61–70 of 183 posts
He could be teaching them philosophy or maths or literature or ethics. He's drawing a UI on a chalkboard by hand! What a world.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I suspect it's more about maintaining a lowest common denominator. AP CS, last time I saw the data, is already mostly limited to wealthy schools, even compared to other AP exams. When there were two levels, the upper level was even more skewed. Giving the exam electronically would mean schools would have to provide some kind of minimal computing environment to run the software. I'm sure there are some schools offerin…
I went to a high school that could have easily offered an exam on computers (in fact, that’s where we took our state exams), so obviously my viewpoint is biased. Keeping that in mind, I think the skew towards wealthier schools will not worsen by requiring it to be taken on a computer. I’ve talked to people whose schools did not even offer the exam to students, because since they did not have the resources to provide…
But as far as I know most high schools don't really provide IT setups for particular exams. So I think there would almost certainly be schools where a random math teacher cobbled together machines for the course but just doesn't have the time or training to set them up for AP's testing requirements.
It's also not trivial to build testing software to run on machines used for other purposes. AP/The College Board is pretty serious about cheating. So what happens if the test software freezes and the student instinctively hits alt-tab and his IDE is open with his classwork?
The specific requirements of dust protection, power capabilities and licensing means that this is a use case for an Android/Linux tablet + keyboard instead of a desktop running Windows+office. There's a ycombinator startup that builds battery/mobile phone recharging stations in Africa - http://disrupt-africa.com/2017/10/senegalese-solar-startup-o... Combine a sealed tablet with solar recharging and an OTG keyboard, y…
Just today I was talking to an Anti-Windows who is trying to participate in the business world. He couldn't find a usable invoice template for whatever wannabe-office he thought would work.
Back before linux was a thing I had a product for legit unix that produced documents by writing text over pcl or postscript forms. That was worth the effort for high-production but every user shouldn't need to do that.
So I’ve been to Kumasi before. Take this with a grain of salt - this was over 10 years ago and I was there on a two week voluntourism trip. Here are some of the reasons it’s hard to use real computers as a part of the ciriculum there. * Electricity. Blackouts and brownouts are a part of life in Ghana, especially Kumasi. On top of that, the quality of the electricity is low. This poses major challenges for computers i…
> The medical clinic I was volunteering at... This is off topic. How can one get into that line of work/volunteering? Any particular organizations? Any particular skills ? How can one get started with this kind of work/volunteering?
The specific requirements of dust protection, power capabilities and licensing means that this is a use case for an Android/Linux tablet + keyboard instead of a desktop running Windows+office. There's a ycombinator startup that builds battery/mobile phone recharging stations in Africa - http://disrupt-africa.com/2017/10/senegalese-solar-startup-o... Combine a sealed tablet with solar recharging and an OTG keyboard, y…
That won't help them learn office though. Just today I was talking to an Anti-Windows who is trying to participate in the business world. He couldn't find a usable invoice template for whatever wannabe-office he thought would work. Back before linux was a thing I had a product for legit unix that produced documents by writing text over pcl or postscript forms. That was worth the effort for high-production but every u…
My solution was specifically meant to achieve what you said. I'm in India...We have the exact same issue (but with better internet probably)
The old version of Word with a real menu bar, not that ribbon abomination... I wonder how confused his students will be when they see the newer versions. This also reminds me of how much harder it is to help or tell someone how to do something using a GUI over a CLI, especially over a "lo-fi" channel like a voice call --- requests to manipulate certain UI elements need to be qualified with descriptions of them, follo…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That won't help them learn office though. Just today I was talking to an Anti-Windows who is trying to participate in the business world. He couldn't find a usable invoice template for whatever wannabe-office he thought would work. Back before linux was a thing I had a product for legit unix that produced documents by writing text over pcl or postscript forms. That was worth the effort for high-production but every u…
Please check the app I linked - it is specifically designed to replicate the desktop feel and the interface of Microsoft word. The solution was not intended to be anti-microsoft in any way. This is the only solution which is optimal on price, weatherproof and power requirements. My solution was specifically meant to achieve what you said. I'm in India...We have the exact same issue (but with better internet probably)
I'm in the USA where it's a hardship to participate in normal business without windoze. It's a very unfortunate situation due to the costs involved. Also when you are evaluated for low level jobs you are generally put in front of MS office and directed to perform some tasks. If you hunt around looking for features it looks bad to the observer.
So I’ve been to Kumasi before. Take this with a grain of salt - this was over 10 years ago and I was there on a two week voluntourism trip. Here are some of the reasons it’s hard to use real computers as a part of the ciriculum there. * Electricity. Blackouts and brownouts are a part of life in Ghana, especially Kumasi. On top of that, the quality of the electricity is low. This poses major challenges for computers i…
The old version of Word with a real menu bar, not that ribbon abomination... I wonder how confused his students will be when they see the newer versions. This also reminds me of how much harder it is to help or tell someone how to do something using a GUI over a CLI, especially over a "lo-fi" channel like a voice call --- requests to manipulate certain UI elements need to be qualified with descriptions of them, follo…
I like it. It was confusing at first as UI changes tend to be, but after a short period of time, it was so much easier to use.