55 Ways to Bring Open Source into Education
Elementary School

Cynthia Harvey
Monday, August 3, 2009 12:25:26 PM
Earth Science
12. Seismic Toolkit (STK)
This app makes it easier for scientists and researchers to analyze data from seismic
events. It includes tools for filtering and plotting data, evolutive polarization, and
more. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
Elementary Education
13. Tux Paint
This award-winning art program lets kids create small drawings using paintbrush,
rubber stamp, line, shape, and text tools, as well as "magic" special effects. TuxPaint
is designed for kids age 3-12, but its simple design and cartoon characters (including
help from Tux the Linux penguin) make it most suitable for kids in preschool through
second grade. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
14. TuxMath
In this arcade style game, kids prevent comets from destroying igloos by solving math
problems. You can set the preferences so that it focuses on a particular type of
problem-anything from simply locating the right number on the keyboard through addition
and subtraction to multiplication and division with both positive and negative numbers.
Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
15. ChildsPlay
ChildsPlay includes a number of different games suitable for preschoolers and
kindergarteners. Some of the games are educational (letter memory) and some are just fun
(classic Pong). The CognitionPlay version contains similar activities designed for people
suffering from mental illness. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
16. GCompris
This educational suite currently contains more than 100 educational activities for
children ages two through ten and more are being added all the time. It includes games
that teach keyboard skills, math, science, geography, reading, and several games that are
mostly fun, but also develop problem-solving skills (chess, sudoku, etc.) Operating
System: Windows, Linux.
Foreign Language
17. jVLT
The Java Vocabulary Learning Tool, or jVLT combines a flashcard-like tool with a
dictionary and a quiz tool to help students learn a foreign language. You can input your
own vocabulary list or use one of the downloadable files, which include German-French,
Thai-English, French-English, practical Chinese, and several others. Operating System:
Windows, Linux, OS X.
18. ZWDisplay
Input Chinese characters and ZWDisplay will show the pronunciation (in Pinyin) and the
English translation. You can also use it to create flashcards and keep track of which
Mandarin characters you've learned. Operating System: Linux.
19. Zkanji
Zkanji is designed to help English speakers learn Japanese. It includes a dictionary,
vocabulary lists, a study program, tests, and other helpful features. Operating System:
Windows.
Flashcards
20. FlashQard
With FlashQard, you can create flashcards to help students review just about any
subject matter. It allows you to create different cards for different purposes, insert
pictures, record answers, and it includes an "espeak" feature. Operating System: Windows,
Linux.
Other Stories on LinuxPlanet
|
21. The Mnemosyne Project
In addition to allowing you to create your own flashcards, this app uses a
sophisticated algorithm to determine which card should appear next in order to maximize
your learning (in other words, the cards you get wrong frequently will appear most
often). If you use the software, you can also choose to upload your data to a research
project studying memory. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
22. Pauker
This flashcard app is designed to strengthen your ultra-short-term, short-term, and
long-term memory. Because you create your own flashcards, you can use it to help you
remember vocabulary words, capitals, important dates, and other facts. In addition to the
standard version, it's also available in a mini version for mobile devices. Operating
System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
23. jMemorize
Like the other software in this category, jMemorize lets you create your own
flashcards and then quizzes you on those cards. The feature that sets this app apart is
the series of graphs on the main screen which make it easy to keep track of how many of
your cards you know well, which you sometimes know, and which you don't know at all.
Operating System: OS Independent.
Geography
24. WorldWind
Developed by NASA, WorldWind allows you to access satellite imagery of any point on
earth. It's very similar to Google Earth, but does offer some different features,
including the ability to access satellite imagery of the moon. Operating System:
Windows.
Language Arts
25. BingoCardMaker
Elementary school and foreign language instructors often find that a game of Bingo
breaks up the monotony of learning new vocabulary words. This app makes it easy to
generate random cards from a set of images. Operating System: OS Independent.
Next: Library, Math, Music, E-Learning, Courseware »