/srv/irclogs.ubuntu.com/2009/08/30/#edubuntu.txt

Guest94531Hi all. Im a newbee to linux. I have ubuntu running on my desktop and wish to connect to windows vista on my work laptop using terminal services.  When I enter the ip address of my windows machine in ts and click connect TS dissappears off of the screen. I am able to ping my windows pc from the terminal? Any suggestions00:36
ograace_suares, that wiring page is utterly wrong09:48
ograace_suares, (the text and links are, the pics are fine)09:48
=== hfsdo_ is now known as hfsdo
=== buttercup is now known as vorian
DoranwenI have kind of an unusual request, and I'm not sure if this is where I should go, but someone recommended that I ask here, because maybe someone in the Edubuntu world would have an idea where I should go for help and ideas19:24
DoranwenI'm starting to work on a set of elementary school curriculum--textbooks, workbooks, related materials, and suchlike--that I want to release eventually under some sort of copyleft-ish license19:25
DoranwenI've noticed there is NOTHING of that sort anywhere that I can find19:26
Doranweneverything free as in freedom is at least high school level if not college, and all the elementary curriculum materials out there are very much copyrighted, even the "free" stuff that people host on their sites19:26
Doranwenit's not truly free, and people charge exorbitant rates for the materials, which really handicaps small schools, ones with smaller budgets, etc.19:27
Doranwenso I'm hoping eventually to change some of that--in the future my fiancé, who's got one year left of college and is big into networking, wants to help me start a site for collaboration of that sort19:27
Doranwenbut right now I'm just trying to put together some things for the very beginning of school19:28
Doranwenand ran into a snag19:28
Doranwenhandwriting is one of the essential subjects (it is of great importance in a method of reading instruction I just learned about that's effective for all children)19:28
Doranwento teach children handwriting, there has to be examples they can copy, even trace as they begin to learn19:29
Doranwenfor the very beginners, they need to have just curves and lines, to practice grip19:29
Doranwenand all of that requires fonts19:29
Doranwenfonts that would be free to use in a project like this19:29
Doranwenbut I can't find ANY19:29
Doranwenand someone suggested that maybe someone in this project might know who to go to to talk, collaborate, whatever on this?19:30
DoranwenI feel like I'm over my head here, because this thing is just too big for me to really do on my own, and I don't know how to start letting people know about it, or asking for help to work on it19:30
Doranwenbut it's so needed19:30
HedgeMageDoranwen: I'm coming in in the middle of the conversation, so pardon me if I missed anything important, but WRT handwriting practice, a font is only sufficient for typeset letterforms, and for printing -- NOT for a cursive style appropriate to handwriting.19:30
Doranwentrue, there are both forms of handwriting19:31
* HedgeMage == handwriting geek and daughter of an elementary school teacher.19:31
Doranwenand to really teach cursive, one would have to do some rather interesting things19:31
DoranwenI saw one site that advertised a program to buy that had multiple fonts, some that showed individual letter forms, and some that were designed to make letters match up as much as possible19:31
DoranwenI don't know how it all worked, 'cause I didn't buy the program19:31
HedgeMageIt wouldn't be *that* hard... we'd need to write an app that can handle different joins correctly19:31
Doranwenlol, that would definitely have to go to someone besides me19:32
DoranwenI don't program19:32
HedgeMageYou can learn :)19:32
Doranwenhehe19:32
Doranwenmy fiancé's not too bad at it19:32
DoranwenI'm mostly best at curriculum stuff19:32
Doranwenbut he's really better at networking, and programming too long gives him a headache19:33
HedgeMageIt's interesting to me, but my free time is *very* limited right now.  I do have some ideas.  Hold on a sec, I'll brb19:33
Doranwenk19:33
Doranwenah, here's the site that was advertising stuff:  http://www.schoolfonts.com/19:34
HedgeMageThey teach Zaner-Bloser -- that's BAD stuff.19:34
Doranwenthey've also got D'Nealian19:35
Doranwenfor parents to pick19:35
DoranwenI've had virtually no handwriting instruction at ALL in the sense of how to teach it or the styles or anything at my university19:35
Doranwenand can't find much online that really discusses the differences or why different styles19:35
HedgeMageZaner-Bloser is a modernized form of the Palmer method, which is based on a looped cursive that was designed to work well with movable type printing presses.  While ZB is the most common form taught in the US, it is part of the reason Americans have such terrible handwriting.  Looped cursive is *very* hard to learn, and it is slow to write and encourages RSI (repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel)19:36
HedgeMageIt's nasty stuff19:36
HedgeMageIf I were to work on such a project, I'd want to teach a form of italic print and cursive italic that are designed for *writing*, not printing presses.19:37
Doranwenahh, I see19:37
Doranwenright19:37
DoranwenI write straight upright print, and do that faster than cursive, so I never really write cursive, lol19:37
Doranwenbut that explains a lot19:37
Doranwenaha:  http://www.drawyourworld.com/dnealian.html19:39
Doranwenthere's the one I wanted to see19:39
Doranwenshows all the different handwriting styles19:39
HedgeMageDoranwen: Try a book called Write Now by Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay -- it's for adults, not kids, but it's a quick way to learn proper italic print and cursive italic.  Paired with a good (read: good fountain) pen, I drastically improved my writing in a few weeks.19:40
DoranwenI probably learned Zaner-Bloser, now that I think of it19:40
Doranwenoh, Getty-Dubay19:40
Doranwenhave heard of that one19:41
Doranwenodd, it's not on this page19:41
Doranwenanyway, I HAVE created one font in my life--but I don't think I did that great a job at it19:41
HedgeMageI have the tools to do it here -- a Wacom Intuos tablet and a copy of fontforge -- but I really think that until the joins can be addressed in software, that a font alone will only get us printing.19:42
* Doranwen nods19:42
Doranwenthey have to start with printing anyway19:42
DoranwenI've been learning all I can about synthetic phonics19:43
Doranwenwhich is a method of reading instruction that works for every child, because it teaches the alphabet code19:43
Doranwenand they use handwriting first thing19:43
Doranwenprinting19:43
* HedgeMage nods19:43
Doranwenbecause it cements the shape of the letter in the mind19:43
Doranwenvisual and kinesthetic both, in that sense19:43
HedgeMageItalic print is different from stick-and-ball print (the kind you likely learned) in a few subtle ways, those changes exist primarily to increase the ease and speed of writing, and to make the transition to cursive italic easier.19:44
* Doranwen nods19:45
Doranwenthat makes sense19:45
DoranwenI'm not sure if that's the best way in this case, because the children won't be reading italic letters first off19:45
Doranwenand that's half the point of the method is to have them write it, see it, and remember that it stands for a certain sound19:46
Doranwenso when they go to read, they recognize it instantly19:46
Doranwendo you think that would work with italic letters?19:46
Doranwenhmm, actually, the Getty-Dubay version is pretty similiar19:47
DoranwenI spotted it on the page19:47
Doranwennot that slanted19:47
Doranwenso it should work19:47
Doranwenit's only slightly slanted19:47
Doranwensounds like Getty-Dubay would be better, because it's the one italic version I see that does NOT have looped cursive writing19:48
HedgeMageRight, 5 degree slant19:48
Doranwenbarring some of the Australian versions19:48
Doranwenso now I just need to find a font for the printed version19:49
HedgeMageWould you mind if I pm you, Doranwen ?19:49
Doranwensure19:49
HedgeMagethere are people there -- let me check what server it's on (I'm on 5 so it's hard to keep track)19:55
HedgeMageoops, I mis-typed -- it is on Freenode, but it is ##penfiends (two ##)19:56
nubaehi there20:10
HedgeMageHi, nubae20:19
nubaegreetings HedgeMage, quiet in here20:21
HedgeMageThere yep20:24
HedgeMageoops, -There20:24

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