Codepad – The ClassHelper.org™ Blog

Fractals have always held a certain sway over me; they’re a beautiful representation of math, with nearly limitless possibilities for learning and exploration. You can use the open source application Xaos to get acquainted with a diverse range of fractal functions, from the famous Mandelbrot set to less well-known examples. This package is available for Linux, MacOSX, and Windows operating systems. Read the rest of this entry »

This classroom software review focuses on KGeography, a free and open source application from the KDE-Edu suite of educational software for Linux-based operating systems. The examples shown here are running under Ubuntu Linux, but the application is available for a wide variety of distributions. Check your favorite distro’s package manager; you’ll probably find it there.

With support for hundreds of countries, this application is fully capable of helping students learn and reinforce a ton of geography knowledge. Here’s the default startup view, allowing the user to pick a country to work with. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re a parent or teacher looking for a neat fractions practice application, give KBruch a try. Easily installed from the Ubuntu software repositories, this free software allows students to practice an endless number of fraction problems. With support for just about any type of problem you can imagine, the application features one-click access to basic fraction addition and subtraction, comparison problems (less than, greater than), decimal conversions, and factorization. Read the rest of this entry »

Teachers seeking a way to help students explore geometric constructs in an easy to learn plotting environment might like Kig. Part of the KDE Education Project, this application is designed to (from the Kig documentation):

1. Allow students to interactively explore mathematical figures and concepts using the computer.

2. Serve as a WYSIWYG tool for drawing mathematical figures and including them in other documents.

Both of these goals are accomplished quite well; I found Kig to be easy to use, full-featured, and fun. Here’s a screenshot with a line vector, an ellipse, and an arc. Read the rest of this entry »

My first introduction to computers and the world of programming was through languages like GW-BASIC, QuickBASIC, and ANSI C. As a kid, I inherited an 8086-based PC from my father, along with a few operating system manuals and programming references. Later on, I spend endless hours playing with Apple II computers in elementary school. This was probably the single biggest influence on my future professional life, as it taught me that I could easily make a computer do exactly what I wanted. Read the rest of this entry »

Tux Likes Learning

In my never-ending quest to find cool educational apps for teachers and parents, I’ve been introduced to SchoolForge. This project aims to provide everything a teacher or school network administrator could ever want for running a smooth, ultra low cost I.T. operation.

Applications are grouped by category; you’ve got antivirus and anti-spyware, Internet apps, multimedia software, office tools, and web-based systems to pick from. Representing the “best of the best” in open source software solutions in their respective fields, these are proven applications that can really shrink expenditures on traditional software systems. Many are available for multiple platforms (Windows, Linux, and MacOSX). Here’s a few examples from the project site. Read the rest of this entry »

Tux Paint Logo

Kids love computers, and kids love to draw. If you want an application that combines these two in a kid-friendly format, have a look at Tux Paint. This free Linux-based drawing program is designed specifically for children, offering a ton of fun features that are sure to keep a youngster occupied for hours (well, at least one hour).

Basic drawing tools include various paint brushes, shapes, lines, and text. All tools have a few different options for the way they perform in a drawing. There’s a stamp tool, which allows kids to easily add fun clip art to their compositions. In the example below, I’ve used a bunch of tools to give you an idea of the sort of shapes you can create. Read the rest of this entry »

Teachers are always on the lookout for educational software that can actually hold a child’s attention. Instead of cutting the kids loose on the Xbox, why not give GCompris a try? It’s an educational software suite, with the full version available for Linux-based operating systems like Ubuntu at no cost. It’s also available for Windows 2000 and above, but the free Windows version comes with a limited number of activities (you can buy the full version for 20€). Comprised of tons of simple and engaging learning games, GCompris is designed to establish and reinforce basic skills like counting, word recognition, and more. Read the rest of this entry »