Course Composition Editors and Tools
This course covers the Teacher Technology Competencies required by the state of
North Carolina. It is assumed that by now you know how to carry out basic word
processor and email activities.
Those taking this educational method's course will need to have access
to certain software and hardware resources in order to complete assignments.
If you are a Western student you should have the necessary applications already.
If you are on WCU's campus, all these resources are available to
you outside of class in our campus public labs. If you are some distance
from this campus and taking this course online as a distance education
course you will need to find your own access to these tools. Unless otherwise
noted, all recommended applications run on both Windows and Macintosh computers.
Primary factors in the selection of applications are cost, ease of learning
and hard drive storage space. Appleworks is currently the bargain for these
3 factors on both Windows and
Macintosh platforms as compared with Microsoft
Office. It does not matter which platform you use though it is felt
that you need experience on both platforms. If you do not have nor wish
to buy any application software listed below, it is available on campus
public computer labs.
The primary recommended titles are below. If you would like to substitute
something else, please consult with the course instructor. Changes may
be made from semester to semester and other categories may be added at
any time. Course participants need access to:
| Application Category |
Windows OS |
Macintosh OS |
Linux OS * |
| web page (HTML) editor |
Netscape 4.0 or later (free) |
Netscape 4.0 or later (free) |
Netscape 6.0 |
| email (any will do) |
Netscape |
Netscape |
Netscape |
| word processor |
Microsoft Word, Appleworks 6.0 |
Microsoft Word, Appleworks 6.0 |
Star Office |
| spreadsheet |
Microsoft Excel, Appleworks 6.0 |
Microsoft Excel, Appleworks 6.0 |
Star Office |
| database |
Microsoft Access, Appleworks 6.0 |
Filemaker Pro, Appleworks 6.0 |
MySQL, Star Office |
| draw |
Microsoft PhotoDraw (though Publisher could also be used), Appleworks 6.0 |
Microsoft PhotoDraw, Appleworks 6.0 |
Sketch ?, Star Office |
| paint |
Microsoft Paint, Appleworks 6.0 |
Microsoft Word, Appleworks 6.0 |
Star Office |
| desktop publishing |
Microsoft Publisher, Appleworks 6.0 |
Microsoft Publisher, Appleworks 6.0 |
. |
| electronic slideshow |
Microsoft Powerpoint
Appleworks 6.0 |
Microsoft Powerpoint
Appleworks 6.0 |
Star Office |
| video and audio editing
(This software also requires special hardware: older computers require
graphic cards capable of digitizing video and audio; newer computers require
firewire port and digital camcorders.) |
Windows Movie Maker (comes with Windows XP), Cinema or Quicktime Player Pro (also Videoshop, Premiere, Premiere
Lite) |
iMovie and Quicktime Player Pro (also Videoshop, Premiere Lite, Cinema,
Final Cut Pro, Premiere) |
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| Other Specialized Hardware |
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| Internet access (modem, cable, DSL, satellite) |
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| Scanners |
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| microphones |
SoundBlaster card with Mic |
Card built in to Mac but microphone may or may not ship with computer |
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| digital camcorders |
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| MIDI keyboard with its computer interface and a related software program |
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Example: LilyPond; Brahms |
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* I am also interested in supporting the Linux platform but need
some convincing that it meets all course needs, so call me to make your
case. Linux software can be tracked at SourceForge.
I have not tested any Linux software for assignment capacity or ease of
learning. StarOffice is currently
free for the Linux OS and covers some of the categories. A major problem
is that many of the chapters and tutorials use multimedia (audio, video,
virtual reality) which require Quicktime (a multimedia enabler from Apple)
and Flash (an animation enabler from Macromedia) which are supported on
Win and Mac but not Linux at this time. It appears that currently the course
cannot be done solely on the Linux OS but would also require access to
one of the other two operating systems noted above.
Course Home Page
author: Houghton
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