Re: Linux in high schools.

[Alan DeJong <annette@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I just graduated from Three Rivers High School... well, not yet, but next week!
Anyway, linux has helped me understand operating systems as a whole better than
windows ever had!  Linux is sort of like a drug, i it leads to other things.
Since i started using linux i have also tried BeOS, BSD, Unix, NeXT, and others!
At one time i had about 5 OS's on a computer at a time.

-Alan

j s wrote:

> As of this week, KLUG will have at least three actively attending members from
> Portage Central High School, all of which will be seniors next fall.
>
> The computer environment in the Portage Public Schools is very, very
> Microsoft-centric, and I don't know if there is any interest in the technology
> department as far as adding another OS (which no employees are familiar with)
> to the list of things they need to support.
>
> Portage Central (I don't know much about Northern), though, is beginning to
> add more and more computer-oriented classes.  And, speaking without any real
> authority or influence, putting Linux on some computers in the labs and
> offering a class involving said OS would be very beneficial for the students.
> But, I don't know if its even remotely possible.  The courses currently being
> offered are far from advanced - "Computer Programming" is Visual Basic only.
> But VB is a whole other rant.
>
> It probably wouldn't be very effective if I suggested this addition to Portage
> administrators, especially considering my recent and unpleasant confrontation
> with them in the computer arena.  But some sort of outreach to the Portage
> school district would be very cool.
>
> As far as outreach into the educational system, there are a lot of
> possibilities for Linux.  As I mentioned above, installing Linux on lab
> computers for teaching purposes is one.  Another is using it for servers (for
> example, the NT box hosting portageps.org).  The problem is that most
> educational IT employees are Microsoft-dependent.  And, without meaning
> anything insulting to any teachers out there, the general rule is that
> teachers are completely and utterly lost with technology; simplicity is of
> highest importance.  But, schools are always complaining about money
> situations, and getting rid of huge licensing costs could definitely help
> financially.
>
> I'm gung-ho excited about the whole concept of Linux in High Schools, and
> anything that I can do to help... just let me know.  Since I also attend the
> Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center (KAMSC), I have computer-literate
> friends in just about every area high school.
>
> -Josh Soper
> http://www.wastedgenius.com
>
> >===== Original Message From bob@acm.org =====
> >
> >Perhaps "Linux in the high schools" is the next thing we can consider
> tackling.
> >
> >Thoughts?
> >                                                            Regards,
> >                                                            ---> RGB <---