dave.

Re:Older Versions of Windows

[Peter Cooper]

How the hell can the first post be redundant?

Quite easily on Slashdot.

Certain comments, like the grandparent, always come up when certain topics are raised. While many of these are 'funny' (Soviet Russia, beowulf clusters, frist psot) and get modded as such, some are not, and can be marked as Redundant, even though the comment is the first of its type in a thread.

Complaining that the original poster is pirating software is worthless, but done in almost every single case where someone makes a vague reference to installing software on machines.. so, it's redundant.

Here's a must- have

[BeatdownGeek]

Give 'em Maxima [sourceforge.net]!!! That'll keep the little buggers busy for a while. And in 10 years they'll all be rocket scientists!

Hey, don't they say math is the universal language?

The OS License is Probably bound to the LT!

[spiedrazer]

Since around the time Win98 came out, the OEM installed OS version is actually tied to the hardware, so if you transfer the Hardware, the software stays with it.

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.

Don't breed Microsofties

[Anonymous Coward]

If you load Microsoft windows on that machine, you'll prime the kids to be Microsofties, minions of the evil empire working twords world domination through proprietary lock-in. This will eventually cost them thousands in software purchases for non-free programs, newer windows upgrades, and antivirus software. Older versions of windows also have security holes that will NEVER be patched.

If you load Linux (someone mentioned Linux for kids already) when they do see a MS windows computer that will seem like the "odd ball" having used Linux growing up. Furthermore, if they want to go beyond learning 123's and ABC's Linux is the optimal environment to learn programming. And as anyone on Slashdot already knows, nobody will be using Microsoft windows in 10 years when they grow up anyhow.

Do the right thing, Load Linux on that machine and help rid the world of the evil empire by not breeding more microsofties.

I say +1 Funny

[Stephen Samuel]

Sometimes, even trolls can be funny. I'm taking this posting by itself. (Now, how in the H*ll it got rated 'interesting' is another question. I think that somebody didn't pay close attention to the posting.

(( That's not Super Mario brothers, you idiots, it's super MARX brothers! sheeh. ))

Re:Came with a license?

[Glonoinha]

He is sending the laptop to Africa where it will be used in an educational setting. Fuck the EULAs and disregard MSRP, load it up with whatever you think will be most useful and mail it. I'm going to suggest loading it with whatever actually works with the hardware, and whatever you think they know how to use - because it isn't like you can drop in on them to keep it running. Bear in mind viruses and worms that don't affect Linux / Mac/OS installs (like either of those would run on a four year old Toshiba) and balance it with whatever apps you have available and think they know how to run.

Anybody gives you any shit about it, have them talk to me. [e-mail]

Re:Games don't vary power consumption

[sploo22]

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.

Re:Older Versions of Windows

[Anonymous Coward]

might I suggest eduknoppix (i find it useful & free 4 my students)

Re:Older Versions of Windows

[shaitand]

"proud owner of an older version of Windows"

Actually most proud owners an older version of windows are still pirating it if they install it on a laptop. Most of those proud owners, own OEM licenses which are only valid on the computer they came with.

Perhaps you didn't realize those oem versions of windows that come preinstalled have a special license agreement, are tied exclusively to the computer they came on, and are non-transferable in the event of a resale?

Typing tutor

[vocaro]

I need suggestions for educational games

I taught computer literacy in Ghana, West Africa (see my site [vocaro.com]), 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 [utexas.edu] 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 [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.

Trevor

Abandonware Software

[kyoko21]

You can try to find a lot of great and classic applications that are not the size of a full length movie. Check out Abandonware [abandonwarering.com].

Tux Paint!

[Bill Kendrick]

Tux Paint [newbreedsoftware.com] 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 [tux4kids.com] would be good, as well. All/most of it is cross-platform and, of course, open source. :^)

-bill!

Re:Burn project gutenberg CDs

[KingPrad]

and install a nice ebook reader such as yBook [spacejock.com]. It makes the texts MUCH nicer to read.

Notes from the field....

[grcumb]

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.

Give it to Uconnect

[1u3hr]

Have a look at Uganda Connect [uconnect.org] for examples of a Swiss group that is already doing this. JUst send the laptop to them, wit all the original software and docs, let them put it to the best use.

Uconnect goes back to 1996 when they brought their first container of [mostly 386] recycled computers to Uganda that were configured to connect to the Internet [running Windows 95]. At the Uconnect [education ministry headquarters] demonstration schools computer lab students and teachers may attend a one-week Network Training Workshop (NTW) during which local volunteers instruct them in networking basics. NTW trainees learn how to install their schools' computer labs local area networks (LANs) themselves, providing staff and students with a profound sense of ownership and confidence in maintaining and troubleshooting their LAN.

Educational Linux...the info is right here...

[MsGeek]

It just so happens that LWN.Net talked about this recently. [lwn.net]

Freeware Games

[zarmok]

Grey Olltwit's Freeware Games [adders.org]

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.

Microsoft FreshStart program

[wirehead78]

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 [microsoft.com]