greenSims Econimcs Labs

GreenSims - green simulations - is both a philosophy and an operation plan for significantly improving the economic understanding and skills of future generations. This has alway been important but now, with global competition for resources and jobs, only the highly educated will prosper.

GreenSims uses the new Open Source software paradigm and the availability of very capable PCs - generated rapid upgrading to the new generation of PCs - to create a new education platform that is affordable, sustainable and ecologically friendly. The GreenSims strategy creates a program that can reach all our young adults - at school and at home.

The Green Strategy

The greenSims program uses the three components below to create an economics educational platform that is green and affordable. And, with a cost of almost zero - when delivered through volunteer organizations - an economics educational platform that can be delivered to school and individual in huge numbers. Thus addressing the digital divide issue.

• millions of capable PCs headed toward landfills
• state-of-art open source OS (Vector Linux)
• open source simulation software tuned to last generation PCs

Green PC Platform

Millions of PCs are being replaced with the next generation of hardware. The old PCs are very capable systems that just a few year ago ran American business, school districts, state and local government, and military operations. Surly if they were capable of these tasks a few years ago they are capable of providing an educational platform today.

Re-tasking these PCs is a very green process because it stops electronic wast going into landfills and it also reduces the need to manufacturer new PC for educational purposes.

Requirements:

• Donated, or very low cost, PCs with at least a 386i CPU
• State-of-the-art Operation System the performs well on 386i hardware

Operations

1. A voluteer organization collects donated PCs

2. The organization brinks PCs into booting condition

3. VectorLinux is installed on the PCs

Green Simulation Software

The Open Source revolution has created a number of software options economics educational platform. Simulation software is judged by these criteria:

Requirements:

• High quality experience on Intel 386 based PCs
• Work with 2000 - 2005 graphics cards
• Cross platform capabilities (kids and schools with PCs and Macs can use software and lab materials)

A clear winner is Simutrans. This is the software currently used in the Knowledge + Simulations Labs.

Operations

1. Load Simutrans software onto the PCs
2. Load KESL lab simualtions and manuals onto the PCs

• Simulation to provide new educational capabilities
• Open Source technology

• greenSims( green simulations)

  • millions of capable PCs headed toward landfills
  • state-of-art open source OS (Vector Linux)
  • open source simulation software tuned to last generation PCs