Re: [Sheflug] Linux in Schools ( was Re: MySQL)

[Alan Dawson <aland [at] xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Quoting Steve Tickle <s.tickle [at] quarndon.co.uk>:

> I also can't find a contact email 
> address on their website.
> 
> I don't suppose you have any ideas tthere, do you? I wouldn't mind a look at
> 
> the CD.

On a slightly different tip, but in the same general direction there is

http://theopencd.org

"The OpenCD is a collection of high-quality Open Source Software. All of the 
programs on the disc run under Windows; the disc is intended to be an Open 
Source showcase. New users can try out Open Source software in the comfort of 
their own, familiar operating system, rather than having to take the drastic 
step of reformatting their hard drive to install Linux. "

On the assumption that only geeks and kernel hackers mess with the operating 
system and everybody else uses applications to do things.  The Cd allows people 
to use applications (ie get on with doing stuff ), then when somebody switches 
the OS over to something different nobody notices, except there's a lot more 
money in the budget to pay for classroom assistants etc.

You'd probably want to look at the process over a number of years, get a 
curriculum champion involved, find some tools (ie applications) that have 
relevance to a curriculum area, and develop strong partnership and buy in from 
the educators, who are after all the your core business customers.  Stability 
and consistency are more important than technical prowess , education first, 
the channels and tools which it is delivered over secondary.

On a practical level i'd first put linux in at the back office  as file 
servers, firewalls, web servers, proxy servers, etc.  Then how about recycling 
some old 486's and pentiums as terminals as in the linux terminal server project

http://www.ltsp.org

and http://k12ltsp.org/contents.html ?


AED
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This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation.  Alice
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at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think
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