A free software program and media-rich script-based authoring system with a user-friendly visual interface, which comes preinstalled on XO computers. Etoys runs on many platforms and supports numerous kinds of objects created by end-users. It is implemented in Squeak, and embraces features such as text, sound, images, 2D and 3D graphics, videos, simulations, presentations, as well as web integration capabilities.
Published in Chapter:
Squeak Etoys: Interactive and Collaborative Learning Environments
Christos J. Bouras (University of Patras, Greece), Vassilis Poulopoulos (University of Patras, Greece), and Vassilis Tsogkas (University of Patras, Greece)
Copyright: © 2010
|Pages: 11
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-368-5.ch037
Abstract
Squeak Etoys is a free software program and media-rich authoring system with a user-friendly visual interface. The software is designed to help six to twelve year-old children learn through interaction and collaboration; it comes preinstalled on XO laptop computers distributed by the One Laptop Per Child Foundation. The goal of the One Laptop Per Child initiative is to create novel educational opportunities for the world’s children by providing each child with a book-size, light and portable computer for personal use at school and at home. This chapter elaborates on the educational dimensions of the XO laptop and the Etoys environment developed to empower teachers and students with the capacity for creative learning, exploration, interaction, and collaboration. The authors focus on how the hardware and software capabilities of XO laptops can be utilized to allow children to interact, work together on projects, and engage in computer simulations and games while learning mathematics, physics, chemistry, and geometry.