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A LearnWorld Help File

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some FAQs:


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May I Contribute a Topic Page?

Anyone may write a LearnWorld Topic Page and publish it on the Web. If you know a subject well enough to teach about it, write about it, or do it, then you could certainly author a Topic.


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Is There a Fee?

LearnWorld is a free, non-commercial venture.

But "there is no such thing . . ." If you are using the Internet, there are costs and someone is paying them. You may subscribe to an Internet access provider, or a Web provider. Or maybe your university or company picks up those costs.

You might also choose to work with a Tutor, who should be paid [well!] for his or her time.

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Can't Find it! Where's the Template?

Let's say you are looking at LearnWorld FAQ on your browser. Your browser has received an electronic computer file which has the name LWFAQ.html. What a browser does is to convert a file written in 'html' (Hypertext Metalanguage) into something nice to view. The template is in the file LWFAQ.html, not in the version your browser shows you. How can you get at it?

Browsers usually give you a way to read the underlying file, and to save it as a file you can edit. Netscape 1.0 [Mac], for example, gives you two ways to do this. The menu item View:Source will present you with a version of the 'source' code (the text of LWFAQ.html in this case) in your word processor of choice, which you can save and edit. The menu item File:Save As ... generates a dialogue box with a pop-up menu offering you the choice of saving as 'Text' or saving as 'Source'; 'Text' is the print which you see, without formatting or styles; 'Source' is the underlying file with the format instructions as well as the text. Save as 'Source' and you can later open it (File:Open File ...) and see the browsed version, from which you can do a View:Source to see and save the underlying 'html' version.

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How Can I Find Topics That Interest Me?

Your Web browser probably connects to sites which maintain Search capabilities. Authors of LearnWorld Topics and Pathways include the word 'LearnWorld' among their keywords. Others indicate the subject. If the Search Engine you are using permits you to specify terms which must appear, for example, you might enter 'LearnWorld' in that box on the form. Experiment with queries.

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Does LearnWorld Give 'Credits'?

Absolutely not. LearnWorld is not an institution, but practices carried on among friends and acquaintances. So there is no one to 'give credit.' But you can maintain a Portfolio, through which you explain what you have studied and show some of your work.

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Are LearnWorld 'Pathways' College Courses?

No: because there's no institutional 'college' or 'university' in LearnWorld. You can even construct your own Pathways.

On the other hand, Topics and Pathways are meant to look very much like University reading lists. In LearnWorld, and in universities, people are striving to represent complex affairs in clear language and managable pieces. A reading list from a university course can be readily adapted to the Topic and Pathway structure of LearnWorld.

In fact, LearnWorld gives college and university faculty a way to 'publish' their choices about what work in their field most merits study. If a teacher wants to propose some books and articles but only with an accompanying critique, it can be installed directly into the Topic page, or a link can be made to it.

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So Is LearnWorld Just About Conventional University Subjects?

Absolutely not. Authors may take up any subject at all: today's films, disputed issues, how to buy a house. What LearnWorld offers is an explicit way to associate study [or discussion, debate, learning how to prune trees] with texts and graphics, related Topics, and an opportunity for Reviewers to point out strengths and shortcomings.

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Is it True We Could Use LearnWorld to Conference?

A Conference would be truly "open to the public" if the "papers" were written in advance and placed on the Web.

For example, for each paper a Text Page and an Author Page could be lodged. The "panel" would take the form of a Topic. Several panels--in fact, the entire Conference--could be organized in a Pathway. Reviewers could submit their critiques as Reviews. All this could be done even if the Conference organizers were planning an actual face-to-face meeting of hundreds of people: instead of "listening to the papers" participants could discuss the Texts in sessions both prepared and spontaneous.

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How Do I Get Templates?

For one or two templates, go to the LearnWorld Welcome Page, go to the template you need, and save a 'source' copy. The full set of templates and icons takes about 300K of memory, and in compressed form substantially less.

Archived sets are available in the following versions:

  • Macintosh:
  • UNIX:
  • DOS and Windows:
    • LW.zip: [1] All templates, but no icons. Retrieve LWGrafs.zip also.
    • LWGrafs.zip: [2] All icons.
    • The preceding links are relative to the server on which you are reading this page. If templates and icons are not available on that server, use the absolute DOWNLOAD: link in the Go Bar at the beginning of this page.

    If you have a Web presence, and especially if you are authoring a Topic Page or Pathway Page, or are a Tutor, you can make full sets available by placing archives in the folder or directory in which your work is accessed. To keep a set for redistribution, disable any automatic conversion of incoming files which you may have set.

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    May I Give Templates to Others?

    You may freely pass templates to others, as long as you observe the restrictions in the notice at the bottom of the LearnWorld Welcome Page. The complete set of files can be put on a floppy.

    If you have a Web presence, you are free to make the entire set available: just observe the conditions for commercial-free distribution.

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    This FAQ is maintained by Bruce D. Larkin, and I can be reached by email at: larkin@webcom.com.

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    LearnWorld is © 1995, 1996 Bruce D. Larkin and Helen Kruse Larkin. We can be reached through our home page by email: larkin@learnworld.com. A full statement of the terms and conditions for use of this template appears at the bottom of the Welcome Page and in the 'source' version of this page.

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    Version Information

    Template set issued 95.11.01. We recommend updating all templates issued prior to 95.11.01. This template last revised: 96.12.26.