Good Webquest for CS Teachers

One aspect of the Computer Science curriculum here in Saskatchewan is teaching students about the various hardware components that combine to create a working computer system. An interesting way to teach this topic could be to have the students spend time researching the various components and determine what sort of system they could build for a set price. I googled this idea, and found a webquest that addresses this topic. Custom Designing a Computer is a webquest created by Doug Smith, and is a fairly well designed webquest.

The webquest is designed so that any teacher could simply point their students to the site and let them begin without any further instructions required, as the assignment is laid out very explicitly. If anything, the instructions err on the side of being too specific, causing the students to not have to make many decisions. However, this does increase the usability for teachers, as it is nearly a week’s worth of lessons planned out for you. Depending on the class size, I would anticipate that this webquest would take 3 or 4 classes of research/prep time for the students, and another class of presentations.

One downside to the webquest is the poor aesthetics. The site has obviously been designed with content quality in mind, but the quality of the structure and layout of the page is lacking. If I were to use this webquest in my classes, I would likely email the author for permission, and then copy and paste much of the content into a nicer looking webquest template. If I was already altering the webquest, I would also emphasize the cost savings available through using open source software.

Webquests are a very interesting instructional method, and provide the students with a high degree of self-directed study. Although some webquests are little more than assignments redressed as webpages, there are others that do engage the students and capture their interest and intellect. As with all instructional methods, webquests can be used well or used poorly by the teacher.

Ubuntu Linux on a PPC (G3 iBook)

I recently installed Ubuntu Linux on a PPC laptop. The laptop in question was an old G3 Clamshell iBook (300 Mhz, 64 MB RAM), and I must say, the install itself was as painless as could be. Installing Ubuntu was as simple as installing Windows or Mac OS, which is an impressive feat for a Linux distribution. Obviously, there are some tradeoffs, such as only installing the Gnome window manager by default. I would advocate that these “limitations” are in fact, a good thing, as many newcomers to Linux are overwhelmed by the number of choices to make (KDE vs. Gnome vs. name your favourite window manager…). Ubuntu provides an incredibly easy install (mind you, it would be slightly more complex if you were going to have a dual boot system, but I simply wiped the old partitions and began anew), some good applications in every major category (OpenOffice, The GIMP, etc.). Obtaining additional software is very simple, using a Debian-like package management system.

There is only one complaint that I would make about Ubuntu Linux (for new Linux users): SPEED, or rather a lack thereof. It is ridiculously slow to run Ubuntu on the Clamshell iBook, to the point where it is virtually unusable… such as waiting >10 seconds for a window refresh. Really quite unfortunate, as the rest of the installation of the system was great. There may be a way to tweak some settings in Gnome that would speed it up such that it could at least be used, but I haven’t taken the time to search for them. I realize the old iBook is not particularly powerful (hence the monkeying around with Linux on a PPC machine!), but it had no problems running Mac OS 9.2.

I will attempt to install Ubuntu on a x86 machine sometime this semester to see whether speed is an issue on an older x86 machine as well.

Multi-User WordPress Coming Along Quite Nicely…

Well, one of the most widely touted missing features of the WordPress blogging system has been the difficulty of creating multi-user blogs quickly and easily. While this is still not officially solved, some definite steps have been made in the past few weeks. Using a handy little script by a WordPress developer named Donncha, I was able to create a simplistic multi-user WordPress installation. I saw this done at Incorporated Subversion, and thought I’d spend a few minutes trying it myself.

At the present time, the system works as follows — user John Doe is given the URL for the registration page, and then enters in his user name of choice, say “johndoe”. This user name dictates the subfolder wherein the blog will be hosted, in this case http://www.educationaltechnology.ca/wpmu/johndoe/

While there are some definite limitations to this system (the most blatant being the lack of control I, as the overall administrator have over these sub-blogs and who can create them, as they are completely self-regulated), it is definitely a step in the right direction, and I can see some good potential for this once it is polished and included in the regular Multi-User WordPress release.

CD Mix Blog Meme

I was recently challenged by Alec to construct a CD mix according to the following criteria, so here it is…

1) A favorite political track.
“Peace Train” - 10,000 Maniacs (also happens to be first in my alphabetical iTunes list)

2) One of those tracks that make you dance on the dancefloor no matter what.
“I Could Have Danced All Night” - Jamie Cullum

3) The song you’d use to tell someone you love them.
“Hit the Road to Dreamland” - Jane Monheit

4) A song that has made you sit down and analyze it’s lyrics.
“Images of Faith” - Marty McCall

5) A song that you like, that a two year old would like as well.
“I’ve Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts” - unknown

6) A song that gives you an energy boost.
“In My Heart” - Moby

7) A song that you and your grandparents (would probably) like.
“One Quiet Night” - Pat Metheny
A song that you really liked when you were 14-16, and still really like now.
“Under African Skies” - Paul Simon

9) A sad song that would be in the soundtrack of the movie about your life.
“Caught In The Rain” - Martin Sexton

10) A peppy song that would start the opening credits of the movie about your life.
“Drive In Drive Out” - Dave Matthews Band

11) A good song from a genre of music that no one would guess that you liked.
“Ooh Aah” - Grits (rap)

12) A song that you think should have been playing when you were born.
“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” - U2

13) A favorite artist duo collaboration.
“Crazy Love” - Marc Cohn and Jackson Brown

14) A favorite song that you completely disagree with (politically, morally, commonsenically, religiously etc.)
“Loser” - Beck

15) The song that you like despite the fact your IQ level drops several points every time you listen to it.
“Channel Surfing” - Feature Cast

16) Your smooth song, for relaxing.
“Everywhere Dance” - Bruce Cockburn

17) A song you would send to someone you hate or are mad at.
“Ready Or Not” - Fugees

1 A favorite track from an outfit considered a “super-group.”
“Lemon” - U2

19) A song that makes you reminsce about good times with a family member.
“So Long, Farewell” - Sound of Music Soundtrack

20) Your favorite song at this moment in time.
impossible to choose — sorry!