[ale] Linux in Schools (was: Palladium/MS: ideas for retaliation)

[Kevin Krumwiede]

On Wed, 2002-06-26 at 11:16, Dow Hurst wrote:

> A good ALE project would be to develop a realistic plan to implement 
> Linux across the GA school system.  How many local ALE members are there 
> in total?  Do we have enough people interested in helping if we 
> scheduled few dates this year to develop a project to fight back against 
> MS invading schools here?  We would need someone used to managing large 
> projects, which definitely counts me out! ;-)   I am used to being a 
> peon, but a good hardworking peon!  I think we would need:

This would be awesome project and I would be thrilled to help out. 
Linux and education are two of my greatest passions; I'm putting in my
application for the Middle-Grades Ed program at KSU this week. :o)  So
needless to say, I've thought about this topic quite a bit.

I think the first thing we need to do is put together a short
seminar/info session that we can present to local school systems, to
outline the benefits of Linux in the classroom and counter the
disinformation put out by Microsoft.  The problem is that people just
don't *know* what Linux has to offer.  We have to go out and tell them,
and put it in terms they understand.  Mostly dollar signs, I think, but
also the "wow" factor of a nice KDE or GNOME desktop running
familiar-looking applications.  It's a fact that many teachers are
computer-illiterate.  Even if they're lucky enough to have the
technology in their classrooms, many of them don't know how to use it. 
So we need to show them that Linux isn't something to be afraid of, it
can be "just like Windows" as far as they're concerned.  Another thing
we can stress is that Linux isn't an all-or-nothing commitment, it
integrates with heterogenous networks and can be rolled out in stages. 
And finally (and this may be the hardest part), we have to convince the
IT people, who may be ignorant of anything but Windows, that Linux isn't
something to be terrified of, and that it will in fact make their jobs
easier.

Krum


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