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Re: Teaching Using Octave
From: |
Steve C. Thompson |
Subject: |
Re: Teaching Using Octave |
Date: |
Wed, 13 Apr 2005 21:41:46 -0700 |
User-agent: |
Mutt/1.3.28i |
Prof. Burke,
I just wanted to commend you for considering GNU Octave for teaching.
This is a very good idea for many reasons. As you probably know, the
GNU Octave Manual is available for $30. Requiring this manual for the
class would be a great way to help free software (and at $30, it is
relatively cheap for a textbook).
Will the students have a lab with computers running Octave or will they
have to install the program themselves. Depending on their computer
proficiency, installation might be an issue. I don't have experience
with Octave on Microsoft Windows (I use Octave on Debian GNU/Linux,
which installs with ``apt-get install octave''). Chances are the
majority of the students, if they have a computer, will be running MS
Windows. So the ease of install on this platform might be a issue.
Assuming the students have a working version of Octave, then they just
need to learn how to use it. The Octave Manual should give them plenty
of guidance. Possibly you can allocate 5 minutes per lecture about how
to use a certain command. ``Today class, I'm going to tell you about
the hist command.'' I would tell the students to subscript to this
list, address@hidden, for two reasons: they can use it to ask
questions, and they can learn about the community of users helping users
and about free software. Tell them to look at
http://www.octave.org/archive.html if they get stuck, and tell them to
help each other (of course, making it clear than they have to turn in
work that is there own).
I don't have any first hand experience with this topic, but I hope to in
the future.
Good luck,
Steve
On Apr 13 18:04PM, Burke, Dr. Richard wrote:
>
> I know a bit about the history of Octave, and if I'm not mistaken,
> several faculty have taught courses using Octave. I will be teaching a
> course called Engineering Analysis in the fall, and I am thinking about
> basing the course on Octave. The course is for junior level engineers
> from mechanical, electrical, and related disciplines.
>
> A few questions:
>
> 1. Is there anything published about your experience or the
> experience of others in using Octave as the computational basis for a
> course? There are countless books based upon MATLAB, MathCAD, etc.
> 2. Is the Octave documentation adequate for undergraduate
> engineers? I am concerned about having the course devolve into a
> software tutorial, and like most small college programs, we do not have
> teaching assistants.
> 3. Any advice as to whether (or how) I should do this?
>
> Thanks for any help you can give me.
>
> _______________________
> Dr. Richard Burke, '72
> Chairman and Professor of Engineering
> Maritime College
> State University of New York
> 6 Pennyfield Avenue
> Throggs Neck, NY 10465
>
> Voice: 718.409.7411
> Fax: 718.409.7421
>
>
>
-------------------------------------------------------------
Octave is freely available under the terms of the GNU GPL.
Octave's home on the web: http://www.octave.org
How to fund new projects: http://www.octave.org/funding.html
Subscription information: http://www.octave.org/archive.html
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Teaching Using Octave, Burke, Dr. Richard, 2005/04/13
- Re: Teaching Using Octave,
Steve C. Thompson <=
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Y U Sasidhar, 2005/04/14
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Victor Munoz, 2005/04/14
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Michael Creel, 2005/04/14
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Steve C. Thompson, 2005/04/15
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Michael Creel, 2005/04/15
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Dmitri A. Sergatskov, 2005/04/15
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Victor Munoz, 2005/04/15
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Y U Sasidhar, 2005/04/14
- Re: Teaching Using Octave, Victor Munoz, 2005/04/14
Re: Teaching Using Octave, A Scotte Hodel, 2005/04/14