[ale] [Fwd: [Am-info] Red Hat proposes alternative to MicrosoftSettlement]

[Jim Lynch]

Likewise.  My wife teaches 4th grade.  Two computers in the room.  Most
of the time the network is down.  Not enough time to do anything with
them.  The only use she gets is to display pictures I've scanned for her
on our many trips out west for geography/history lessons.  Once in a
while one of the kids will do some research using the online
encylopedia.  She has far too little time as is.  No time to figure out
what to do with computers.  She arrives at school at 0700 and leaves
about 1830.  She's pretty well burnt out by Friday night.  Spends at
least half the weekend on school work and at least 2 hours each
evening.  Computers are a waste at that school.  (Cowetta county).

Jim.

Geoffrey wrote:
> 
> Full disclosure, my wife is a 3rd grade school teacher in Cobb County...
> 
> "James P. Kinney III" wrote:
> >
> > A point that has not been brought up is whether the schools systems WANT
> > the computers. Doing good for the kids is a great idea. I really like
> > the RedHat proposal. But wait until the free stuff hits the school
> > systems. It will be like the food rotting on the docks after it was sent
> > to Ethiopia in the late 80's.
> >
> > I have encountered this personally with the Dekalb county school system.
> > I offered to provide several pc's to my daughters school which were on
> > par with what they already had. I would include RedHat and install them
> > and even volunteer to teach kids and teachers how to use them.
> > 1.Most of the teachers didn't use the computers they already had.
> 
> True, but unfortunate.  Teachers have too much to do as it is.  They
> don't get the proper training on technologies either.  My wife is seen
> as the computer guru at her school, yet she has problems finding a file
> when she saves it to anything other than a floppy.  She can do what she
> needs to do.
> 
> > 2.Many of the teachers were afraid to use computers at all.
> 
> See response to #1
> 
> > 3.It wasn't part of the "systems plan" (?!?).
> 
> We ran into this as well.  I can't connect any computers to the school
> network.  I had offered to supply a linux box in my wife's classroom
> that would look just like another windows box on the network.  The
> payoff was that all three of her computers in her classroom would have
> access to the network.  No go.  So, she has two computers that are not
> networked, therefore can't see the internet or access the printer.
> 
> > 4.No concept of "no fee for license" (who do we pay?).
> 
> Haven't run into this issue.
> 
> > 5.The worst part is the use of computers for the worst part of
> > education, repetative drill. This teaches the kids that the computers
> > are boring.
> 
> Depends on who's doing it.  Every year my wife has requested a grant to
> do an internet based environmental research project.  It follows a group
> of scientists through various parts of the world while they study
> various enviromental issues.  The 'quests' they've done thus far include
> Mayaquest (twice), Galapagosquest, Americaquest, Africaquest.  The kids
> get to vote on various issues including where the trip goes next and
> real brain thinking issues.  The kids look forward to it.  She's waiting
> for the approval of her grant for this year as we speak.
> 
> >
> > They have a pile of edu-games (Broderbund, etc) that the kids are
> > allowed to play with, time permitting. The school system is so
> > micro-managed that the lesson plans must include how many minutes per
> > week is spent on each subject. This leaves no time for exploration of
> > new technology as part of a class.
> 
> Actually, this is stipulated by the state.  Something called QCCs.
> Anyway, teachers have the latitude to inject technology as they see
> fit.  My wife's three computers stay on all day and there's almost
> always someone at all of them.  Then again, she's not your traditional
> teacher.
> 
> All I can say is you've got to get involved.  My daughters target class
> is starting a session on computers.  I've agreed to come and do a
> presentation.  What I will do is show them OS/2 and Linux running on
> laptop computers.  Show them that alternatives exist, and try and make
> them understand that computers and Windows are two separate things.
> Sure, it probably won't go far, but who knows.  I'll make the effort
> just the same.
> 
> >
> > --
> > James P. Kinney III   \Changing the mobile computing world/
> > President and COO      \          one Linux user         /
> > Local Net Solutions,LLC \           at a time.          /
> > 770-493-8244             \.___________________________./
> >
> > GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III (M.S. Physics)
> > <jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>
> > Fingerprint = 3C9E 6366 54FC A3FE BA4D 0659 6190 ADC3 829C 6CA7
> >
> >   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >    Part 1.2Type: application/pgp-signature
> 
> --
> Until later: Geoffrey           esoteric at denali.atlnet.com
> 
> "...the system (Microsoft passport) carries significant risks to users
> that
> are not made adequately clear in the technical documentation available."
> - David P. Kormann and Aviel D. Rubin, AT&T Labs - Research
> - http://www.avirubin.com/passport.html
> 
> ---
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