Resources and Links

In this section of the website we provide you with links to Internet resources that we believe have value.  We begin this page with Christian Resources and further down you will find lots of cool computer stuff, especially free software. So if you want copies of the Gimp or Blender or Open Office this is the page for you.

If you think there is something missing from this page - something you have discovered, then please discuss it with Mr. Branch and he might just add your link.

Please note that the vast majority of resources listed here are not published by Christian organisations, but are useful (such as free computer software resources for example). The school does not endorse any of the resources provided here, they are provided in the hope that they will prove useful to you as members of our school community.

Christian Resources

Ubuntu Linux Christian Edition

Ubuntu Linux is the alternative operating system taught to and used by students of CAIS. There is now a Christian Edition of Ubuntu Linux which is recommended to everyone. There are few differences between the non-Christian Ubuntu Linux and the Christian Edition however those differences are significant. Ubuntu CE (Christian Edition) comes with the Gnomesword Bible software and with a web content filtering system called Dan's Guardian. Dan's Guardian is certainly a welcome utility to keep users away from the smut that is regrettably rather prevalent on the Internet. You can download it at:-

www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com/christianubuntu/2006/07/about-ubuntu-christian-edition.html

What Would Jesus Download

Plugged In Online

This site is published by Focus on the Family to provide advice to parents and guardians, and to teenagers and children, about entertainment media such as television, movies, music and computer games. The site includes many good Biblically based articles on the effects of entertainment media and strategies for dealing with available products; these articles are recommended reading. There are also reviews, from a Christian perspective, of movies, music CD's, computer games etc.

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/

Bibles Online

This school's statement of faith states that we believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. God calls us not just to read the Bible, which is His Word, but to study it. We hope that you will do exactly that; that you will use the links below to study the Word of God and by His Word to draw near to Him. Please note that some links provide the Apocryphal books in addition to the canon of Scripture. The Apocrypha are not a part of the Bible, although some churches add some of the Apocryphal books to their Bibles. There is no harm in reading them, but please be aware that they are not a part of the inerrant word of God and must not be believed as such.

King James Translation

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). The King James Translation is amongst the most respected of all English translations and is widely regarded as the English Bible God gave to His church at the beginning of the modern missionary movement. The language of this Bible is post Shakespearean seventeenth century modern English. This means that this translation can present difficulties to twenty first century modern readers. Notwithstanding that, modern readers should not be put off by any initial difficulty, you will find that you quite quickly adapt to the older style language and come to really appreciate this translation if you are willing to persist. Two links are provided; one which includes the Apocrypha, and one which excludes them.

www.thewordnotes.com/kjv/index.html

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/kjv.browse.html

Literal Translation (LITV)

The Literal Translation of the Bible is a new translation directly from the original languages that seeks to remain as literally faithful to the originals as possible whilst still being natural and easy to read as an English Bible.

http://www.thewordnotes.com/litv/litv.htm

Modern King James Version

The Modern King James version is a translation that seeks to modernise the language of the original King James Bible but remain faithful to it.

http://www.thewordnotes.com/mkjv/mkjv.htm

NET Bible

The NET Bible (New English Translation) is a new translation from the original languages and is the result of a project intended to provide an excellent Bible resource free to ministers and Christians all over the world. The translators notes provided by the NET Bible are second to none and are a valuable Bible study resource.

http://www.bible.org/netbible/index.htm

Computer Bible Study Programs and Resources

E-sword

E-sword is a comprehensive free Bible study resource program for Windows based computers which provides Bible translations, commentaries, maps and devotionals. This is a great resource for Bible study.

http://www.e-sword.net/

The Sword Project

The sword project is a wonderful Bible resource for Windows, MacOS, Linux and Unix computer systems. It also is available for your Palm. The Sword project's BibleTime and GnomeSword are available in Debian GNU Linux and Ubuntu Linux using the Synaptic package manager. Jsword is written in Java and is platform independent.

http://www.crosswire.org/index.jsp

Computer Software Resources

At CAIS we have long adopted a strategy of using open source software where ever possible in the school. There are a number of reasons for this:-

Open source software can be legally and legitmately distributed by the school to students and parents. This means that students can use the same software at home and at school at no financial cost.
The use of open source software also creates an awareness amongst students, teachers and parents as to the difference between proprietary and open source licences which makes people aware of software piracy issues whilst at the same time providing legitimate resources to avoid the temptation to engage in software piracy.
Money saved by using free open source software can then be better used in providing other educational resources.
As a school, by using open source software, we avoid being locked in to one proprietary manufacturer's products and the inherent financial and technical burdens associated with that kind of lock in.
As a Christian organisation we try to lead the way for other Christian organisations and churches so they become aware of the open source alternatives and can themselves migrate to open source software so as to better use their finite resources.

Open Office

Open Office is the main computer office software used by CAIS. It is open source, which means it can be freely distributed free of charge. It is available for a wide variety of operating systems including Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, Sun Solaris and FreeBSD. It is also available in a wide variety of languages including both traditional and simplified Chinese. You can find out more and download it from:-

http://www.openoffice.org/

You can get Open Office for the Mac here:-

porting.openoffice.org/mac/index.html

This requires installation of an additional interface called X11. X11 may already be installed on your Mac but in case it isn't full information and installation instructions are on the above website.

The GIMP

The GIMP is the main program used for graphical image work at CAIS other than for students who enrol in Graphic Arts 10, 20, 30. Students begin using this program in Grade 7. The program is available for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows and is included in almost all versions of Linux and BSD.

http://www.gimp.org/
http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/
http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

Blender

Blender is an open source 3D modelling and animation program that can be used to create professional standard models, animations, and even movies. It is available for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows (2000 and XP). There are lots of excellent tutorials available as students of Computer Applications 9 have been fast discovering.

http://www.blender.org/

Blender is the core program used to create the world's first open source short movie "Elephant's Dream" which was released at the end of March 2006. Elephant's Dream is intended to showcase the use of open source technology in creative and artistic arenas such as movie production and graphic arts. The story of Elephant's Dream centres on a character named Proog, who has a passionate desire to control others by luring them into his private world of "the machine"; and Emo, whom Proog seeks to control and to brainwash.

http://www.elephantsdream.org/

Mozilla Firefox web browser

The free Mozilla Firefox web browser is secure, provides features not available in Internet Explorer, and is standards compliant. Students are exposed to the use of Firefox in addition to Internet Explorer.

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is an e-mail client program that can be used as a replacement for Outlook Express. It has a number of advantages not least of which is its effective and easily configured junk mail filtering capability. This is a free program.

http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/

Filezilla

Filezilla is an FTP and SFTP client/server program. It provides SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) functionality for Windows. This is a free and highly useful program.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla/

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Often we will put documents onto this website in PDF format. If you are a Windows or Mac user you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files. Two links are provided: The first is to the Adobe website for the latest version, the second is to a UK government website where you can download older versions and versions for different platforms.

http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/readermain.html

(Please note that the Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to read PDF documents; if you want to create documents in PDF format you can do so using Open Office.)

Anti-virus information such as news about new computer viruses, hoaxes, spyware and adware.

It is essential, especially if you are a user of a Microsoft Windows operating system, to use up to date anti-virus software and to firewall your computer. At CAIS we use Sophos Anti-virus to protect our computer systems and these systems receive updates hourly. The link below will take you to an information page on the Sophos web site where you can get advice and information about computer viruses, adware and spyware, and the many virus hoaxes that appear from time to time. This site also provides advice on best practices to keep your computer systems secure and virus free.

http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/

Linux

At CAIS we want students to be equipped for the constantly changing world of Information Technology. To this end we train students on the open source Linux operating system in addition to Microsoft Windows. Our use of Linux enables us to:-

Train students to be adaptable from one computer system, and one computer interface, to another.
Train students to install a computer operating system from scratch and to create a "dual boot" computer with two alternate operating systems on it.
Provide students with a solid foundation of computer system management skills.

Linux Distributions

There are many Linux distributions. Some commercial, some entirely free. At CAIS we use two distributions that are entirely free. For student training we use Ubuntu Linux. For server and professional workstation use we use Debian GNU Linux.

Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu is an African word that means "humanity". Ubuntu Linux is based on Debian GNU Linux and is currently regarded by many as the best desktop Linux distribution available. Ubuntu is easy to install, easy to use, and ruggedly reliable. Ubuntu also has an Edubuntu version especially for school students. If you would like to try Ubuntu at home you have two choices.

Download a conventional install CD that will enable you to install the system on a computer hard drive.
Download a "Live CD" that will boot a working Ubuntu Linux system from the CD itself. This has the advantage that you don't need to install anything on your computer. It has the disadvantage that the system will run more slowly and you cannot save customizations to the system.

You can find out more and download CD and DVD images from:-

http://www.ubuntulinux.org/

Debian GNU Linux

Debian GNU Linux is widely regarded as the Linux distribution of choice for IT professionals and for server use. It is an extensive system that fills fifteen CD's. The system was originally initiated by a computer professional named Ian Murdock who's wife's name is Deborah. Hence the name Deb+Ian=Debian. I think that's really quite romantic don't you?

Debian is perhaps a bit more difficult to install and configure than Ubuntu and tends to be more "stable" which means things aren't updated to the newest and "you beautist" versions every time something new comes along - so some think it tends to be "old fashioned". However, Debian is known for its emphasis on quality control and stability. So, as a system you want to use for actually doing creative stuff and/or getting work done it is the best choice for a desktop computer.

If you want to install Debian we recommend you do a network installation which means downloading a small net installation CD image and then completing the installation using a fast Internet connection.

You can find out more at:-

http://www.debian.org/