[MWForum]books

[cy]

Thanks Wendy... and Ray... for your ideas.

Craig

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wendy Petti" <wpetti@mathcats.com>
To: <mwforum@lists.mathcats.com>
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 9:53 AM
Subject: RE: [MWForum]books


> I have a few remarks on the matter of MW books:
>
> 1) From what I understand, after the early versions of MW, LCSI made the
> decision to focus on software itself rather than on printed manuals and
> supplementary resources.  Sharon Yoder (not affiliated with LCSI) wrote
> several books on MW 2.0 which are now out of print.  I bought them but did
> not find them as helpful as LCSI's early print materials.
>
> 2) I believe I've read recently that LCSI has recently produced a book on
> MicroWorlds EX, but I can find no mention of it on their site or anywhere
> else.  Perhaps it is still in production.  (Also, MW EX comes with more
> helpful resources built into the software, including tutorials and
> projects.)
>
> 3) After Jim Muller wrote "The Great Logo Adventure" (which focused on
> MSWLogo but much of it is applicable to all versions of Logo), he
mentioned
> on the LogoForum list that in the future he would stick to electronic
> distribution of Logo writings.  And his book did become available for
free,
> electronically, a year or two after it was published.  I think part of his
> reasoning for shying away from print resources in the future is that it
> takes so long to bring a book to market and by then one wishes to make
> changes.  As Ray points out, state-of-the-art computer software and
related
> information is typically distributed through the Internet, and I'm sure
that
> the main reasons are the ease of distribution and the ease of updating
> information.
>
> 4) I agree that sometimes print materials are the easiest to use and to
> refer to, although perhaps that's only because we are all still adjusting
to
> the world of electronic information.  But I found it a huge help, years
ago
> in the days of MW 1.0 and the first MW 2.0 for Mac, to refer to the print
> resources packaged with the software, including step-by-step projects.
> (Prior to that, I valued the old Logowriter activity cards.)  I believe
that
> some of these resources were included electronically in later versions on
> the CD but I don't think they are any more.  I wonder if LCSI might
consider
> placing some of these early MW resources in downloadable version on their
> website.
>
> 5) I'd like to remind you that OpenWorld Learning has been developing a
> collection of online MW resources at the MicroWorlds in Action site -
> http://mia.openworldlearning.org.  The project folders there guide users
> through building related projects of increasing complexity.  The
> "educational context" materials in the Resources area give some background
> on the "Logo philosophy" and ideas on using MW in a constructivist
computer
> lab.  We would welcome your input and contribution of ideas, articles,
"how
> do I" tips, etc., as we continue to build this online MW resource.
>
> Wendy Petti
> OWL's MicroWorlds in Action
> http://mia.openworldlearning.org
> Math Cats
> http://www.mathcats.com
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: mwforum-admin@lists.mathcats.com
> > [mailto:mwforum-admin@lists.mathcats.com]On Behalf Of Ray Catzel
> > Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2004 6:05 PM
> > To: mwforum@lists.mathcats.com
> > Subject: RE: [MWForum]books
> >
> >
> > I believe the best resources for MicroWorlds is via the Internet - and
why
> > not, since that is the medium through which any state of the art
computer
> > software will distribute and publish information.
> > --------Ray Catzel
>
>
>
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