We report on the experience of half a decade of teaching mathematics in the South Pacific region, incorporating LyX as a standard tool for the students in the preparation of their submitted assignments. LyX is a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Mean graphical frontend to LaTeX, the most widely used mathematics markup tool for publishing mathematics documents. We briefly survey the current state of affairs of software use in common practices relevant to the teaching of mathematics, and then concentrate on the advantages offered by LyX. We describe the practicalities of adopting LyX as part and parcel of the course tools and aims,and we then discuss the immediate and longer term effects thereof, and contemplate on the pedagogical efficacy and relevance of LyX as a communication tool.