Abstract

Introduction

Scope

For small schools with variety of grades
As a teacher help in larger classes
Most of all For all homeschoolers

General Guidelines

Priorities

Ordered started from the highest priority, the project goals are:
Excellent curriculum oriented to academic skills
Stability
Manageability
Cute graphics

Hardware Platform

Clients: For most of the software web browser capable computer, an equivalent of 486 with 16 MByte of RAM or better, Intranet running on 10-base-2 ethernet (no concentrator) or better.
Server: At least Pentium 100 with 32MByte memory or more.
Multi-headed: One CPU can serve up to 4 students at the same time. At least Pentium 120, 64Mbyte RAM. One graphic card, keyboard, mouse and monitor per student. Common case, power-supply, CD_ROM, Hard-drive, network card and motherboard with memory and processor. This configuration reduces the price per seat by 50% while it maintains high end capabilities.

Software Platform

Client: A computer with web browser, windowing system.
Server: Apache and dynamic HTML engine.
Advanced Client: Web browser, X-windows, office suite, Java, perl, database, Tcl/TK, etc...

What is important for good educational software?

1. Curriculum
2. Unload mechanical work from the teacher first. (Generation of exercises and checking them)
3. Cute graphics and sound capability.
4. Ability of teacher's remote supervision of student's progress, remote summary information

Childish approach to the student, no matter how young
Excess distraction from animated (proprietary and copyrighted) cartoon characters
Trying to substitute for work where teacher's intelligent judgment is necessary, such as:

Trying to check student's composition skill
Try to check quality of student's handwriting
Leading student in painting lessons
Deciding next lessons based of tested knowledge
Selecting curriculum best fitted to the student

General Ideas

Professor Tux

Professor Tux is an animated penguin character, that walks freely within X-windows background, suggests the next subject to be taken, guides as a sort of interactive help through the session. His nature is to be very polite in his suggestions, always having store of cute facial expression of surprise, happiness alert, discomfort, thoughtfulness, etc... that may help the student to see, if he is on the right path. However, he is never obtrusive and can be whenever asked to let you work alone, sent home (igloo in the upper left corner)  or be called back to help. He suggests the student to be more careful take easier or more difficult lesson or perhaps see the corresponding presentation.

Simple worksheet.

The worksheet has number of randomly generated arithmetic expression.
This can be a dynamically generated form HTML sheet.
The student's task is to evaluate them. Several modes of operation can be applied:

1. Timed solution. The student has limited time to present the solutions. When the time out elapses, number of good answers, wrong answers and missing answers is reported to the teacher.
Objective: This develops student's discipline and constant attention to the problem.

2. Score based on number of good solutions. Students solves the worksheet until satisfied with the result. Then submits the result. Like most game software have, he is told how is this exercise compared to his previous attempts or amongst other students in the classroom.
Objective: The competition (even with oneself) makes achievements more exciting.

3. Score based on time. Fastest solution attains the highest score. Solutions with error are either disqualified or compared to solutions with similar numbers of errors.
Objective: This exercise automates simpler tasks that will be necessary for effective solution of more complex problems. To be used e.g. on times table.

4. Interactive and iterative: Student is presented only one problem at a time. He has to submit solution and receives immediate answer on whether it was good or bad. He is given a choice to try again, up to maximum number of retrials. Upon failure to give correct answer the answer is presented, the result logged as red and counted in the score of bad solution. Running score of good solution and of retrials is also presented as a number or in a form of bar graph.
Objective: Attractive and instructive form of practicing new class of problems.

Optional parameters:

Upon submission student will be shown number of errors and be given chance to find them and correct them. Good for practicing.

Option to allow editing given result only once. This will teach students to think before acting.

Forwarding results:
The teacher is informed via e-mail on the duration of exercise, result of exercise,
the most difficult problems and the easiest problems. This will allow the teacher to direct focus of following exercises.
GUI interface will be able to give teacher running status about progress and quality of student's solutions. This will enable him to give switch to more challenging exercises for excellent students, more drilling exercises for slower students and give more personal attention to students with excessive amount of wrong solutions.

Student judges the computer.

For a given expression, computer suggests a result. Student judges, if the result is correct or not.
Objective: Learn to be critical about your or somebody's results. Gain confidence about your judgment. Have a fun with the reversed roles. To be applied when the students are becoming tired.

Find numbers of certain property in a set (or matrix) of numbers.

Examples:

• Find all prime numbers
• Find all factors of 9
• Find all even number higher than 50

Objective: Learn about properties of numbers and how to recognize them.

Fill missing numbers in a series

Student is presented series of a certain property, but some numbers are missing. Can he fill all the empty spaces?
Objective: Find a pattern in a series and learn to follow it.

Assign correct results to appropriate expressions.

Expressions are in the left column, results are in the right column. Students uses mouse drawing color threads between the expression and corresponding results.
Objective: Students employs several methods at once. He might use the method of exclusion, solve some assignment based on contained factors, the last assignment was most likely the hardest to calculate.

Where to obtain more curriculums ideas?

   See the K12 series books, that can be obtained in most US bookstores and supermarkets.
    Also series of Homeschooling material - search web.