On-Line Tutorials to Move Students from PC/Windows to Unix

The majority of today’s college students enter their first computer science course with a working knowledge of computers, primarily PC/Windows based. Their experience with PC systems as their “native language” is then reinforced in the many universities that require laptop PCs or distribute them to incoming freshmen. Teaching students the Unix environment thus has become more difficult as students cling to the operating system that they have grown comfortable with. This paper describes a tutorial program intended to move students from PC/Windows to Unix. The self-paced tutorial lessons are written in Macromedia Director and can be accessed from the students’ personal computers on the Web. The lessons begin with basic Unix commands executed through a simulated terminal window, provide remote access to an actual Unix terminal window for “real” feedback, direct students to a Unix lab at our university, proceed through more advanced Unix utilities, and offer feedback through graded quizzes.