ITO-Announce March 2005

The following resources were added to ItrainOnline during March:

1. Wireless Networking
2. Web Programming and Design
3. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
4. Web Mail
5. Computer Basics
6. Ressources en français
7. Suggest a resource

1. WIRELESS NETWORKING

O'REILLY WIRELESS
Free access to selected chapters from O'Reilly wireless-related publications, and fee-paying access to complete online books.
http://wireless.oreilly.com/

CALCULATING DISTANCES BETWEEN TWO POINTS
This site from Geoscience Australia offers a short comparison of methods for calculating distance, and an online distance calculator. http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/geodesy/datums/distance.jsp

ERIC WEISSTEIN'S WORLD OF PHYSICS: RADIO PHYSICS
This is the Radio physics section of a broader portal which offers short, accessible explanations of technical physics terms.
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/topics/RadioPhysics.html

RADIO MOBILE
This freeware for Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, XP, 2000 is a tool used to predict the performance of a radio system.
http://www.cplus.org/rmw/rme.html

2. WEB PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN

EDITOR'S CHOICE: ZEN GARDEN - THE BEAUTY OF CSS DESIGN
A demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design. Several design proposals and their CSS sheets are available for exploration to see how the same text can be manipulated with creative CSS design. Look at each page's html, source code, and style sheet to understand how to label elements in CSS and avoid the use of tables. Please note that designers have shared their
creativity in this site so that others may learn, but designs cannot be duplicated without artist permission.
http://www.csszengarden.com/

INTRODUCTION TO STYLE SHEETS
This short guide to styling your web pages looks at how to use W3C's Cascading Style Sheets language (CSS) and at alternatives using HTML.
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/Style

3. FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE (FOSS)

EASY LINUX INTRODUCTORY GUIDE TO COMPUTERS
This pilot manual is a guide for basic computer literacy - how to turn on a computer and what the different hardware and software elements are - as well as an introduction to common FOSS programmes including navigation and email tools, OpenOffice.org Writer and Calc. The manual overcomes barriers to learning by including a lot of visuals and very little text. It has been pilot-tested with remote
NGOs and school children in Uganda.
http://www.eacoss.org/dmdocuments/Guide_to_computer_literacy_V3.2.pdf

FREE/OPEN SOFTWARE FOR EDUCATION
The International Open Source Network, an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme, has produced a 48-page primer on 'Free/Open Source Software and Education', which is now available for free public download. The primer is intended to help policy-makers and decision-makers understand the potential use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in education. Topics covered include where and how FOSS can be used, why it should be used, and what issues are
involved. The officials in ministries of education, school and university administrators, academic staff and researchers should find the primer particularly useful, according to the project. The primer site features a discussion forum for feedback and case studies for input into future versions.
http://www.iosn.net/education/foss-education-primer/fossPrimer-Education.pdf

FLOSS AND NGOS: A COMPILATION OF RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY EVENTS
Annotated listing of resources, articles and community events relating to NGOs and free and open source software.
http://www.aspirationtech.org/node/40

4. WEB MAIL

SELECTING A NEW WEBMAIL
Research done by the University of Illinois at Chicago as part of their planning for a new webmail service sets out key questions which will help any administrator who needs to choose a webmail system. The article also compare the usability of two free and open source webmail programmes, Horde and Squirrell.
http://www.uic.edu/depts/accc/ecomm/election/election.html

INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES: INTRODUCTORY EXERCISES USING THE WEBMAIL PROGRAM IMP
This practical user guide takes users through the basics of using Horde, a popular free and open source webmail programme (guide in PDF format).
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/iss/email/documentation/tut92/tut92.pdf

5. COMPUTER BASICS

GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERM DEFINITIONS
Sharpened.net - Your Free Computer and Internet Resource offers an excellent, comprehensive listing of computer terms, with easy-to-understand explanations.
http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/

6. RESSOURCES EN FRANCAIS

LOGICIELS LIBRES POUR L'ENSEIGNEMENT
Le pôle de compétences en logiciels libres du réseau SCEREN met à disposition des présentations de ressources et logiciels libres pour l'enseignement.
http://logiciels-libres-cndp.ac-versailles.fr/

7. SUGGEST A RESOURCE

If you would like to suggest a resource for inclusion in ItrainOnline, please visit
http://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/english/submit.shtml or e-mail mmtk@apc.org