July 2000 Issue

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An Online Educational Community

A newsletter that educates parents, teachers, and
students.

July 2000 Issue #12
Zigmond Snook, Editor, mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com
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Welcome to the twelfth issue of "An Online Educational
Community". To read past issues of our newsletter, visit
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/archive.html
or to learn more about us, check out our website at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com

If you think a friend might be interested in reading this
newsletter, pass it along in whole or in part.

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Each month we will focus on a different educational theme
and base our feature article and learning tips around that
particular theme.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> What's New at INNOVA
=> Feature
=> Contest - Win a Whale
=> This Month's Free Lesson Plans
=> More Great Education Web Sites
=> Whale Links for Whale Lovers
=> What's Hot - Our Latest Software Reviews
=> Feedback

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What's New at INNOVA
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We are presently building our new user-friendly website. If
you have any comments or suggestions on what you like about
our presnt site - let us know.

mailto:marketing2@innovamultimedia.com

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FEATURE
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An OS for Us?

The court decision against Microsoft's anti-competitive
practices came to many as a surprise. How could the most
powerful software company in the world - who had brought
into being the desktop PC and an abundance of high-quality,
user-friendly software - be taken to task for such actions
as freely integrating a web browser into their operating
system?(OS)

But seen against a backdrop of the growing open source and
public license movement it starts to become a bit more
understandable. Even as I type this article using Microsoft
Word, installed on top of a Windows 98 operating system,
and mail it away via Outlook Express, I recognize that there
exists a whole other world of not-for-profit computer
software that, had I the time, the inclination, and the
expertise, I could be using instead.

Take Linux, for instance. Linux is a operating system that,
like Windows, can be used to access the internet, send
e-mail, create databases, and most other tasks that one
would associate with the typical computer environment.
Unlike Windows, however, it is free. Various versions of
it can be downloaded at no cost to the user other than
internet download time (see http://www.Linux.com for a
site devoted to this OS).

Also unlike most versions of Windows, Linux is a server -
which means that it can be used to link computers together
for communicating information. Depending on where you read
your stats, it has captured somwhere between 15% and 35%
of the corporate server market.

Moreover, the source code for this operating system is open
to the public, which means that if you need Linux to have
some additional functionality and don't mind getting your
hands dirty, you can get in there and program it. Because
of this open concept, Linux has been drastically improved
over the years by programming enthusiasts all over the
world, giving freely of their time. Today Linux is on the
cusp of acceptance by the average consumer: it has become
easier to install, more user-friendly, and there is a
growing body of software available.

The free, open environment of Linux (and other such
operating systems as FreeBSD) presents the educational
system with some interesting opportunities. For example,
every computer in every school could be furnished with an
operating system and software for no cost - unlike
proprietary systems like Windows or Apple who generally
require a license for each machine. The operating system
could be customized for education-specific uses, whereas
with a proprietary system one would have to wait with
baited breath for the next OS release in hope that one's
needs were anticipated. And, although it is true that
currently there is little educational software available
for Linux, this will soon change as educational software
reaches a point where it is delivered over the internet
as opposed to on the user's hard drive.

On the flip side, there are maintenance and familiarity
issues. Not only would it be more costly and time consuming
to have tech people support a less recognized operating
system, but users would have to be retrained with the new
environment and software. The common language that Windows
has in the past brought to the computer world would become
much more fragmented.

The time is therefore not yet ripe for Linus (or similar
OSes) to be universally integrated into the school system.
However the future is promising. Large companies such as IBM
and Compaq have recently shown support for Linux. And there
is fervent and growing group of programmers and users who
swear by both the Linux operating system and the concept of
open software. It is possible now to buy a computer with
Linux pre-installed, whereas a year ago this was not the
case.

And so it can be seen that the recent verdict against
Microsoft is not simply an expression of frustration against
an obstinate-seeming company whose proprietary software has
changed the world but is riddled with flaws. It is
emblematic of the growing strength of the open source
movement, who believes that although closed software makes
economic sense to the corporate few, in the long run it
hinders the pace of technological development and the
creativity embodied in that process.

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Contest - Win a Whale
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INNOVA Multimedia Ltd. is giving away TEN of our "A Whale of
a Tale" educational software lessons and the latest version
of LessonBuilder, a custom course creation utility, as a
FREE DOWNLOAD on our website! Visit
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lbuilder11.htm
to download your free copy. When you download LessonBuilder
you are automatically entered in our contest to win a free CD-ROM
from our "A Whale of a Tale" series. Good Luck!

"Congratulations to our June winner - Charlee McCullough"

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This Month's Free Lesson Plans
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Teachers, check out free "A Whale of a Tale" lesson plans on
our website at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lesson1.html

Dive into Math 2 - "Number Estimates" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math2g.html
encourages children to estimate the size of numbers to the
nearest 10 or 100.

Dive into Math 2 - "Number of Sides" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math2h.html
encourages children to make several geometric figures and
count the number of sides.

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More Great Education Web Sites
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Check out some of these INNOVA recommended resource sites:

APA Kids and Community
http://www.planning.org/kidsandcommunity/
Welcome to the website for exploring communities. This site
for kids developed by America's city planners. Explore how
you create communities, how you live in them, and how you
change them.

Patti's Electronic Classroom
http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/patti/patti.html
Patti's Electronic Classroom provides activities, assessment
tools, Web links, and more for K-3 teachers and readers.

Math: Exercises in Math Readiness
http://math.usask.ca/readin/menu.html
Activities to help students improve their mental math skills
by providing online timed addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division drills.

WebMath
http://webmath.com/
Great site illustrating the different applications of math in
the real world.

Mathletics
http://www.richmond.edu/~ed344/webunits/math/sport.html
You never thought math was in sports? Just think about it....
Every sport uses numbers in some way, whether it's for scoring,
determining averages, or figuring percentages. And when numbers
are involved, it usually means math is as well.

MathNerds
http://www.mathnerds.com/
MathNerds is a free service offering assistance in many areas
of mathematics. Team members are unpaid volunteers whose only
compensation for their efforts are the "Thank You" messages
from their clients.

Introduction to Reading Music
http://datadragon.com/education/reading/
Some people think trying to read music is hard and difficult.
The following set of pages will try to introduce the most
important topics in reading music in a very easy to understand
way.

Basic Science for Kids
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/index.html
Kids learn science the fun & easy way with Science Made Simple!
Great science projects & experiments, clear detailed answers to
childrens science questions, and more. Basic science for kids,
childrens science projects & experiments science for children,
science for kids, science experiments, science projects, kids,
simple, childrens, answers science questions.

The K-12 Education Resource Site
http://www.k12home.com/default.htm
The K-12 Home page is designed to be your start place for the
world wide web.If you are an educator, student, or administrator
you will find just about everything you need right here.

Cybersleuth Kids
http://cybersleuth-kids.com
One of the few Web sites dedicated to making Internet searching
easy for kids. The site has convenient sections featuring specific
subjects, such as History, Geography, Science, and Math, as well
as interactive games linked to educational topics.

Bubble Geometry
http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/b/bubblegeometry/bubblegeometry.html
Experiment with bubbles. Create bubble wands out of found objects
(straws, pipe cleaners, strawberry baskets and coathangers) and
have your own bubble festival.

Shakespeare Online
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/
Here you will find many resources to help you in the study of
Shakespeare and his works. A wealth of original content on every
aspect of Shakespeare's work.

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Whale Links for Whale Lovers
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Check out these INNOVA recommended whale sites!

Meet the Whales of Hervey Bay at:
http://www.oceania.org.au/whales/whales.html
Here researchers will share with you the stories and
photographs of these meetings; how and why the Whale got its
name; what it, and its companions, were up to at the time of
the meeting and what we know of, or are learning about, each
Whale.

Endangered Whales of the World:
http://www.seaworld.org/animal_bytes/endangeredwhales.html
The mammalian order Cetacea contains more than 70 species of
whales and dolphins. Most have been affected by human
activities to some extent, and several have experienced
profound population declines in the last century. But which
are endangered? This subject is often a source of confusion.

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Whale Trivia:
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Sei whales can swim for short periods at speeds of up to
35 knots (60 km/h).

A group of whales is called a school, herd, or more commonly
a pod.

Some whales, especially humpback and southern right whales
can be identified individually from the colour patterns and
markings under the tail (humpbacks) and the pattern of bumps
on the head (southern right whales).

Sperm whales have the largest brain of any animal, weighing
over 9kg.

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What's Hot - Our Latest Software Reviews
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A Whale of a Tale Series is a wonderfully designed, well thought
out series of programs for children at the primary grades. Some
of the programs' unique strengths include:

-- Very clear enunciation
-- Clean, crisp screening
-- Excellent directions and tutorials
-- Simple navigation

All of these features make these programs excellent for many
different audiences, including early literacy learners, ESL
students, students with many varying learning abilities. Another
unique feature of this software is the learning in context. Facts
about whales and sea life are interspersed with skill building
in a seamless way, and keep students interested. The "Just for
Fun" section includes leveling and activites are enjoyable.

Evelyn J. Woldman
Education Coordinator
Massachusetts Elementary School Principals' Assoc (MESPA)
Technology Center

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Feedback
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If you have comments or suggestions concerning our online
newsletter or website, please direct them to
mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com

Your comments and suggestions will be published in the
feedback section of future issues.

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http://www.innovamultimedia.com/archive.html

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